During the past several weeks, staff has been monitoring closely a growing amount of personal property being stored on the west side of the Monrovia Public Library, located near the intersection of Primrose Ave. and Palm Ave. In addition, Monrovia’s Homeless Outreach Team has been making weekly contact with the individuals who have congregated in the area in an effort to provide information regarding available housing and social services options.
As part of that outreach process, the City’s Homeless Outreach Team had been inquiring as to who owned the property being stored at the library, and were told routinely that it did not really belong to anyone. To that end, City personnel have routinely been marking the property with the required 72-hour advance notification asking that the owner of the property to move the items or the City would remove the property and store items at a City facility for a period of 90 days.
Recently, Officer Cindrich posted a 72-hour notice on the property located by the library, and when the 72-hour period elapsed on Feb. 20, no one had relocated or moved the items. The revelation was discovered by Police Agent Bartholomy and Police Officer Ortega, who had checked on the status of the property, determined that it had not been moved, and deemed it abandoned. Given that factor, Agent Bartholomy and Officer Ortega, along with our team from Public Works, removed a large amount of abandoned property, which has been processed and is now being stored at the Monrovia Police Department.
Many thanks to the Homeless Outreach Team, the Police Department staff, and the Public Works personnel for their efforts in addressing this particular issue. The City will continue working to balance the needs of all members of our community, and this particular example outlines the possibilities that exist when confronting issues in a holistic manner.
