Finance committee directs staff to draft $762,900 legislation to renovate St. Vincent de Paul sobering center; funding to come from Bartlett fund balance

The Assembly Finance Committee on Sept. 3 directed staff to prepare legislation to appropriate $762,900 to renovate Saint Vincent de Paul’s Teal Street facility for long-term use by the community sobering center, and asked staff to negotiate a long-term lease for the space. The committee specified the funding source as Bartlett Regional Hospital fund balance; the motion passed on roll call, 6–2.

Committee members and staff discussed three paths for addressing the sobering center’s facility needs: (1) the city directly funding renovation at St. Vincent de Paul (estimated in staff materials at about $600,763 for the construction project), (2) seeking a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to cover renovation and using hospital space on a short-term basis (staff estimated about $100,000 to convert the hospital’s Rainforest Recovery Center space), or (3) convening a joint meeting with the hospital board to negotiate a shared approach. Staff said the city could also consider using opioid-settlement funds; packet figures…