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Supervisors weigh $100,000 emergency request for Shelter House, agree to RFP plus possible $50,000 allocation
Summary
Shelter House asked the board for $100,000 to stabilize operations; supervisors agreed to proceed with an RFP for previously budgeted housing/food funds, request city cost share, and consider up to $50,000 from the county's emergency flex funds to cover a winter‑shelter shortfall.
Chrissy Cangonelli, executive director of Shelter House, asked the Board of Supervisors on Sept. 17 for an emergency operational allocation of $100,000 to stabilize the agency as it prepared to open winter shelter. Supervisors had earlier budgeted $200,000 for community needs split equally between food insecurity and housing assistance and had planned an RFP process. Given Shelter House’s immediate needs, several supervisors proposed modifying the approach while keeping the RFP process for equitable access by other providers.
Chrissy said the agency could open winter shelter two weeks earlier than planned but still needed staffing and training time; her budget showed the shortfall for the two‑week early opening at $75,793. "We are in the process of posting the positions. We don't keep these individual staff on hire on staff that we need to also be able to cover the evening and overnights at winter shelter," she said.
Supervisors agreed to two near‑term steps: (1) proceed with the planned RFP for the $200,000 as originally advertised to allow equitable applications, and (2) ask the city of Iowa City whether it can share half of the $75,793 winter‑shelter gap so the county could consider using up to $50,000 from its emergency flex fund to cover the remainder and allow Shelter House to open earlier. Chair directed county staff to send the city a prompt request for its contribution so a county allocation decision can be made quickly.
Several supervisors emphasized concerns about process fairness and the need to favour agencies with proven operations; one supervisor urged Shelter House to request the full amount from the board if needed. No funding was released at the work session; staff will return with a city response and any formal allocation for board action.
