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Residents and service providers press Knoxville council to raise warming-center threshold and fund shelters
Summary
At public forum and during council announcements, residents, volunteers and providers urged raising the warming-center activation threshold from 25F to 32F, called for expanded hours, recurring city funding, and improved transportation and shelter capacity after several recent cold-weather deaths were cited.
Dozens of speakers at Tuesday's Knoxville City Council meeting pressed elected officials to expand and better fund the city's warming-center network, arguing the current activation policy leaves people exposed during dangerous cold.
Councilmember Amelia Parker, who announced forthcoming resolutions and an ordinance to examine warming-center activation and funding, said she plans to bring measures to council to improve transparency about when warming centers open and to consider dedicated funding. Erin Reed, director of the Office of Housing Stability, said centrally coordinated warming centers are in their third winter and explained the 25F threshold was set to make church-based volunteer sites sustainable; she also noted additional surge services activate at 32F.
Public forum speakers and on-the-ground providers told council volunteers and faith-based partners are stretched thin. Vivian Scheidt said, “25 degrees is dying,” and urged council to move the activation threshold to 32F. Several speakers cited recent deaths they attributed to current policies and asked the city to fund staff and facilities rather than rely on volunteer-run centers. Skyler Weltner, executive director of Knox Needs, said many people cannot reach centers when CAT buses stop running and described seeing people die on the streets.
Council members acknowledged the operational limits of church-based warming centers and expressed support for examining the issue. Several members, including Parker, Honeycutt and DeBartleben, praised volunteers while emphasizing the need for more predictable funding and clearer rules about when centers open. Reed said churches cannot be open all the time and that historically the 25F threshold was chosen to limit demands on volunteer hosts, while surge-capacity locations open at 32F.
Several speakers recommended the city expand its use of publicly owned buildings during extreme weather, increase funding so centers can open more days and hours, and create a transportation plan for moving people when CAD/CAT services are limited in storms. Council did not adopt a new activation threshold on Tuesday; members agreed the topic warrants further work and suggested a workshop to review funding and operational options.
The city signaled willingness to continue the conversation: Councilmembers asked staff to provide additional information, and Parker said she will return with formal proposals in the coming weeks.
