Non-profit proposes to take over homeless shelter

Non-profit proposes to take over homeless shelter

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

Worried that letting the camel get its nose under the tent will result in his body soon following, Key West City Commission Sam Kaufman tried to put the brakes on the city beginning negotiations with a local non-profit organization to build and manage a new homeless shelter on Stock Island.

But he was outvoted and City Manager Jim Scholl was given the go-ahead to begin contract talks with the Southernmost Homeless Assistance League (SHAL) on a proposed 10-year, non-compete contract to manage the Keys Overnight Temporary Shelter (KOTS).

Because of a previous lawsuit filed by Sunset Marina homeowners’ association, which sits adjacent to the current shelter, the city is legally required to move it away from the marina. Commissioners voted in February 2015 to move the shelter across the street on College Road to the former Easter Seals building, which the city owns.

SHAL, a local non-profit organization dedicated to helping homeless men and women find permanent housing, has proposed that it – not the city – foot the bill to build the new shelter. Previous city estimates on the cost hovered around $1.2 million and there had been no consensus on where that money would come from. But SHAL said it will pay to install eight Quonset-style huts on the Easter Seals property, each hut housing 20 beds, for $12,000 per hut or approximately $92,000. In return, Key West would agree to a 10-year contract with SHAL and pay the organization $54,000 a month to cover SHAL’s operating costs. Currently, Key West pays $44,000 a month for shelter operations.

But Kaufman argued that agreeing to move ahead with negotiations with SHAL was premature and that there were numerous policy issues that should be decided by commissioners before any negotiations begin. Chief among Kaufman’s concerns were the design impact of the new shelter on the neighborhood, whether food would be provided, whether air conditioning would be required in the huts and if the shelter would continue to be open 12 hours a day or move to a 24-hour operation.

“How will all of these design components impact the flow of homeless people to Key West,” he asked. “We have to be very careful about attracting more people to Key West. Why? Because we can’t absorb more homeless people. We are a tiny island.”

Indeed, SHAL proposes to invite Marathon, Islamorada and other local governments “to participate and take advantage of the facility.” But other commissioners were not concerned with contract details at this point, saying that the time to tweak a proposal would be after an initial contract is hammered out at the staff level. Any final contract would require another vote by commissioners.

Mayor Craig Cates said that while he understood Kaufman’s concerns, city staff have been dealing with the homeless shelter for years.

“They won’t be going into this negotiation blind. They understand what needs to be out there, the cost of such services,” he said.

“This is that opportunity for us to get this done,” added Commissioner Jimmy Weekley. “It is only a negotiation.”

City officials have been struggling with where to move and how to pay for a new shelter for over four years, well past the original deadline set by the court in the Sunset Marina lawsuit. Part of the delay in selecting the Easter Seals building is that it is currently being leased by the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District for its administrative offices. But the Mosquito board has been asked by the city to vacate the premises next year.

Funding for the new homeless facility is likely to still be an issue. Although SHAL says the city’s current $44,000 a month cost will drop to $27,000 under its proposal, that assumes Monroe County Commissioners agree to splitting the $54,000 monthly cost. Currently, the city pays the monthly operations cost and the county provides the land for the shelter, which is located on county-owned property next to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department.

“But historically, the county has been opposed to funding the shelter. I want to know what’s the guarantee that’s going to happen,” Kaufman asked.

Commissioner Margaret Romero joined Kaufman in voting against the resolution to give commissioners time to set more solid parameters on the shelter operation before beginning contract negotiations with SHAL. Kaufman also proposed to put the shelter program out to bid to other companies that may have more experience building and operating homeless shelters.

“What if we had the opportunity to interview and have access to that expertise on our island and bring that here? We’re forgoing that process,” Kaufman said.

Commissioner Richard Payne joined Cates and Weekley in voting to proceed with SHAL. He said he wanted contract negotiations to produce multiple options from SHAL that commissioners could choose between.

“It (KOTS) should continue to be a bare bones program,” he said. “But we want to do the thing that we feel is right to do, which is to take care of people less fortunate than ourselves.”

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