City staff ask council to approve amendment to fund Casa De Carmen navigation center and shelter operations

City staff recommended the Oxnard City Council approve an amendment to Agreement A-8462 to provide financial support for construction and operation of a permanent year-round shelter and a 110‑bed navigation center at Casa De Carmen, a mixed-use project at 241 West Second Street.

"For the purpose of this discussion, staff proposes an amendment to Agreement A-8462," Housing Department staff member David Metchus told the council. He said the amendment would add an operations budget for fiscal year 2025–26, a one-time payment for furniture, fixtures, equipment and moving costs, and updates to payment timing and ongoing cost‑sharing between the city and Ventura County.

The amendment would cover navigation center and shelter operating costs for fiscal year 2025–26 totaling $3,271,407.75, not including a $63,000 outdoor trailer and any contingencies in the shelter operating agreement with Mercy House. The staff recommendation treats the total as shared roughly 50/50: the city’s proposed obligation is $1,635,703.88 from the general fund and the county’s share is $1,635,703.87, according to Metchus.

The Casa De Carmen project is a five‑story mixed‑use development at the corner of Second and B streets that includes a ground‑floor navigation center, a 110‑bed navigation center and 56 permanent supportive housing units. According to Metchus, Oxnard and Ventura County originally approved Agreement A-8462 on May 17, 2022, to share capital and operating costs; construction began in June 2022 and is estimated to finish in summer 2025.

Key elements of the proposed amendment include: - Annual operating budget for the navigation center and shelter for FY2025–26, with a provision to allow an annual May adjustment for inflation using the average of the prior 12 months’ Consumer Price Index for Los Angeles and Long Beach (all urban consumers) by memorandum rather than formal amendment. - Updated payment frequency and timing from the county to the city and a continuing shared‑cost commitment for operations. - Performance‑based goals for the shelter operator tied to invoice payments. Metchus said, "Should fewer than four of the following five goals be attained, invoice payments will be reduced by 5%." The five goals are: facilitating exits to permanent housing or other positive destinations for at least 30% of shelter residents; developing housing plans within 30 days for residents who stay at least 30 days; maintaining an average length of stay of 180 days or less for non‑Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) eligible clients entering on or after July 1, 2025; maintaining a minimum occupancy rate of 90% (with exceptions for county referrals or reserved beds); and entering clients into the Coordinated Entry System within one week for those who stay at least one week.

Metchus noted that per Section 2(a) of the original agreement, annual navigation center and shelter operating budgets and each party’s apportionment must be approved by their respective governing bodies; if either party’s governing body does not approve both the annual proposed budget and the apportionment, the agreement would automatically terminate and neither party would have further obligations under it.

The county Board of Supervisors is scheduled to consider the amendment to Agreement A-8462 on June 24, 2025. The separate shelter operating agreement with Mercy House is scheduled for the Oxnard City Council agenda on June 17, 2025.

Staff recommended that the council authorize the mayor to execute the amendment presented. The transcript of the presentation does not record a council vote on the recommendation.