Mayor Chris Branscum was attacked on Aug. 22 by an alleged homeless person and speaks on how he fears for other older residents in the region. Photo courtesy of the City of Marysville

MARYSVILLE, CA (MPG) - Marysville Mayor Chris Branscum is frightened for older adults in town.

The mayor made it clear at the Sept. 3 regular City Council meeting that an added agenda item regarding “difficulties presented by the homeless population in the city of Marysville” was up for discussion, not action.

“I don’t think it is any secret that while waiting with Councilman (Don) Belza, Chief (Christian) Sachs and two members of Congressman Doug LaMalfa’s staff waiting for him to show up on the corner of Fifth and D, all of the sudden, I get sucker punched in the back of the kidney,” Branscum said of the Aug. 22 event, adding that the councilman caught the perpetrator. “He knocked him down while he was still squirming and the chief took total control and it was all handled.”

After sharing about the attack, Branscum said he is even more concerned after hearing “someone else of my age, 75,” was attacked in Chinatown.

“I have a lot of friends in East Marysville; a lot of the ladies as old as me and older have expressed a lot of concern over time about picking up a prescription at Walgreens or CVS,” Branscum said.

The mayor continued, citing statistics regarding homeless persons and mental health and addiction.

“I say suffering from addiction because one of my boys passed away from addiction, so I am sympathetic to these folks,” Branscum said, adding that dealing with some homeless persons can be difficult. “Aside from a 72-hour hold, it takes a lot to happen beyond that with some of these folks.”

The mayor cited Councilman Belza’s recent comments during an interview regarding the recent Supreme Court Grants Pass decision, which allows city enforcement against public camping.

“It’s like a hornet’s nest; you go and hit it, and they are just going to scatter everywhere versus having a managed takedown of the problem,” the mayor said.

Branscum said that Police Chief Sachs and the city attorney “will report on the tools available to the city in the wake of the Grants Pass Decision.”

“The police force has been actively engaged, maybe stepping a little aggressive, which I don’t mind in dealing with this problem,” Branscum said, noting rumors regarding homeless persons transported from San Francisco to the Sacramento area.

The rumor is not false but rather a reality, according to Councilmember Stuart Smith Gilchrist.

“Yes, San Francisco Mayor (London) Breed is bussing them out,” Smith Gilchrist said, noting he brought up the matter at the last council meeting. “And we are going to see more.”

Noting “another angle,” Smith Gilchrist said, “in order to get out of the state prison system and see a probation officer, you must give your final destination, and some will choose the City of Marysville.”

Smith Gilchrist said part of the program also makes all services in Maryville available to released inmates, making the matter timely.

“We need to ramp this up because more people will be coming,” Smith Gilchrist said.