Council: City has taken no action, vote on 'God Pods'

LACONIA — The city council has taken no action, nor voted to grant any approvals, on “God Pods,” city leaders say.

So-called God Pods were created by an independent group of community members who constructed a prototype, and are now forming a nonprofit organization in hopes to further their cause. The small shelters are meant to provide respite to people experiencing homelessness, and the group presented their idea to a subcommittee of the Human Relations Committee, a city-affiliated board. 

Members of the community group are members of the same church, and made the presentation to the committee last month. The temporary shelters, 5-by-8-feet, are intended to be used as transitional housing units for people without a home, the group says. 

The first prototype was apparently constructed last December. 

At a meeting of the city council on Sept. 8, City Manager Kirk Beattie said the city hadn’t taken any action, for or against, installation of the shelter pods.

“I’m going to ask the city manager, they are basically 'yes-no' questions and, depending on the answer, they may expand,” Ward 5 Councilor Steven Bogert said during the meeting. 

“This is based off of a meeting that happened Friday about the 'God Pods,' and I’ve had a series of people questioning. Because one of the locations was in Ward 5 that they were looking at, and therefore they are concerned because we’ve had three years in Ward 5 of illegal camping,” Bogert said at the Sept. 8 meeting. 

Bogert asked Beattie if councilors had asked him to look into implementing God Pods in the city, if any council-sponsored committees had worked on the question as an action item, if any city departments had done work on changing zoning regulations or any other item related to the pods, or if any outside committee had worked on the issue. 

Beattie answered "no" to every question except one.

“The Human Relations Committee has had conversations publicly regarding these,” he said.

Bogert noted council-sponsored committees are endorsed by the mayor, by his interpretation of the council rules, and asked Beattie if those committees are dissolved or expired when a mayor leaves office. Beattie said he hadn’t looked into the question but would convene with the city’s legal team and report back.

“I thank you, I do want to point out — because this has come up as transparency to where the public has thought that we do things behind closed doors — and I wanted to assure the public that this issue of God Pods has not been addressed by this council, has not been brought before this council and, therefore, there should be no action being taken by this council or through the direction of the City Manager’s Office and any action towards God Pods," Bogert said.

Mayor Charlie St. Clair said it’s better for people to talk about things in public than not, but the council hasn’t addressed the issue. 

“The council hasn’t talked about it, so it’s really just out there,” St. Clair said. 

“There have been letters to the editor that talk about the lack of transparency, especially of the Human Relations Committee and also of the city council,” Patrick Wood, chair of the Human Relations Committee, said during a public comment period at the Sept. 8 council meeting. “My reaction is twofold: It’s upsetting to see those; second, the people writing the letters, if they appeared once or twice before these meetings, they would see how transparent you all are — everything you do is done here.”

At a meeting of the Human Relations Committee subcommittee regarding homelessness on Sept. 11, Wood told members and those in the audience that the opinion of the city’s legal representation is the committee has the authority to continue, despite the mayoral transition.

The committee is interested in learning about the God Pod suggestion, but not solely, Wood said.

“It’s one among many different things to consider, and it’s only a part of the solution,” he said during the meeting.

Wood also said he’d like the council to consider making the Human Relations Committee permanent.

Committee member Matt Soza said that body was created about 26 years ago, and had persisted despite numerous transitions of the mayor and council.

“I think the time has come,” Carol Pierce, a committee member, said.

But at a meeting of the committee on Sept. 16, Richard Littlefield resigned as chair of the homelessness subcommittee, and committee members agreed to pause any action of the subcommittee until after Jan. 1.

"Every once in a while, you have to know when to walk away," he said. 

"I'm absolutely going to stay involved, yes," he said when asked if he'd remain a participant. 

Members of the committee suggested organizing a large forum to discuss homelessness broadly, which should include city and county leadership, input from individuals representing towns throughout the Lakes Region, organizations which work with the homeless population and possibly the state Legislature.

They'd like to organize such an event soon.