Many people in Fort Scott have heard about the tents at 2nd Street Park, also known as Bridal Veil Park, but have not seen them. This photo, taken Nov. 3, shows at least six tents near the park’s pavilion, several of them covered with tarps.
The city has said it will let the camp stay for now. In a statement posted Aug. 28, City Manager Brad Matkin said the city had advised people against camping downtown, at Gunn Park and at Riverfront Park. It said “we will not remove homeless individuals from staying at 2nd street unless their actions deem necessary.”
Matkin told the city commission on Sept. 1 that people had asked city staff where they could go and not get in trouble. He said “the Second Street thing, it was my deal.” He added, “So until we can get this alliance going, until we can get some help and everything, we said 2nd Street.”
The park’s history
The park, on West 2nd Street just west of the Marmaton River, began as Napp’s Park in the 1880s and later held two swimming pools, local historians told FortScott.biz in 2017. After a new pool was built on Main Street in 1936, those pools were turned over to the African-American community. They were filled in after desegregation, and a 1986 flood swept away the brick shelter house.
Commissioners voted in 2016 to look into selling the park. Then-City Manager Dave Martin reported in 2017 that it floods and was “not well used.” The park was not sold and still belongs to the city.
Where things stand
The alliance Matkin mentioned, organized by Commissioner Matthew Wells, first met Sept. 9, with two people from the camp attending. It is now called Hope Outreach of Fort Scott and is forming a nonprofit.
Joan Brown, the group’s secretary and treasurer, told the county commission on Nov. 2 and the city commission on Nov. 3 that the group wants to connect people with services that already exist and does not plan to build a shelter. County Commissioner Joe Allen and City Commissioner Julie Buchta will serve as nonvoting liaisons to its board.
Brown told the county she believed the last count was 16 homeless people in the area, not including high school students without stable homes, and that six people had been housed. She said the 2nd Street camp is the most visible site and that other areas are not as visible. Of the camp, she said, “Nobody is happy with it, but it is what it is for the moment.”