MELBOURNE, Fla. — Despite the heat and humidity on Wednesday afternoon, drivers rode passed at least one person who was panhandling at the intersection of Strawbridge Avenue and U.S. 1.

The intersection is a popular spot for those seeking help from passersby. According to data released by Melbourne Police during a city council meeting Tuesday night, more than 110 of the more than 1,700 calls for service regarding panhandling over the past three years came from that corner.

It’s the second-most popular spot in the city, right behind the corner of Eau Gallie Boulevard and U.S. 1.

During Tuesday night’s 4.5-hour-plus council meeting, the city council had a wide-ranging conversation about homelessness and panhandling.

On the table is an ordinance that would prohibit exchanging goods or holding up signs asking for charity in and along roadways.

The panhandling ordinance will go forward for a first and second reading before it could be adopted as policy.

The ordinance might ease concerns, but the wording needs to address the root of the problem, too, according to South Brevard Sharing Center Executive Director Tara Pariso.

“We do have concerns because a lot of our folks are on the road,” Pariso said. “They’re walking, they’re riding their bikes. So, we want to see people safe. We also want to see people get the services that they do.”

City council members and others who spoke said they wanted to make sure that the focus wasn’t on penalizing those going through homelessness, but rather steer the focus on ways to help them so that panhandling isn’t as high of an incentive.

The goal is not to hand out more fines for people already going through a hard time, Mayor Paul Alfrey said.

“I think we do that combined with an educational program on giving and in coordination with street signs indicating where to donate,” Alfrey said. “Not to mention adding that to our city website.”

Some of those ideas, like the signs and website additions, should begin to roll out starting next week, he said.

One goal needs to be ensuring the community partners that exist are working together and that people who need the help are able to access those resources close to where they live, Alfrey said.

“If we can focus on making it easier for our residents to reach assistance that they need, it will streamline the process,” Alfrey said. “And again, what it does, is it brings out other community partners that we didn’t know that we had, like churches and some of the other groups.”

Much of the focus of the South Brevard Sharing Center, one of the city’s partners, is on preventing people from falling into the cycle of homelessness with resources such as Stephanie Thompson, a former police officer, who now works for the Sharing Center as its divergent specialist, Pariso said.

Not offering assistance at all is bad for everyone in the long run, she said.

“Because then that’s more support that they’re going to need,” Pariso said. “And that puts more burden on all of us partners and the community as a whole.” Pariso said.

City council members said the conversation Tuesday was a good start was a good start and that those sorts of dialogues should happen at least once a year.