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Committee approves VOA shelter-services agreement as public commenter urges county to buy Asteri building
Summary
The Health & Human Services Committee unanimously approved Resolution 14104 authorizing a multi‑year Volunteers of America agreement to provide shelter and temporary housing assistance services; a public commenter urged the county to consider purchasing the nearby Asteri/Astaire building as a permanent shelter and transitional housing site.
The Tompkins County Health and Human Services Committee on May 20 unanimously approved Resolution 14104 to authorize an agreement with Volunteers of America of Western and Central New York to provide shelter services that comply with New York State OTDA temporary housing assistance program requirements.
County Administrator Corso told the committee VOA has begun providing services at the existing facility under a temporary contract and staff are preparing an HHFP application once the state budget and RFP permit submissions. Corso said CodeBlue operations ended successfully this season; “We placed significant number of individuals in permanent housing,” and noted at least 10 people were connected to jobs through recent efforts.
Britney from the Department of Social Services described the operational transition: VOA took over service delivery under a temporary contract on May 18, some county staff moved to VOA while others remained with DSS or left for other opportunities, and county case managers continue to provide on‑site case management and partnership with VOA. She said about “half a dozen” clients from CodeBlue who previously declined DSS engagement are now participating in services.
During public comment earlier in the meeting, a resident identified as Amanda urged the county to consider purchasing the Asteri (transcript also uses the spelling “Astaire”) Building and converting it into combined emergency shelter and transitional housing. Amanda argued that many people experiencing homelessness already live at or use that building, that legal and financial pressures on the current ownership could make an acquisition possible at a reduced price, and that a county‑owned facility could stabilize services off current ad hoc responses. “The instability already exists there,” she said, and suggested locating the shelter near transit, the library and mental‑health services.
Chair Brooks responded that a prior full-legislature discussion had noted an estimated figure (referred to during the meeting as 186,000,000) tied to potential eminent‑domain or acquisition scenarios and that at present the property is not for sale, making immediate purchase unlikely.
The resolution to codify a longer-term agreement with VOA was moved by Christie and seconded by Veronica. The committee voted to approve Resolution 14104 unanimously.
The committee packet indicates the agreement aligns VOA services with OTDA requirements and would allow a contract longer than one year; staff said details of a multi‑year contract would be finalized if the legislature approves the formal agreement.
