If you build it, they will come

Not a resident of Olympia, I withhold commenting on the city’s handling of its “homeless” crisis. However the publication of Paul Thompson’s letter gives an opportunity to second his cogent observations and note that he has hit the nail squarely on the head and also offer wonderment why these obvious evaluations don’t seem more widespread among Olympia’s residents.

The detrimental effect the current situation has on the city’s overall ambiance, not to mention its effect on local business, is predictable. As night follows day, the tax burden on businesses and residents must surely increase to sustain the “free” property for camping, housing and other services offered (and planned) by the city. This handling of the situation is quite simply unsustainable.

My wife and I no longer patronize downtown after dusk. Even during the daytime we phone our destination to ask about the situation in their area before we going to park, shop or dine. It’s the ordinary taxpayer, and in the end the city itself, which will suffer from the continued, city-enabled, deteriorating conditions. Supplying ever-expanding “free” programs for sufficient shelter, food, social services, housing opportunities, etc, will ultimately prove impossible to sustain. As word of Olympia’s largesse spreads, the end result will most certainly be an ever-increasing population descending upon the area to take advantage of the city’s programs.

This on-going fiasco can only bring to mind the very appropriate line from the movie “Field of Dreams:” “Build it and they will come.”