Council approves extension and transition plan for Harvard shelter to Rescue Mission Alliance

The City Council approved amendments that extend the operating agreements with Spirit of Santa Paula while authorizing a transition of day-to-day shelter operations at the Harvard shelter to Rescue Mission Alliance (RMA) on an agreed timeline.

Community and Economic Development Director James Mason said the amendments would extend the existing agreements through an orderly transfer and that funding would be prorated for the short extension period. The draft letter of intent with RMA mirrors the existing county and Fillmore MOUs but proposes a three-year transition period to help RMA achieve operational sustainability.

Kaye Wilson Bolton of Spirit of Santa Paula and Clint Grama of Rescue Mission Alliance both addressed the council. Grama said RMA plans to ‘‘follow Kaye’s lead’’ during a learning period and to maintain family services: "We plan on operating the same for at least for the 1st year, learning exactly what they're doing, working day to day...following her lead." He also described RMA’s broader recovery programs and said families would continue to be served.

Council directed staff to correct the transition date in the letter of intent to Oct. 1, 2026 (the earlier draft mistakenly listed July 1) and asked staff to add historical recitals referencing prior agreements with the county and Fillmore. The council approved the first amendments to the funding and operating agreements and accepted the corrected letter of intent, authorizing staff to finalize the documents.