City plans RFP, operator selection and summer opening window for residential care center; encampment decommissioning remains unresolved

City officials told the Budget and Special Projects Committee on April 2 that the residential care center at the Golf Course Suites property will be operated as a referral-based transitional living facility and that the city will issue a request for proposals for an operator in the coming week, with operator selection expected by May and operations anticipated by mid- to late summer.

The presenter — identified in the agenda as the senior adviser on homelessness or her designee — said the property is approved for 59 individual units, four to five of which can house families. Staff said the use is transitional/residential care rather than a low-barrier shelter and emphasized the center will not operate as a walk-up shelter or house violent criminals or registered sex offenders. Staff said the facility is intended as a short-term (roughly 90–120 days) housing and services bridge, with on-site case management, mental-health and housing navigation supports, 24/7 security and coordination of meals and medical referrals.

Staff said a formal RFP for an operator (with selection criteria that will require the awardee to be a member of Way Home for Tulsa, the local Continuum of Care) will be issued in the next five to 10 days. The presenter said the new RFP mirrors the previous solicitation with changes that make clear the operator must be part of the Continuum of Care and that the operator will be responsible for facility operations, participant intake, security oversight, case management and coordination with other providers. The prior RFPs drew limited responses; staff said they expect more interest from organizations experienced with transitional living models.

On financing, staff said city support for the facility will include $2.5 million in ARPA funds and roughly $4.2 million in opioid-settlement funds for a three-year operating window; the transcript-level discussion noted the ARPA appropriation must be expended by December 2026. Staff also said the property owner has been awarded Affordable Housing Trust Fund dollars for the physical conversion work. The presenter said arrangements for ongoing operating costs such as utilities and maintenance will be negotiated between the property owner and the selected operator and then set out in a contract between the operator and the city.

Staff also told the committee that a portion of the center’s rooms will be designated for encampment decommissioning — meaning that when outreach teams assess a particular encampment and identify individuals who meet the center’s entry criteria, those people could be referred there as part of a coordinated decommissioning. Staff said the precise percentage of rooms to be reserved for decommissioning will be determined with the selected operator and guided by data collected by outreach teams about the size and needs of encampments.

Council members pressed staff for specifics on referrals, length of stay and operational responsibilities. The presenter said referrals could come from outreach teams, shelters, hospitals or other providers; the intended stay length is typically 90 to 120 days but could be shorter; and the operator must have experience working with people experiencing homelessness. Councilor Hall Harper, whose item led the briefing, requested follow-up briefings on encampment-decommissioning policy and emphasized the need for coordination with outreach teams and with housing providers who move people from temporary settings into permanent housing.

Several council members asked for a role in the operator-selection process. Staff said panel membership and the review process were still being finalized and invited input from the council, particularly from the councilor whose district contains the property. Staff estimated the RFP will close three weeks after issuance, with selection by May and operational readiness by mid- to late summer if contracting proceeds on schedule.