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$400,000 grant will help cover costs of homeless services
homeless-LT
A homeless individual earlier this year sought shelter in the shell of a downtown building. - photo by HIME ROMERO

The cost of operating an emergency homeless shelter through Sept. 30 is being covered by a pass through federal COVID relief grant.

The Manteca City Council Tuesday accepted a $400,000 grant awarded by San Joaquin County for emergency shelter needs during the pandemic.

It will be used to reimburse the city for the $160,800 cost to keep the emergency homeless shelter in place at 555 Industrial Park Drive through Sept. 30.

Inner City Action is operating the shelter.

It is not clear whether the money can be used to reimburse the city for contracting with Turlock Gospel Rescue Mission op operate an emergency shelter from December through April.

It likely can be used to fund an extension of the shelter contract with Inner City Action or another organization after Sept. 30.

The emergency shelter is a stop-gap measure while the city works on acquiring 8.04 acres along South Main Street to develop a homeless navigation center and shelter toward the back and potentially affordable housing along South Main Street possible in the same genre as the Juniper Apartments that are subsidized as workforce housing next to Tesoro apartments on Atherton Drive.

The council in mid-January authorized a $150,000 study to determine what is needed for homeless services as well as conceptual plans for the South Main Street site.

The council majority has indicated the South Main location is the best site given:

*the city could control how it is configured.

*it’s location in relation to the homeless needing to access it.

*the fact it has emerged as the least expensive option.

*can be designed from the start to minimize impacts on the community.

*it can be split so that affordable or transitional housing could be pursued along  South Main Street.

*access could be from Carnegie Court off of Mellon Avenue within the Manteca Industrial Park.

The study will cover financial implications, assessing building space needs, and the needed homeless services. It will include workshops to obtain community input.

The city staff has is working on the appraisal for the South Main Street location as well as an environmental site assessment that will identify any pollution issues.

 

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com