Santa Fe council approves Urban Alchemy contracts, ends Pete’s Place lease after heated public comment

The Santa Fe Governing Body on June 3 approved a four‑year, $7,948,133.59 street‑outreach and community‑based public safety contract with Urban Alchemy and voted to terminate the city lease with Interfaith Community Shelter (Pete’s Place) at 2801 Cerrillos Road. The council also approved a separate emergency, 12‑month contract that will provide $1.5 million to fund low‑barrier, 24‑hour shelter operations at the same site through July 31, 2026.

City staff framed the measures as an immediate response to escalating public‑safety and public‑health conditions around the shelter and the Harrison/Cerrillos corridor. "We are facing an untenable moment," Henry Hammond Paul, director of Community Health and Safety, told the council, citing large increases in 911 calls, overdoses and illegal dumping in the area. He said the city lacks sufficient shelter capacity and urged a combined strategy of outreach, short‑term shelter stabilization and longer‑term microcommunity sites.

The actions follow extensive public comment: several hundred people attended the special meeting and scores of speakers testified for and against the contracts and the lease termination. Supporters of Pete’s Place — volunteers, longtime donors and several service providers who operate on site — urged the council to keep the Interfaith Community Shelter operating and to invest in locally rooted solutions. "The Interfaith Shelter has provided critical services in this city for many years," Interfaith Executive Director Karina Lopez said during public comment. Opponents and nearby business owners pressed the council to take…