On Day Two of Operation Rio Grande, leaders reiterate that they’re in it for the long haul

Standing before a three-story climbing wall that has been as inaccessible as the most remote face in the Himalayas, House Speaker Greg Hughes gestured at the mammoth vacant interior once occupied by Dick’s Sporting Goods in The Gateway shopping mall.

“The goal is that we don‘t have a space like this,” Hughes told about 350 people assembled for a second-day update on a two-year effort to rid Salt Lake City’s Rio Grande district of rampant drug use and violence. ”That this is a vibrant and successful establishment. That’s what we need to see for this community, for our state.”

Leaders — including Hughes, Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski — were careful to add that Operation Rio Grande was by no means yet marked as a success, except to the extent that it had been brought about by what they characterized as unprecedented collaboration. 

The launch of a multi-agency law enforcement operation was the first phase of three, with treatment and employment to come for those experiencing homelessness and addiction near the 210 S. Rio Grande St. shelter.

But to members of the Pioneer Park Coalition — whose invitation drew many community members to Tuesday’s forum — the first phase is the culmination of a yearslong effort to bring attention to the open-air drug market and the harm it has done to businesses and the homeless people who rely on the area’s services.

“We are just so grateful, so grateful, that people finally believed what we were saying,” the coalition‘s Scott Howell said. ”I think it took that leadership of [Hughes] to finally say ‘Enough was enough.’”

McAdams said he and Hughes discussed Day One over a two-hour dinner Monday night at Caputo’s and Bruges Waffles & Frites, to the immediate north of Pioneer Park, where many homeless people camp and attract an associated drug trade.

“We felt safe,” said McAdams, who earlier this year stayed in the 210 S. Rio Grande St. shelter and witnessed the area‘s lawlessness firsthand. ”I know that we have a long way to go, that the problems aren‘t one and done ... but last night, we felt safe.”

Police officials said Tuesday that where it was once a matter of seconds to spot drug transactions in the Rio Grande area, such open dealings had become scarce. Agencies were tracking the drug activity as it spidered into the surrounding area — an inevitable and expected result of the crackdown.

In an afternoon briefing at the state Capitol, Public Safety Commissioner Keith Squires said that 87 arrests were made in a 24-hour period, without any use of force.

Thirty-three had been set free from Salt Lake County jail as of Tuesday afternoon, Squires said.

“We are holding those who have historically been released,” he said.

Christian Hartshorn, a sophomore at the University of Utah and a member of Students for a Democratic Society, was one of a handful of protesters who held up signs at the back of the forum audience — among them “Homelessness is not a crime” and ”Shame on Jackie.”

“I just see a lot of arrests,” he said. ”What they talked about up there is that they wanted to get people into houses and employment. You don‘t do that through arrests. They were talking about [a treatment] phase, that that’s going to happen, and I have my doubts.”

Biskupski acknowledged the signs during her short speech.

“We are providing those very necessary and needed services for people who are experiencing homelessness, who have substance-use disorders, and that work will continue — and not only continue, but is being ramped up,” she said.

Salt Lake City police Chief Mike Brown said the department’s eight social workers and 10 more provided by the state also connected 25 people with services. Another 60 people walked in and received help at the Community Connection Center at 511 W. 200 South.

Social work manager Lana Dalton said some wanted access to detox beds, while others needed identification, or use of a telephone.

No new treatment beds are currently available, but 37 are expected to come online within three weeks, with up to 200 hoped for by spring.

Downtown Community Council Chairman D. Christian Harrison said after the forum that he was heartened by a level of participation and involvement at all levels that’s been “a long time coming.”

“That being said, a parade of important people is not the same thing as success, and I‘m eager to see — and I’m rooting for them to be successful,” he said. ”I’m a big believer in Reagan’s dictum, ’Trust but verify.’ Will they stick around for the two years? Will they keep their promise to close the campus on Rio Grande in June of 2019. Will they hold communities accountable who have literally shuffled their burden onto Salt Lake City? Will they hold Draper accountable? Will they hold Layton accountable? Will they hold Magna and West Valley City and Provo accountable?”

Daily cleanups from the Salt Lake County Health Department are scheduled to begin Wednesday, and identification cards will be issued Friday after no mention during Monday’s operation rollout.

Hughes, an advocate for an identification system that he hopes will soon include a biometric component, said possession of ”services coordination cards” wouldn’t be a condition of receiving services in the area — though that is the ultimate goal.

And where identification cards one day might be widely issued and serve as state IDs to many in need of identification, they initially will only be provided to those released from jail, Hughes said.