City Council Chooses Salvation Army to Operate Permanent Access Center

During the City Council meeting last night, there was uncertainty in the air as the public hearing went on regarding the choice of operator for the Permanent Access Center. The selection process started in May of last year, when the RFP went out to Inner City Action and Salvation Army. Those bids were received in June and reviewed by City Staff. City staff gave a presentation prior to the public hearing, and supported the Inner City Action’s bid, as it was lower than the Salvation Army’s. Neither of the bids were binding, and the actual contract will be worked out in the coming months ahead. You can see the summary of the bids HERE.
 
Presentations were then made by Inner City Action’s Director, Inner City staff, and a few previously unsheltered people who had transitioned off the street through Inner City’s program. The Salvation Army’s sole presenter was Major Mark Thielenhaus, who has been running the Hope Harbor shelter for the past 8 years. Nicole Geohring from Steve Ding’s office, did speak in support of the vocational training programs run by Salvation Army.
 
I got up and spoke during the public hearing regarding concerns that were brought up by members of the Lodi Chamber as well as other businesses regarding the funding sources and ‘good neighbor’ policies of the Access Center. You can read my comments HERE, and review the letter sent to City Council HERE. I began my remarks by expressing that the business community in Lodi empathizes with those unsheltered who are trying to get off the street. Many businesses in our community stand ready to hire previously unsheltered individuals who are physically and mentally ready to re-enter the workforce. We are looking forward to working with the Salvation Army by hiring people who graduate from their vocational training programs and therefore helping to make our community stronger together.
 
I expressed the concern discussed at meetings convened at the Lodi Chamber from local business leaders that we have less than two years of operating costs ($3.1M funded of $5M estimated) currently funded (See Chart Here). The response from the City Manager Steve Schwabauer was that he agreed that a funding strategy was needed and that county and state funding sources will need to be continually pursued throughout the operating period of the Permanent Access Center. City staff appears confident that County and State agencies will continue to fund the project. Schwabauer stated he believes that it will be hard for the agencies who helped to get it open, to just let it close. It remains unclear what steps will be taken if the operating budget is not met through state and county funds. There have been other neighboring communities where a shelter operator has not been able to perform, or the City has asked the shelter operator to leave, and we want to avoid similar situations where there is the potential of hundreds of homeless people who have nowhere to go. 
 
I also requested that several public safety initiatives be ramped up and continued during the operation of the Permanent Access Center. The Safety Ambassador program has been popular with neighboring businesses. The City Manager said that this program will be part of the funding that will be pursed in the coming years, which was good to hear. I also requested to Council that the hiring of downtown bike patrol officers be prioritized so that our homeless liaison officer can focus on hot spots outside of the downtown area, such as the areas around the Access Center and Beckman Rd.
 
In the end, the City Council voted 4-0 to partner with Salvation Army over Inner City. Remarks from Councilmembers Lisa Craig (not present for the vote), Cameron Bregman, and Alan Nakanishi focused on Salvation Army’s track record of providing services for the homeless in the city and the wide-based support they enjoy from the community. Ultimately, when faced with entering a multi-year contract that was going to total more than $10M, the long-standing relationship with Salvation Army was the deciding factor.
 
Now the real work begins for City Staff and the Salvation Army to come up with the actual terms of the contract. Groundbreaking for the Permanent Access Center is slated to begin in Spring of 2024. The Chamber of Commerce and our members are already working to close the loop on the homeless issue and hiring those individuals who have been able to utilize the resources and programs provided by the temporary Access Center and Salvation Army. Our businesses have donated clothes, food, furniture and other items, volunteered at both facilities, and participated in fundraisers such as the Kettle Kick Off. We look forward to the opportunity to continue to participate and to be of service. 

The Chamber will also continue to represent our local businesses and at City Hall and at the Lodi Committee on Homelessness meetings. We encourage businesses and the community at large to participate in this important discussion so we can all work together for the most positive outcomes.