Council OKs $1.2M for Hless Relief

By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston

Monday night, the City Council approved a supplemental budget appropriation of $1.2M toward the City's unsheltered homeless emergency.  It appears from the staff report that these expenditures may be reimbursed from the City's CARES Act funds.  Here's the breakdown.

For cold-weather sheltering:  $30,000 to the Salem Warming Network, mostly to renovate the building at 2640 Portland Road NE. 

2640 Portland Road NE

To improve the situation at Wallace Marine and Cascades Gateway parks:  $84,600 for additional chemical toilets/hand-washing stations, $23,000 to install a water line, $67,000 for maintenance equipment, $6,300 for additional garbage service, $3,000 for weather-proof duct tape, sleeping bags, tents, etc., $50,000 for gift cards ("Cash for Trash") program, $14,000 to tow inoperable vehicles from the parks to the City's vehicle camps, and $86,540 for the vehicle camping program.  See details in the staff report here.  

The remainder of the $1.2M allocation (>half) is for unspecified "opportunities" ($120,00) and "sheltering options" ($733,780).  As the City uses the term here, "shelter" can include tent- and vehicle-camping.  HUD, however, does not consider tent- and vehicle-camping to be shelter because, among other things, they don't come with heat or running water, which means they're not "fit for human habitation."      

It's quite possible that not all these funds will be spent.  So far, the City's not been able to identify any suitable "land and/or buildings", or a campsite/shelter operator.  Not surprising, given it tried and failed just last year, before the pandemic hit.  See Brynelson, T. "Salem leaders decide to shelter homeless instead of setting up public camping."  (December 10, 2019, Salem Reporter.)  Below is the query the City sent area providers last month, in hope of finding a campsite/shelter operator:

Also on Monday night, Council "consolidated" and extended its unsheltered (but not its COVID) emergency declaration for a year to October 26, 2021, expanded the City Manager's emergency powers, approved the purchase and lease-back of the land under The ARCHES Project, and passed Councilor Nordyke's motion to "direct staff to present Council with a proposal to implement a mobile response unit for the city including funding options.  The proposal shall describe how a mobile response unit will fit in with other services and identify potential community partners to share costs."  The City Manager had previously committed to "work with the United Way on the United Way’s invitation to area organizations to explore what funding partnerships would be available" to support a mobile crisis unit.  See City Manager 11/4/20 update and "City to Buy Land Under ARCHES"  (5 November 2020).  Councilors Ausec, Nanke and Kaser were absent, Kaser having resigned November 2. 

There was some confusion on which emergency declarations the Council was consolidating/extending, leading the Statesman Journal to report (incorrectly) that Council had extended its suspension of the camping ban in Wallace Marine and Cascades Gateway parks.  See Woodworth, W.  "Salem Council approves 'urgent and critical' relief for homeless."  (9 November 2020, Statesman Journal.)  ("The council Monday voted to extend the emergency declaration until October 2021.  The emergency declaration lifted a ban on camping in Cascades Gateway Park and Wallace Marine Park. Hundreds have flocked to the parks in the ensuing months, and concerns over safety, crime impact and the lack of amenities have grown.")

However, it was Resolution 2020-18, passed during an emergency session on March 17, 2020, that declared a C19 emergency, banned loitering and gatherings in public spaces, and opened the two parks to camping in unimproved areas through April 28. See "Sit-Lie Meets COVID-19."  The C19  emergency declaration was initially set to expire at the end of April.  It was extended to June 30, and later to the end of August.  See "City Extends de facto Sit-Lie Ban to September"  (23 June 2020). On August 11, Council extended it to January 12, 2021.  See Woodworth, W. "Salem City Council votes to extend COVID-19 emergency declaration on gatherings, homeless."  (11 August 2020, Statesman Journal.)  The C19 declaration is still set to expire January 12, 2021, a couple of weeks before the annual Point-In-Time Homeless Count.  

11/11/20 update:  Harrell, S. "City provides additional $1.2 million to find new shelter locations, add water to homeless camps." (11 November 2020, Salem Reporter.)