Local volunteers press council for public-private warming shelter; officials point to existing city plan and committee review

Multiple speakers asked the council on Aug. 5 to support a community overnight warming shelter and a public-private partnership to keep residents safe during freezing temperatures. Members of a volunteer group called Building a Welcoming Watertown said they have submitted a proposal and want to open a joint public-private emergency warming shelter beginning in October when temperatures fall below freezing. “We still believe that if anyone in our community is in danger of freezing to death, that's on all of us,” said the Rev. Dr. Christopher Ross, who identified himself as pastor of First Congregational United Church of Christ and a member of the group. A member of the task force, Mayor Edstrom Fox (public commenter), told the council the group had been working with city officials and that the city’s existing warming/cooling shelter plan – Section 6.4 of the City of Watertown policy manual approved June 2024 – will be before the Public Safety and Welfare Committee for updates on Aug. 6. She said volunteers are ready and that 70 Watertown citizens are registered on the Wisconsin Emergency Assistance Volunteer Registry (WEAVR/Weaver). Opposition and questions came from other citizens. Margarita Haas (spelled in the record as “Hess” and identifying her address) urged council members not to use taxpayer funds for a new shelter, called for nonprofits or churches to host people on their properties, and said she believed the group’s proposal risked minimal public oversight. “These tax exempt organizations should house people in their large well manicured properties and homes,” she said. She also raised a possible conflict of interest and asked the mayor to recuse herself if she served on the task force. Why it matters: speakers described recent hypothermia incidents and near-misses this past winter and urged a local response before winter. Staff and the mayor noted an existing city plan will be updated by the Public Safety committee; volunteers requested a public-private partnership model and volunteer training. What the council did: no resolution or vote on a warming shelter occurred during the meeting. Council members were told the city warming/cooling plan will be considered by the Public Safety and Welfare Committee at its next meeting; volunteers asked council members to support the October timeline for opening a volunteer-run warming shelter.