Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Winter Shelter topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Task force urges immediate hotel leasing or purchase to house 100 people after Delana Center cut
Summary
The Winter Shelter Task Force told commissioners a recent building‑code enforcement cut Delana Center overflow capacity to 52 and described an immediate need for an overflow site for roughly 100 single adults and 10–15 families, proposing either leasing identified hotel rooms (estimated $608,000) or buying hotels for long‑term conversion.
Nicole Adleman, executive director of the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County, told commissioners that recent building‑code changes have reduced the Delana Center’s emergency overflow capacity and that the shelter system is facing a surge in need with limited options.
“This is devastating to the staff, but also obviously devastating to the individuals who are gonna have nowhere to go,” Adleman said, describing nights last winter when as many as 242 people were sheltered and warning that reductions now mean many will be turned away without an overflow site.
The task force laid out two immediate options: lease rooms at an identified local hotel for winter staffing and operations, or purchase one of the hotels for conversion to long‑term supportive housing. Presenters said hotel leasing for six months would cost about $608,000 for rooms plus roughly $260,000 for security, transportation and food; the task force’s core ask (eviction prevention, staffing and rapid rehousing) totaled about $1,513,000, with an amendment discussed to add the hotel room cost to the resolution.
Commissioners discussed the tradeoffs: several supported purchasing a facility as a long‑term fiscal investment and path to permanent housing, while others raised concerns about lost property tax revenue for districts if the county purchased hotels located in their communities. Multiple commissioners urged rapid decision making because the hotel owner required notice by the end of the month to hold rooms.
Task force members said the overflow site would be staffed 24/7 by local shelter partners (Shelter Association, Alpha House), provide meals and transportation, and be intended both as a short‑term shelter and as a potential pipeline to permanent supportive housing if converted later. The Board asked staff about amendment and procurement procedures to add the hotel room and operations costs into forthcoming resolution language.
