TURLOCK -- City staff, nonprofit groups and the faith-based community have been hustling to find a new cold weather homeless shelter site for the coming winter.
And the urgency ramped up Tuesday night when the City Council decided to put 400 B St., the city's only shelter building, up for sale. The city bought the old warehouse for $365,000 with federal dollars in 2005 to house the homeless four to six months a year.
Earlier this month, the council said it wouldn't allow B Street to open again because of neighborhood issues and area business complaints but said the city should have some kind of homeless shelter during the coldest months.
Selling building called sending a signal
About two dozen people -- from the California State University, Stanislaus, professors to the Turlock Gospel Mission -- have been meeting once a week to find an alternative shelter site.
Brian Miller, pastor of Enclave Community Church, questioned the wisdom of selling the old before buying the new. Councilwoman Beverly Hatcher echoed his concern, saying to sell a realty asset in this poor economic climate "does not seem wise."
Councilman Ted Howze said selling the building was means to motivate the small group of volunteers searching for a new emergency shelter site.
"Holding B Street in reserve is not the clear signal we to send for motivation," he said.
Councilman Kurt Spycher and Vice Mayor Kurt Vander Weide agreed. Hatcher and Mayor John Lazar did not.
Tuesday morning, the emergency shelter site selection group listed 10 possible locations -- a rough list -- that met first-round hurdles, such as available space (5,000-plus square feet for warehouses) and location (not near homes or downtown). In most cases, owners or real estate agents have not been contacted, which could present another kind of hurdle.
"Just because they're for lease doesn't mean the owner is going to lease it for a homeless shelter," said Monte Vista Chapel Senior Pastor Ken Van Vliet.
One site is the front-runner
The group plans to do more research and present a ranked list to City Council on May 27, but the No. 1 choice has already been established: a vacant swatch of city-owned land north of the wastewater treatment plant, next to Kelso's Auto Wrecking on South Walnut Road.
"My ideal has always been to find a site with a building on it, but there just isn't one out there," said City Manager Tim Kerr.
Maris Sturtevant, a board member at We Care, the nonprofit that ran the B Street shelter, suggested that an industrial sheet metal warehouse-style building go up temporarily with bathrooms, disabled accessibility and fire sprinklers. After one or two years of use, the building could be turned over to the city for corporation yard or sewer plant use, she said.
A separate group is developing a long-term shelter plan, which would likely result in a permanent location, negating the need for a cold weather emergency shelter.
Wherever either group suggests building a homeless shelter, they expect neighborhood resistance.
Lawrence Kelso, who has run the wrecking company on South Walnut since 1960, was furious over the idea of homeless next door.
"I will not tolerate them being out there," he said. "I'll have to lock (my property) all up and guard it myself and (trespassers and thieves) are going to get hurt. They want trouble; well, if they move them in there, they'll have trouble."
Bee staff writer Michael R. Shea can be reached at mshea@modbee.com or 578-2391.
RSS
E-Mail
Print
reprint or license
