Special Common Council Meeting on Homelessness – La Crosse, August 24, 2026
Special Common Council Meeting on Homelessness – La Crosse, August 24, 2026
This special meeting, called by Mayor Shaundel Washington-Spivey, convened at 4:00 PM and adjourned at 6:06 PM in the Council Chambers. The sole agenda item was a review of the city's efforts to address homelessness. Twelve council members were present (one excused: Lisa Weston). Council Member Newberry was excused at 5:05 PM, leaving 11 members; Council Member Kahlow excused at 5:25 PM, leaving 10 members. The meeting featured remarks from council members, a presentation from Michael Basford of the Wisconsin Department of Administration's Interagency Council on Homelessness, and updates from city staff including Brian Sampson (Homeless Services Coordinator), Police Chief Kudron, Dan Trussoni (Parks, Recreation, and Forestry), Jessica Skemp (Municipal Judge), Andrea Trane (Planning), and Jay Odegaard (Director of Public Works).
Council Member Remarks
- Council members from each district reported on conditions in their areas. Districts 1, 4, 5, 10, 11, and 13 reported relatively low direct impacts, while Districts 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9 described significant quality-of-life issues: public drug use, nudity, theft, litter, and safety concerns in parks, near the library, and around downtown. Council Member Janssen (District 3) noted that many residents feel safety has declined, citing incidents such as syringes filled with black tar heroin found in traffic circles and parks. Council Member Kahlow (District 6) stated that more than 60 individuals have declined housing through Pathways Home or were unable to remain housed, and that La Crosse has become a destination for individuals from other counties and states. Council Member Newberry (District 9) observed that shuffling people from parks to churches to streets has not worked and that the concentration of individuals is a key problem. Council Member Northwood (District 13) argued that criminalization of homelessness has not solved the problem and called for compassion, evidence-based solutions, and respect for the dignity of unhoused people. Council Member Goggin (District 2) shared anecdotal evidence that individuals from out of state are being told they cannot be arrested for breaking the law if homeless, and she urged accountability for those preying on the homeless.
Presentation by Michael Basford (State Interagency Council on Homelessness)
- Basford provided statewide context: during the 2026 point-in-time count, unsheltered homelessness was reported in 38 of Wisconsin's 72 counties. Wisconsin counted 5,243 people experiencing homelessness (476 unsheltered), compared to Illinois (14,576, 2,074 unsheltered), Michigan (10,155, 1,716 unsheltered), Minnesota (8,392, 1,821 unsheltered), and Iowa (2,816, 611 unsheltered). The Interagency Council on Homelessness spends about $5 million per year on programs, compared to Illinois ($300 million) and Minnesota ($500 million). The Evers administration's funding increase requests have been zeroed out by the legislature over the last two budgets. Basford praised the Pathways Home plan as one of the best local plans in Wisconsin. He identified the largest factor in homelessness as a shortage of affordable rental homes for extremely low-income households (a shortage of nearly 118,000 units in Wisconsin). He recommended five solutions: (1) invest in public housing and the National Housing Trust Fund, (2) reform zoning and land use regulations, (3) expand rental assistance or create a refundable renters tax credit, (4) create permanent tools like emergency rental assistance (citing the pandemic-era success of $330 million in federal funds that kept 65,000 households out of eviction), and (5) reform the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. He urged council members to advocate to state legislators for increased funding.
City Staff Presentations
- Brian Sampson (Homeless Services Coordinator): The city is becoming the lead agency for a state grant of $219,000 for shelter and prevention funding. Outreach has been ramped up: the county now has two social workers doing targeted outreach five days a week, often twice daily, in the downtown area. A deflection social worker co-responds with the NRO unit to address both safety and service needs. A coordinated campaign offers three options: shelter spots at Salvation Army, connection to mental health or substance abuse treatment, and housing with supportive services. Since 2024, 88% of those housed through the Pathways Home program remain housed. Of the 83% of people on the Pathways to Housing list whose last address was in La Crosse County, the city works to reconnect out-of-town individuals to their support systems. Sampson disputed the notion that the city is doing nothing, stating that the city is actively coordinating multiple efforts.
- Chief Kudron (Police Department): Concentrated activity has been around parks, the library, and the church near Division Street. The department uses a tiered approach: assessment, engagement, and enforcement when necessary. The goal this year was to avoid closing parks. The NRO unit is in parks daily, building relationships. Enforcement is used for behaviors that cross the threshold, but the department recognizes that the courts are not the sole solution.
- Dan Trussoni (Parks, Recreation, and Forestry): The department faces daily challenges: cleaning abandoned encampments, dealing with clogged bathrooms (75 instances at Riverside Park alone this year, leading to removal of paper towels), theft of supplies, and refunding shelter reservations due to intoxicated or belligerent individuals. Operational changes include adjusting park hours (11 p.m. to 9 p.m.) and installing a split rail fence at Cameron Park. Trussoni emphasized that parks cannot solve homelessness through operations alone and need resources and support.
- Jessica Skemp (Municipal Judge): Approximately 20-30% of individuals ordered to appear in municipal court have no permanent address. The vast majority do not appear, leading to default judgments and accumulating fines that create financial and psychological barriers. For those who do appear, the court attempts to structure judgments that promote accountability and connect individuals to services. The court participates in the La Crosse Police Department's Operation Clean Slate program to quash warrants for those demonstrating progress.
