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Helena staff to formalize voluntary registration for emergency shelters tied to United Ways HEPPS plan
Summary
City staff described a voluntary registration program to record and pre-inspect nonprofit and faith-based emergency shelter sites so the city can rapidly identify vetted locations when the United Ways Helena Emergency Shelter Activation Plan is triggered.
City staff described plans to formalize the citys informal inspections of nonprofit and faith-based sites that provide emergency shelter during extreme weather, establishing a voluntary registration process so the city and partners can quickly identify vetted locations when the Helena Emergency Shelter Activation Plan (HEPPS), led by United Way, triggers activation.
A staff presenter said the city has historically provided life-safety inspections and quick building-code reviews to community organizations; the new program would take that voluntary support, "put it in a more structured, registration program," and add the sites to permitting records so staff know where shelters are, how many people each can accommodate and who the contacts are.
Staff emphasized the program is voluntary and intended to create predictability and pre-vetting rather than substitute for building full-time shelter facilities. Commissioners asked whether short-term fire-code waivers or other temporary measures would be used; staff said they had not developed formal waiver policies but noted fire-watch options and the possibility of small funding to assist organizations (for detector or alarm upgrades) as short-term measures.
Staff said they have integrated a registration pathway into the permitting system and expected to have the application system available by the end of the week for organizations to register. United Way and COAD were cited as partners in the planning and table-top exercises that informed the approach.
