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Wausau committee begins contract negotiations with Bridge Street Mission on year‑round emergency shelter; moves to closed session
Summary
After public comment raising nondiscrimination concerns, the committee voted to go into closed session to negotiate contract terms with Bridge Street Mission to operate a year-round emergency shelter at 325 North First Avenue; no contract was approved in open session.
The Wausau Finance Committee on June 24 began deliberations over a proposal from Bridge Street Mission to operate a year-round emergency shelter at 325 North First Avenue and voted to enter closed session to negotiate contract terms.
A member of the public, Sandy Kelch, urged the committee not to allocate public funds to Bridge Street Mission, citing concerns that the organization “openly discriminates against LGBTQ individuals” and warning against potential religious coercion in services. Kelch said public funds should support shelters that do not exclude people based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
City staff said the city had issued two request-for-proposal (RFP) rounds for shelter services. After the first round produced a proposal that did not meet the request, a second RFP drew a single responsive proposal from Bridge Street Mission. Staff said portions of the Bridge Street Mission proposal in the packet were redacted for financial or negotiable elements and that staff recommended discussing contract negotiations in closed session to avoid hampering bargaining positions.
The police chief (speaking in support of the shelter option) described current interim shelter operations being hosted in a church basement and praised staff running that operation, noting 54 individuals used the overnight shelter on one recent night. The chief and staff told the committee that any city contract would include nondiscrimination language requiring shelter beds and services be available to all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. The chief also said a circulating claim that Bridge Street Mission would require drug tests for people seeking shelter was false for emergency shelter services (the chief said testing applies only to participants in the faith-based transitional program).
Bridge Street Mission director Craig Vinson spoke about his organization’s services, including an expanded outreach/day center, a men's transitional recovery program and a forthcoming women's recovery center. Vinson described a tiered volunteer model and said higher‑contact volunteer roles involve additional screening; he said general meal-service volunteers have no faith or lifestyle screening.
Alder comments reflected a mix of support for quickly establishing shelter capacity before December 31 (when interim, police-run operations end) and concerns about long-term county/city planning and volunteer/staffing practices. Alders discussed pursuing a joint city–county strategic plan for homelessness; staff said that work is underway with a deadline in early 2026 for a strategic plan.
Alder Hanky (moved wording read by motion) moved to go into closed session under Wisconsin law to deliberate or negotiate a contract; Alder Tierney seconded. The committee voted to go into closed session pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes § 19.85(1)(b) for bargaining reasons. The committee said any action resulting from closed session would be reported in open session.