- Andrea Trane (Planning): Housing developments include the Collective on Fourth (62 units, 12 set aside for unsheltered, 11 of 12 renewing leases), 12 ARPA-funded units through Couleecap, and planned units at Karuna (though goals may not be met). The Pathways Held Leases program, funded by a $100,000 Mayo Clinic grant, is expected to sign four leases this month. Two Low-Income Housing Tax Credit projects were awarded: redevelopment of Lincoln Middle School (51 units, 25 with rental assistance) and another project. The city is exploring partnerships with developers using TIF to include held leases. Trane noted that the city cannot build housing alone and needs partnership with other municipalities, as many unhoused individuals come from outside La Crosse.
- Jay Odegaard (Director of Public Works): Odegaard stressed that the daily problems on the ground are real and often lost in debates about criminalization. He cited examples: the city received no responses to an RFP to run Houska Park, and had to beg Julie McDermott to run the O'Connell Lodge. He described the burden on staff: cleaning human feces from bathrooms, removing 33 propane tanks from floodwaters, and dealing with federal and state fines for debris entering waterways. He urged the council to focus on practical solutions rather than ideological arguments.
Discussion & Key Outcomes
- Council Member Janssen asked what resources are needed; Odegaard replied that the answer is not financial resources but a clear focus on the daily problems. Council Member Padesky requested a breakdown of costs associated with these efforts, especially for the upcoming budget. Council Member Goggin and others emphasized the need for honest, blunt conversations and for the public to understand the full scope of the issue. Council Member Northwood noted that December 21 is National Homeless Persons Memorial Day, and that people die every year from homelessness in La Crosse.
- Mayor Washington-Spivey stated that the city is not doing nothing and that both sides—those feeling unsafe and those seeking compassion—are valid. She announced that a Pathways Home update will be presented on September 8, 2026, with the county and city. The meeting concluded with a call for continued conversation and for other municipalities to step up.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes or resolutions were taken. The meeting was informational and exploratory.
- Council members expressed a desire for continued dialogue, more detailed cost data, and a focus on evidence-based solutions (housing + services) as outlined in Pathways Home.
- A Pathways Home update is scheduled for September 8, 2026.
- The mayor will distribute the library director's written report on the library's role in the coordinated response to homelessness.
Meeting Transcript
So first I'll start by saying uh every two weeks we have an unsheltered meeting. This meeting allows for several different departments to come together to talk about things that they are experiencing their different departments, what are their staff seeing, um, essentially strata strategize and excuse me in problem solving around this particular issue. So I thought it would be important for council members to hear from staff what we're doing and um really kind of have an open discussion amongst council to figure out what are some other things that we can either be looking at doing or or how we're gonna work together to address the issue that's in our community. So the way that I have this meeting set up, obviously I'm here uh do some opening remarks. We'll have council members, which they'll have two minutes to make remarks, and in their remarks, they're gonna talk about what they're seeing and hearing from their constituents, their community, etc. Or, you know, if you have other questions, just feel free to put those out there as well. Then I have Mike here from the state who's going to just speak from a state perspective of uh around the situation of homelessness, and then we will open it up to city staff and city staff, they know who they are. I'll call them up and they'll kind of speak to the work that we're doing in the city. And then um I'll leave it for council members to um ask questions and just have an open discussion. Uh and then we will adjourn the meeting. Sounds good. All right. So we'll start with district one first and just kind of go in order. So if you're ready, council president. Thank you, Mayor. So I represent the north side, upper north side, and the last time there was an observed uh collection of unsheltered was almost two years ago. And that was the last time that that was a large collection of individuals was in October of that year. And uh the Wisconsin DOT was has jurisdiction over the area where they had been um residing. And they cleared that area, and since that time I've not seen any further activities of that nature. So that is by the welcome sign that is um as you enter from the north, and that area next to the river has been clear. Um additionally, we have had occasions where the O'Connell Lodge and the Quality Inn do have housing options for individuals. Um I have not heard any reports in regard to those individuals. Um the comfort in, I know is on Moore Street, and they have had occasional concerns about um how many um not customers are are using their um continental breakfast. So I'm assuming that might still be a small issue, but I've not heard anything recently. There was a property that was occupied by a number of individuals, and we have successfully over a year ago empty that home and went up for sale and is now occupied by a single person. And that so the same issue is not occurring in that house. Since sometimes we talk about park situations, and that is one that is in my district. Badger Hickey Park is behind Bridgeville Plaza, in case you aren't familiar. And we have other issues. I don't want to be naive, but they aren't necessarily attributed to the unsheltered or any other activities. Thank you. Thank you. Councilmember God. Thank you. And um trying to represent the entire city as well. We I'm also the executive director at the Harry Gielson Senior Center, which sits on the Bud Hendrickson Trail. And we experience different levels of things from people coming in asking for money from people badgering the seniors as they're getting in another cars, things like that. So that's very concerning to me, where I have to um navigate how they can be safe in the building, how they can be safe going in and out of the building. So that's that's a big concern for us. And while it's not attributed directly to the homeless unsheltered, it is um attributed to the activities that go around the people that prey on the homeless and unsheltered. Um recently I've come across some activity in um Luth Park, which is not my district, but somewhere where I've just spent some time. And um I'm I'm just concerned with the umtick, if you will. I just want the city of La Crosse and the residents of district two to know that I am listening and I'm trying to do and mitigate what I can. And we're not, I hope that we're not here to fix the blame, but we're here to fix some so solutions, and we're not we're willing to dig deeper into the surface questions. Thank you. Thank you, Councilmember Jansen. I represent district three, which is basically La Crosse Street going north to the railroad tracks on the north side. Obviously, that district has changed over the years, the boundaries, but um it's it's hard to strictly just talk regarding district three um because as a self-employed person, I'm all over the city throughout the day. I am in Stoddard, I am in on Alaska, and so um I hear many things, and I have other hats that I wear um in this community. What I have seen um is various levels of of behavior issues that have gone on throughout the city.
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