The Elgin City Council has approved a $2.5 million contract with ATI Restoration to demolish and clear the eight-acre homeless encampment known as “tent city.”
“It’s so much bigger than people (realize),” Councilmember Steve Thoren said at the Wednesday council meeting where the contract was approved. When he toured the area, he “couldn’t get over (its size),” he said.
The demolition and removal project poses “unbelievable areas of challenge,” Thoren said, not the least of which is access and topography.
The site is bordered by Metra train tracks to the west, the Fox River to the east and the Fox River Water Reclamation District to the north. There isn’t a direct access point so the contractor plans to build a temporary railroad crossing at North State Street, according to city documents.
The next step will be to create a haul road so trucks and other equipment can get in and out of the property, city officials said.
There are about 70 structures scattered along the area, some of which are located on steep inclines on the bank of the Fox River. The elevations can vary by as much as 30 feet, officials said.
“It’s really, really tough,” Councilman John Steffen. The property is hilly, inaccessible and dangerous and in some areas the inclines look like cliffs, he said.
The contractor is going to have to rig a rope system to get into some of those spots, Steffen said.
Beyond that, there are a lot of things to remove. In addition to the structures, some of which resemble tiny homes, there are piles of bicycles, pallets, construction materials and trash, officials said.
Another challenge will be removing biohazardous materials, like human feces and dangerous drugs, including fentanyl. Elgin fire officials have reported seeing drug paraphernalia. Specialized handling and disposal will be required, city officials said.
Cleanup crews must do most of the work by hand, sorting, labeling and loading materials into the trucks. Contractors will also prune and remove trees and brush and install fencing, officials said.
The demolition and clearance effort was triggered by two fires in December that exposed the safety issues for the people living in the encampment. While no one was killed, eight makeshift homes were destroyed.
In addition to leveling the cite, the city plans to relocate the homeless people living there into 50 hotel rooms for the rest of the winter while they work on finding permanent housing solutions.
This week, police and social workers were at the site to let the residents know what is planned and to obtain basic information, including the names, ages, contact information and needs of the people who will be moved.
Elgin Police Chief Ana Lalley said 36 tent city residents so far have agreed to move to the hotel.
The city plans to reach out to people living in other smaller camps to offer them the hotel rooms that aren’t filled, City Manager Rick Kozal said.
“It is our intent to make as much progress as we can in finding suitable shelter for the people in these encampments,” Kozal said.
Demolition will take about two months. Fencing will go up around the entire site, Kozal said, and there will be a zero-tolerance policy for anyone who attempts to move back to the area.
Lalley and other city officials have met with homeless advocates, hotel staff, and staff and parents at the Elgin Math and Science Academy Charter School, some of whom are concerned about the hotel’s proximity to the school grounds.
“It sounds like we’re heading in the right direction,” Elgin Mayor Dave Kaptain said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
