The homeless shelter also has appealed an order by the city’s Building and Standards Commission to close the men’s dorm, thrift store and furniture warehouse.
During testimony Wednesday from a Martha’s Kitchen board member, Judge Gordon G. Adams halted the proceedings because the Bell County Courthouse was closing for the day.
Testimony on Wednesday began at 1:30 p.m., and lasted roughly three and a half hours in the 169th District Court.
Last on the stand was Ray Severn, who was shown pictures of the insides of the buildings. They contained images of holes in the walls, sagging ceilings, and electrical and plumbing problems.
“I don’t know, I haven’t been in that area,” Severn said several times when the city’s attorney, Enid Wade of Naman, Howell, Smith & Lee of Waco, asked about conditions shown in the pictures.
The most heated moment of the proceedings came when Wade asked Severn about fire safety in the men’s dorm, specifically dealing with the fire escape, which inspectors have found to be unsafe.
“What are the residents suppose to do, jump out of the windows?” Ms. Wade asked.
Severn said residents don’t live on the third and fourth floors of the building, where the fire escape is located. The residents “can walk out of the front or back doors,” he said.
Wade asked Severn if there was crime in the shelter.
Severn said homeless people were “very, very tough to deal with.
“We call the police,” he said. “But we’ve had very few crimes actually committed at Martha’s Kitchen.”
During opening arguments, Ms. Wade said the shelter lacked substantial evidence for the restraining order, and that the commission had followed local statutes.
“In order to prevail in this case they’re going to have to show that there were illegalities in the commission’s decisions,” she said.
Attorneys Jack Crews and Daniel Cunningham, representing Martha’s Kitchen, argued the restraining order was necessary because of “equity” reasons.
If the shelter’s buildings are closed they won’t be able to sustain the other portions of the shelter, which would cause it to fold, they said.
“This is really about the city’s want to close these buildings,” Cunningham said. “It comes down to vested property rights.”
The defense attorneys and Judge Adams seemed displeased with the city for not providing a record of the events that took place on June 1, during the Building and Standards Commission meeting. Adams ordered the city to provide those records to the court.
Adams also said it was “awkward” that the city wants to close the buildings before an appeal, giving reason for granting a temporary injunction.
The first witness called Wednesday was George Highsmith of the Bell County Health District. Highsmith said he had been inspecting the shelter for food and sanitation issues for the last six years, mostly in the kitchen and food pantry.
“My most recent inspection was yesterday (Tuesday),” said Highsmith, who said he was asked to visit the site at the request of shelter officials, that day and on previous days.
Highsmith testified he didn’t think the men’s dorm was in unlivable conditions.
However, when Ms. Wade questioned his qualifications, he conceded he was qualified to perform “food prep” inspections only.
Martha’s Kitchen attorneys also called a structural engineer from Austin who testified he visited the buildings and found them to be structurally sound, although they needed some repair work.
Under questioning by Ms. Wade, the engineer said he couldn’t speak to plumbing or electrical issues.
Myra Stephens, a city code enforcement officer, was called to the stand by the defense, but Ms. Wade objected to her testimony, saying Stephens didn’t give testimony during the commission meeting, and only worked on the Martha’s Kitchen case during its early stages.
Adams sided with the city, and Stephens was asked to leave the witness stand.
Severn is expected to continue his testimony Monday when the hearing resumes at 3 p.m.
