Business clears homeless camp in east Springfield, Mo.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - A business began clearing a homeless camp in east Springfield.

The homeless camp on East Kearney spreads across 15 acres. Lurvey Properties owns the land.

Owners say that the camp created an unsafe environment for those who have lived and worked in the area for decades. The camp has been filled with trash, makeshift structures, syringes, and even a Molotov cocktail. Crews cleared the area of people. They can begin getting rid of all the garbage and debris. Some of the former residents remain hidden around the camp.

“They’re not supposed to be here, but to them, it’s their home,” said assistant to the property owner, Macie Warner. “So like yesterday, we encountered a guy, and he was not friendly at all, got pretty aggressive towards us. And we had to call the cops to come back and get them and get them out of here. But we’ve been told by homeless that they’ve been stashing them back here that we can’t see them, and they’re hiding them.”

They estimate that the clean-up process could take anywhere from weeks to months to get done. The price tag could top $10,000.

Lurvey Properties has had companies come in to estimate the cost of cleaning the 15-acre area. It will cost at least $10,000.

“That’s kind of a steep price, but for what it would do for the community, I think it would be really nice,” said Allie Crowell, another assistant to the property owner.

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