Chapel Hill's homeless population and downtown panhandling have become twin pillars amid the campaign intrigue in this year's municipal elections. In candidate forum after forum, office-seekers were asked their positions on the matters and what action they might take to address them.

Those are legitimate public policy concerns for a community. How it addresses the needs of the most unfortunate among us says much about the heart and soul of a place. And many have noted with more than a touch of irony that a town that prides itself on big-tent, progressive "Chapel Hill values" -- whatever that squishy phrasing might mean -- has little tolerance for those seeking to make a living from the streets based on the kind hearts or fear factors of passersby.

That's not to say that a community shouldn't have limitations on how beggars and drifters may interact with the public. The town does have some rules in place. But if you ask Chris Moran, executive director of the Interfaith Council, which provides temporary and emergency shelter services for homeless men and women, he'll tell you that the seemingly negative act of simply saying no to the pleas of an outstretched palm may be the kindest act of all.

If it's accompanied by a donation to services such as his organization provides and a kindly word of advice to the panhandler where to find those goods.

Such an approach is intended to break panhandlers of the habit of eating and living off the streets and to bring them "inside," where they can obtain the help, be it nutritional, addiction recovery or job placement, that they need to leave the streets once and for all.

It's good to have robust community discussions about such matters. Some of that took place at Monday's Chapel Hill Town Council meeting. Opponents to the proposed relocation of the Community House, the men's shelter in the 100 block of West Rosemary Street, to the 1300 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, stirred animated discussion. As that debate moves forward, let's keep it civil, and fact-oriented, so that the best decision on a prickly matter might be made.