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Community asks for update on city drop‑in day center and ‘dignity bus’; commissioners ask staff for timeline
Summary
Community advocates pressed the commission during public comment for details about a planned drop‑in day center off Old Moultrie Road and whether the city will acquire a ‘dignity bus’ with kennels for people’s pets. Commissioners asked staff to prepare an update at a future meeting.
During the public‑comment period on Jan. 27 several community advocates asked the commission for an update on a planned drop‑in day center for people experiencing homelessness and whether the city is pursuing a “dignity bus” model used elsewhere to provide basic services and temporary shelter for people and their pets.
Vicki Pepper of Community Advocates for Racial Equity (CARE) told commissioners the group is tracking the city’s plans for a drop‑in day center off Old Moultrie Road near State Road 207. Pepper said she understood phase 1 of the site was underway and that Dining With Dignity might begin operations at the site soon; she asked for a timeline for the mail room, showers and laundry services that the city had discussed as part of the first phase.
Pepper and other commenters also asked whether the city is exploring a dignity bus—an outfitted vehicle with kennel pods under a bus deck so that people can keep pets with them—and whether the city might coordinate such a resource with the county and charitable organizations. Commissioners asked staff to provide an update at a future meeting with project timelines, a fundraising status for phase 2 and details about safety and access for clients moving to the new site.
Assistant City Manager Reuben Franklin acknowledged the request and staff committed to returning with an update to ensure commissioners and the public have the same timeline information. No votes were taken on the matter at the Jan. 27 meeting.
