Council reviews inventory of homelessness programs, staff to send survey for fast feedback

Speaker 1 opened a brief miscellaneous business item by moving a homelessness update earlier in the agenda and urging the council to focus on actionable solutions rather than criticism. "We have to walk the talk, and that means we need dollars," Speaker 1 said as a reminder that plans require funding.

Speaker 2 — who summarized the city's inventory of programs and funding — told the council the staff survey would be emailed tomorrow and asked members to respond quickly so staff can "crush" the feedback and return with recommendations. Speaker 2 listed ongoing allocations and partners the city is using to address housing instability, noting multi‑year commitments and partnerships with regional nonprofits and state programs.

Among the items cited at the meeting were recurring allocations described in staff remarks: roughly $150,000 annually for homestead/rental assistance, a $150,000 annual rental/utility assistance program, and roughly $15,000 per year for food insecurity programming over a three‑year span. Speaker 2 also described a recent "level up" allocation (about $315,000 per year over three years) and annual amounts identified for acquisition and rehab of a property referred to in the meeting as the “White House” (staff said $50,000 and $150,000 for acquisition/rehab and ongoing annual funding). Opiate settlement funds and other grant sources were also listed during the remarks; staff noted those figures as provided at the meeting.

Councilmembers emphasized urgency given winter conditions and discussed short‑term uses of contingency or leftover funds if larger shelter projects are not immediately feasible. The council agreed to reconvene on the homelessness item after members review the survey responses, and staff said they would bring back a more detailed packet and cost breakdown for council consideration.