Committee approves $2 million to expand non‑congregate sheltering; city to buy and install pallet shelter units

The Quality of Life Committee on Jan. 8 approved a $2,000,000 amendment to the general fund to pay for site planning, development and purchase of non‑congregate sheltering solutions, including pallet shelter units and related site work.

Councilor Garcia, who pulled the item for discussion, asked how the city would spend $2 million and whether the money was in addition to earlier reserve allocations for pallet shelters. Director Henry Hammond Paul, Community Health and Safety, said the funds will cover site feasibility studies, site preparation, project management and the purchase of additional pallet shelter units. He said previous efforts to buy property in 2023 fell through and the city shifted to expanding pallet shelter sites.

Nut graf: Committee members pressed for a cost breakdown and timetables because the funds must be expended by June 30, 2025. City staff described the proposal as a rapid expansion of a pilot program: the existing pallet shelter pilot at Christ Lutheran is installed and operated as a non‑congregate site, and the current request would scale the model to multiple sites.

Hammond Paul provided capacity and cost figures: the city’s shelter system has roughly 280 beds; the requested funds would enable purchase and deployment of shelter units intended to add space for about 150 people (the staff estimate described the expansion goal as moving from a 10‑unit pilot toward a 90‑unit total across sites). He said the units the city is procuring cost about $26,000 for a family‑sized unit and less for a single unit, and emphasized that purchasing units is only part of the cost: site grading, utility hookups and installation are significant expenses.

Councilor Garcia asked whether this allocation is "in addition to the $30,000,000" in city reserve funds previously used to support shelter purchases; staff explained that a one‑time prior allocation — described in committee discussion as a separate reserve commitment that included approximately $750,000 toward earlier unit purchases — did not cover all costs, in part because per‑unit prices have increased. Staff said prior pilot sites hold multiple occupants (Christ Lutheran was described as hosting 14 people and eight dogs across its pallet units) and that best practice is to limit a single pallet‑shelter site to 50 units or fewer.

The committee approved the motion, moved by Councilor Garcia and seconded by Councilor Faulkner, by unanimous roll call.

Ending: Staff committed to provide a detailed cost breakdown and to continue working with council members to ensure the funds are used to stand up sites and place people in them before the June 30, 2025 expenditure deadline.