Some on S.L. City Council join effort to close Rio Grande Street now

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SALT LAKE CITY — Though House Speaker Greg Hughes and Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski shook hands Tuesday after their on-air spat over Operation Rio Grande, Hughes has made it clear he has no plans to relent his public pressure on the mayor until he gets his way.

And some City Council members are taking his side — though others aren't so sure Biskupski should exercise her executive power to close Rio Grande Street like Hughes wants just yet, at least until they can get more information.

Hughes again took to the airwaves Wednesday morning to criticize the mayor for not acting fast enough to close a portion of Rio Grande Street and create a "safe space" where homeless people could go for services and be shielded from drug traffickers.

He says it's needed now because drug dealers are already returning to Rio Grande Street.

"This next stage has been part of the process and discussed since April, and the idea that we have stalled and this operation has stopped, I honestly cannot get my head around it. And I'm not going to be quiet about it," Hughes said on KSL's "The Doug Wright Show" Wednesday morning.

But Biskupski isn't budging.

She said in a phone interview Wednesday "nothing has changed for me today" and she still wants the issue to play out in a three-week public process with the City Council.

"I have no doubt (Hughes) will continue to put pressure on me in multiple ways," Biskupski said. "There is a lot the speaker can do to us as a city if he chooses to, but I have constituents I have to be responsible to and I'm keeping in mind that the community has very clearly asked for transparency and public process."

Hughes, on the other hand, said he's "happy" to continue to talk on the radio and to "anybody who will listen" about Biskupski's need to use her executive power to close the street temporarily now until a more permanent closure can be made during a special legislative session on Sept. 20.

"Unless we create that safe space and some place where people can reasonably go, you will see the cost of law enforcement rise beyond this ($67 million) budget that people already think is large and you will see the crime return. I will report it and I will explain it every single day until we get that safe space," Hughes said.

Councilman Derek Kitchen — whose district encompasses the Rio Grande area — joined that chorus, also calling into the "Doug Wright Show" on Wednesday.

"It's starting to get a little bit old, to have to arm twist the mayor to do the right thing," Kitchen said.

The councilman pointed to other stakeholders, including Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, business owners and homeless-service providers who are supportive of closing the street now, calling Biskupski the "outlier" on the issue.

"It seems like Mayor Biskupski is the only one getting in the way on this," Kitchen said.

City Councilmen James Rogers and Charlie Luke said they're also supportive of the mayor closing the street now rather than later.

"We can still continue on with the formal process of closing the street for the long term, but I think in the mean time it does make sense for the mayor to move immediately," Luke said, though acknowledging that the rules and programming for the space still need to be sorted out.

"There are still a lot of questions that do need to be answered, but I think those questions can be answered while the street is closed," Luke continued.

Rogers said he's not supportive of the area becoming a "camp," but he still urged Biskupski to close the street now.

"If she could do it tomorrow, I would do it, and then we can come back and talk about it," Rogers said.

But at least two other council members, Erin Mendenhall and Andrew Johnston, said they're not sure yet whether closing the street now would be the right move.

"I don't think the council has enough information," Mendenhall said. She called Hughes' and Cox's presentation to the City Council Tuesday "compelling," but it only contained "anecdotal" reasons to close the street now and no data.

"There aren't enough details for me to say, 'Yeah, she should pull that trigger now.' I don't know," Mendenhall said.

There are still a lot of questions that do need to be answered, but I think those questions can be answered while the street is closed.

–City Councilmen Charlie Luke

Noting that it's clear that all members of the City Council aren't yet on the same page, Biskupski said "I think the public process will help them decide" what path the city should take.

"What I don't want to have happen is that we do something quickly that could put at risk this desire to create this safe space for over two years," Biskupski said. "The council needs to make their voices heard and decide whether this is the right thing for our city."

Biskupski added that though the speaker says the issue is so urgent it can't wait a few more weeks, she disagrees, noting that the plan was to close the street after the Sept. 20 special session.

"Now all of a sudden that path of 21 days is too long for the speaker, and I just do not feel like it is too long," the mayor said.

Jean Hill, Catholic Community Services' government liaison, said her organization wants to stay out of the "politics" between Hughes and Biskupski, but "whatever happens we've already indicated our willingness to be part of it" and "we're ready to do what we need to do as soon as that space becomes available."

Hill noted, however, that "we agree something needs to be done with the street to stop the drive-through drug trade."

"I think there is legitimate concern that the longer this takes, the more the weather changes and the less we can do with that space," she said.