Ukiah council reviews Building Bridges shelter report; approves fee, grant and parks measures

The Ukiah City Council on March 19 received the latest operational report on Redwood Community Services’ Building Bridges homeless resource center and approved a bundle of administrative actions including an update to electric utility fixed fees, submission of a CDBG program‑income application, introduction of higher business license processing fees and acceptance of a parks gap analysis.

Community Development Director Craig Schlatter told the council the item grew from condition of approval No. 15 associated with the shelter’s original use permit and from later state law changes. “Condition of approval number 15 … the director’s report shall include a record of any complaints received from the public or shelter occupants,” Schlatter said, explaining the city established a recurring reporting template to track complaints, police and fire/EMS calls, program manual updates and site visits.

Nut graf: The discussion put local homelessness services and public‑safety impacts at the center of the meeting. City staff and Redwood Community Services (RCS) presented operational details — including a recent site visit after an uptick in complaints — and described how staffing shortages at the non‑profit correlated with more people congregating outside the facility and with higher UPD calls. Council approved several staff recommendations that finance and planning officials said will help align fees and grant submittals with current costs and regulatory requirements.

Shelter operations, calls and services

Schlatter summarized the city’s monitoring framework and said the tenth reporting period (02/06/2024–02/06/2025) recorded 206 police calls to the site and 59 fire/EMS responses. He said the city conducted a site visit after receiving more complaints than usual and…