Ways and Means approves warming-center policy amendment after debate over where to site new facilities

The Ulster County Ways and Means Committee on Feb. 13 approved Resolution 16, an effort to establish warming-center facilities, after amending the language to require that the Department of Social Services confirm need using collected data, including the annual point-in-time count.

Legislator Nolan urged caution, arguing the resolution as originally drafted would lock the county into siting facilities in the southern region even if greater need were demonstrated elsewhere. "I don't think this is a use of funds that we can justify," Nolan said, urging more data and a working group with sponsors and stakeholders before setting a location-specific policy.

Supporters said the amendment from the county executive’s office preserves a data-based check. A supporter who advocated moving the resolution forward said the amendment makes clear that facilities will only be established if the data justify them: "If the data comes back and says... you only got one person down in New Paltz that's gonna need a shelter...we're gonna move on," the supporter said, describing the amendment as a safeguard rather than a mandate.

Deputy executive staff said some required data are already collected annually, noting the point-in-time count takes place each January and can inform siting decisions. The deputy also flagged state grant resources that have been discussed for warming-center funding, and cautioned that adding many small centers could dilute service quality if state funding is spread among many sites.

The committee debated options including striking the word "southern" from the resolution and other on-the-fly wording changes designed to open the policy to countywide, needs-based siting. Legislator Collins proposed language that would emphasize distribution across multiple regions of Ulster County rather than exclusively privileging one area.

After discussion and on-the-fly clarifications of the "whereas" language that defines the geographic scope, the committee adopted the resolution as amended. The transcript records voice votes and affirmations; no roll-call tally for the final adoption of Resolution 16 is recorded in the transcript.

Why it matters: the resolution creates a county-level policy directing how warming-center funding and siting will be considered going forward, and it commits the county to using social-service data to justify any new facility. Supporters said adopting the policy moves an initiative forward; critics said a premature, location-specific mandate could produce unintended consequences if funding or data prove insufficient.

Next steps: committee members said they expect follow-up work with sponsors to refine the geographic wording and to review point-in-time and other data before locating or funding any new warming-center site.