Acting city manager proposes 15 'pod' shelters as medium-term option for unhoused residents

Acting city manager Dominic Requio told the Ithaca City special committee on July 6 that the city is exploring a pilot of single-room “pod” shelters as a shelter-of-last-resort for people who cannot access existing programs.

Requio outlined a framework that would purchase modular, heated-and-cooled single-room units (he cited Pallet Shelters as an example) and operate a small, secure “pod village” with on-site case management. “If the city were to have such pods, let's call it 15, pods, seems like the number that would be affordable within the amount of resources we have available,” Requio said. He said existing capital — “a little over $500,000” — could buy the pods themselves but that site prep, utilities and annual programming costs are additional and potentially substantial.

Why it matters: committee members said the pods could give people dignified, lockable sleeping spaces and reduce the cycle of unsanctioned encampments, but they warned that pods have significant upfront and recurring costs and mixed track records in other places.

Requio told the committee the pods are intended as a last-resort option for three groups: chronically unsheltered people who are unlikely to accept other programs; people who could become eligible for public programs with time and supports (he outlined a possible up-to-180-day stabilization window); and short-term arrivals or travelers who need a place to stay for a night or two. He said pod sites must pair with aggressive, on-the-spot social-service screening and case management so people can access county programs where eligible.

The city manager flagged site-selection as the biggest constraint: many municipal or nonprofit parcels lack utilities and some are in FEMA floodplains, which would require expensive anchoring or elevation of units. “We could eat up our entire budget, for years, by just connecting water, sewer, electricity, Wi‑Fi and otherwise directly to Southwest,” he said, referring to the Southwest Parcel previously used as an interim camping site.

On costs and funding, Requio said capital could buy up to 15 pods and basic fixtures with the city’s existing funding pool but that recurring operational expenses could be “several $100,000 a year” depending on staffing, security and services. He noted $150,000 in encumbered operational funding the city could deploy as an initial tranche and suggested federal NOFO/HHAP grants, county partnerships and philanthropy as potential additional sources.

Committee members pressed for specifics: Committee member Margaret cited a Burlington example with a high per-year cost and limited exits to permanent housing and urged including county stakeholders and a three-year budget forecast. Requio said staff would include a literature review, consult other municipalities and prepare a procurement (RFP) path for service providers; he described typical procurement windows of 30–60 days and said the city would score responses on social-support and site-maintenance criteria.

Next steps: the committee asked staff to draft a pods report with a literature review, site options and a three‑year budget scenario and to bring back procurement and funding recommendations. Requio said a 2027 start is possible if site selection and prep are resolved, but he cautioned that timeline risks and recurring operating costs mean the model requires sustained funding and county coordination.