Committee moves to closed session to negotiate potential contract with Bridge Street Mission for year‑round shelter

The Wausau Finance Committee on June 24 voted to go into closed session to deliberate and negotiate possible contract terms with Bridge Street Mission to operate a year‑round emergency shelter at 325 North First Avenue, following public comment and extended committee discussion about inclusivity, facility capacity, volunteer and staffing policies, and timeline concerns.

A public speaker, Sandy Kelch, urged the committee not to use public funds for an organization she said "openly discriminates against LGBTQ individuals," and warned about risks of religious coercion. Chief Barnes (Police Chief) described the operational need for shelter services and said the city published two request-for-proposal (RFP) rounds; the first yielded a response that did not meet the requested shelter-service scope and the second yielded a single responsive proposal from Bridge Street Mission. The chief said portions of Bridge Street Mission’s full proposal — including some financial elements — were omitted from the public packet because…