You can call up City Hall, send emails all over, and reach out in many directions in looking for an answer to a local problem or help with an issue- or we can get that question right to Mayor Randy Voepel, and he can use his resources and local government know-how to get the best answer around.

Send your questions or comments on any topic, preferably a local issue, to steven.bartholow@patch.com, or leave it as a comment below, and we'll pass it onto Mayor Voepel. He's agreed to shoot for answering one a week, so let's get those questions coming!

Q: What’s your deal with contesting the homeless numbers in Santee? What do you have against the Homeless?

Signed,

Have a Home sweet Home

A: Dear “Homey,”

First I do not have anything against the homeless in Santee. As long as the homeless obey the law and stay out of the river bottoms and Forester Creek they have the same rights as any other citizen in town.

The river/creeks in Santee are sensitive habitat and some of those areas are protected by Federal order. The homeless tend to be very destructive when they camp in said habitats. Also, I am VERY protective of the kids that play in Mast and Town Center Parks. Many of the kids go into the river bottom or play near them.

Some of the homeless (I am being very politically correct here) engage in unlawful activities including the use and sale of drugs. Some homeless are a very real danger to our kids and the adults that use the parks and trails. In Mast Park, law enforcement has been very active in policing the homeless because they have been more aggressive there in the past.

My bottom line is the same for anybody in town- obey the law, no problem, break the law, BIG problem for the individual. Santee stands for law and order.

The homeless count is a moving target. Once a year the Federal Government (Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD) requires a “point in time” homeless count for the whole Country.  The Regional Task Force on the Homeless (RTFH) is the coordinating agency. The count is mainly done by volunteers and the many homeless outreach organizations.  The count is used by HUD to determine Federal funding for the homeless programs.

That is where I start asking questions, because it’s all about the money to some extent. In past years the count was very steady at 12-15 average homeless in Santee. Last year they counted 58 homeless in Santee and I objected to that number and challenged them. They politely told me to pound sand.

Please go to their web page to see the formula and procedures they use.

This is a long answer but this is an important issue and I want to be as accurate as possible.

For preparation, I boned up on the issues and method’s used by the RTFH and even went to their training class for the count. I also paired up with an extraordinary person named Ron Stark, who is the Program Manager for Club Vet, an employment services program for homeless veterans funded by the Feds.

I figured that Ron and his program would probably be just another “waste the money” rat hole, to pour our taxes into. Actually, I was very surprised. Ron runs a tight ship (we were both Navy) and knows the homeless well and especially the veterans. His program is of great help to homeless Vets and he has his office here in Santee. So I believe in Ron and trust his judgment on the homeless.

We teamed up for the count and I also had a Deputy Sherriff ride with us. Three other Deputies were available for the other teams in Santee but I understand the teams refused the escort. I was concerned with security of the teams going into strange places at night and early morning.

Our census tract was essentially along Prospect Avenue and the Forester Creek area. I expected to count 2-3 homeless. We counted five (mostly under the bridges) and had one RV parked at the old Santee school site that was very suspect as being a homeless RV. Under the count rules an RV/vehicle is considered homeless if it is parked with no hook-ups etc. The Deputy checked the RV and it looked like there were two people in it.

So, I expected 2-3 count and ended up with seven that we saw, Ron Stark is an eagle-eye, trust me, do not play hide and seek with him!

The bottom line for me is, up to 2007 the City/Law enforcement count was 12-15 and I believe that was reasonably accurate. Today I believe the count could be in the 20-25 range. I back that up by personal observation, Sheriff’s estimate and the Santee Food Bank estimate.

The Santee Food Bank is the greatest social service program that the City supports ($10,000 a year). They are supplying food to many more people during these tough times, a 60% increase over past years. They estimate that the monthly homeless count that they serve is 38. The homeless that say they are from Santee number 22, the rest are mainly from Lakeside and El Cajon.

Well “Homey” that sums it up. We now have more homeless in Santee than I thought. Is it 58? I don’t think so, or there would be homeless on every corner and the river bottom would look like a camp ground. Do we have 20-25, probably.

Will the RTFH 2012 count be 58 or more? Probably; they need the HUD funding.

You decide what the number is my friend. One way or the other, Santee has a new homeless problem, I never sugar-coat an issue.

Respectfully submitted,

Randy Voepel

With great respect and thanks to Ron Stark, the other Santee counting teams and our Deputy Sheriff escort.