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San Diego City Council voted 7-2 late Monday to postpone its vote on the proposed mega-shelter lease until at least next Tuesday.
A City Council majority – excluding Councilmembers Kent Lee and Vivian Moreno – voted to have city attorneys and officials work on lease revisions and analyses in hopes that they can get that work done by next Tuesday at 10 a.m. It’s not certain they will.
Senior Deputy City Attorney Kevin Reisch acknowledged he’s unsure they can meet that deadline and Steve Cushman, Mayor Todd Gloria’s chief mega-shelter negotiator, asked councilmembers to send the mayor’s team more specific directions to clear up confusion.
The final motion approved by the City Council after 11 p.m. also called for a state of emergency declaration on homelessness during a July 31 special meeting, presumably the City Council’s last meeting before its month-long August recess.
It’s unclear if Douglas Hamm, the owner of the Middletown warehouse, will be willing to hang on if the lease deal isn’t done before the City Council’s August recess.
The motion, first introduced by Council President Sean Elo-Rivera after two hours of public comments, also directed city staff to prepare a short-term action plan on the crisis – and to address the impending loss of hundreds of existing shelter beds – to present to the City Council in early September.
The hiccups and beefs: Multiple councilmembers said they felt uncomfortable with the proposed 30-year lease deal. Among their concerns: Councilmembers Henry Foster III, Jennifer Campbell and others were upset that the City Attorney’s Office didn’t get the chance to do a line-by-line analysis of the lease. Lee criticized the updated lease rates and questioned the sustainability of the hefty operational costs expected along with the new shelter. Councilmember Marni von Wilpert zeroed in on uncertainties surrounding building upgrades and risks for the city.
What homeless and formerly homeless San Diegans think: Our Lisa Halverstadt and Emily Ito asked homeless and formerly homeless San Diegans to weigh in on the mega-shelter proposal. The bottom line: Most of the two dozen who spoke with Voice of San Diego have major concerns about such a large shelter.
Related: Will it truly be a 1,000-bed shelter? When pressed Monday night, the city’s homelessness point person acknowledged that the proposed mega-shelter site can accommodate 1,000 beds but the final plans will be set when – or if – the project is approved.
And when asked whether the San Diego Housing Commission would be open to operating the mega-shelter, the housing agency’s CEO said she thinks the services, amenities and security necessary to make the shelter a success would likely translate into fewer beds at the facility. (As Halverstadt reported last week, the CEO of the Regional Task Force on Homelessness has a similar take.)
Excellent content
How much is ol Steveo Cushman making on this shaft to the taxpayers?
Excelente conteúdo