HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 01 Developing an Affordable Housing Strategy AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: 6/5/2017
Meeting Type: Work Session
Staff Contact/Dept.: Sandy Belson, DPW
Staff Phone No: 541-736-7135
Estimated Time: 20 minutes
S P R I N G F I E L D
C I T Y C O U N C I L
Council Goals: Promote and Enhance
our Hometown Feel
while Focusing on
Livability and
Environmental Quality
ITEM TITLE: DEVELOPING AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING STRATEGY
ACTION
REQUESTED:
Provide direction on city’s role in expanding the Overnight Parking Program
ISSUE
STATEMENT:
The City recognizes that there is an affordable housing issue within the community
and is working to address this problem. The findings point to a shortage of housing
and the expense of housing relative to household incomes. The supply of housing
is limited at all levels, including emergency shelter. Many people in Springfield
including children have no place to call home. During the 2015-16 schoolyear, 480
children in kindergarten through 12th grade and 58 preschool children were
homeless.
People are not able to improve their quality of life without legal shelter. It is
difficult to access or maintain health services, education, or employment without
first having a secure, stable place to sleep.
Left without other options, people live in the streets, under bridges, in parks –
places that were not designed to house people. These homeless camps may cause
harm to the environment and may require public funds dedicated to clean-up. They
also may alter the intended use of these areas (such as public parks) as other people
may be reluctant to go to those areas. In some cases, the homeless end up breaking
the law by trespassing just to find a place to sleep or rest.
ATTACHMENTS: 1. Council Briefing Memo
DISCUSSION/
FINANCIAL
IMPACT:
At the previous work session on May 1, 2017, Council started to discuss funding to
support expansion of the Overnight Parking Program. Council requested detail on
all the costs associated with the program. The attached Council Briefing Memo
provides additional information to inform Council’s decision.
M E M O R A N D U M City of Springfield
Date: 6/5/2017
To: Gino Grimaldi COUNCIL
From: Anette Spickard
Sandy Belson
BRIEFING
Subject: Developing an Affordable Housing Strategy MEMORANDUM
ISSUE: The City recognizes that there is an affordable housing issue within the community and is working to address this problem. The findings point to a shortage of housing and the expense
of housing relative to household incomes. The supply of housing is limited at all levels, including emergency shelter. Many people in Springfield including children have no place to
call home. During the 2015-16 schoolyear, 480 children in kindergarten through 12th grade and
58 preschool children were homeless.
People are not able to improve their quality of life without legal shelter. It is difficult to access
or maintain health services, education, or employment without first having a secure, stable place to sleep.
Left without other options, people live in the streets, under bridges, in parks – places that were not designed to house people. These homeless camps may cause harm to the environment and
may require public funds dedicated to clean-up. They also may alter the intended use of these
areas (such as public parks) as other people may be reluctant to go to those areas. In some cases, the homeless end up breaking the law by trespassing just to find a place to sleep or rest.
COUNCIL GOALS/
MANDATE:
Promote and Enhance our Hometown Feel While Focusing on Livability and Environmental
Quality
BACKGROUND
Other than a church opening an emergency shelter indoors, the Overnight Parking Program is the only year-round shelter program available to the homeless in the City of Springfield. Even then, an individual must own or have access to a vehicle, camper or trailer in order to participate
in the program unless the host provides a “Conestoga Hut”. Lane County Human Services
Divisions reports that this past winter (Nov 2016 – March 2017), 4,000 homeless people received services in Lane County, and 361 of those people identified as being from Springfield.
CONTRACT WITH ST. VINCENT DE PAUL
Per the municipal code, a site must be part of a supervised program operated by the City or its
agent. The City has contracted with St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) to supervise and administer the program within the City of Springfield. Currently, that includes:
Conducting a background check and urine analysis of clients interested in the program
Meeting with property owner initially, and conduct site visits every two weeks
Addressing issues at the site as they arise
Coordinating the provision of porta-potty and garbage service
The current contract allows for reimbursement of hard costs which include background checks, urinalysis, porta-potties, and garbage pickup. SVDP staff time is not an eligible category of
reimbursement in the current contract. At the end of each fiscal year, St. Vincent de Paul Attachment 1, Page 1 of 3
(SVDP) submits an invoice to the city. The past two invoices from SVDP show the following costs to administer the program. SVPD has not included the cost for the background check and
urinalysis for each program participant (about $25/per person).
Invoices from St. Vincent de Paul for
Overnight Parking Program
PROGRAM EXPENSES FY 2014/15 FY 2015/16
Porta-potties $4,565.07 $5,138.45
Garbage Service $1,774.70 $1,754.90
Hard Cost Subtotal $6,339.77 $6,893.35
Mileage $480.00 $300.00
Staff Wages $2,160.00 $1,500.00
Soft Cost Subtotal $2,640.00 $1,800.00
GRAND TOTAL $8,979.77 $8,693.35
Reimbursed by City of Springfield $5,000.00 $5,000.00
Based on the detailed invoices for those two years, staff has calculated a typical cost per site based on the hard costs. Actual costs vary depending on number of vehicles (maximum of three
per site) and number of occupants. For example, more people may require an additional porta-
potty or a larger trash container. There have been from three to seven sites in the program at any one time.
Typical Costs per Site
Site Costs Monthly Cost Annual Cost
Port-a-potty $68.75 / site $825 / site
Garbage pickup $21.75 / site $261 / site
TOTAL $90.50 / site $1,086 / year
Starting up the program and establishing sites required staff time to work out issues involving
the churches and program participants. Once the program was established, SVDP was able to
reduce the number of trips to Springfield and the staff time involved in supervision. SVDP staff visit all sites in Springfield at the same time to cut down on costs, and acknowledge that adding
additional sites would not have a big effect on the staff time. SVDP estimates that the soft costs will likely remain stable.
SVDP does not conduct outreach to identify new sites for the program, and does not include that
in their staff time; however, the Springfield Shelter Rights Alliance (SSRA) has shown initiative in finding new sites.
EXPANDING THE PROGRAM
Given that current reimbursement levels do not cover all the hard costs let alone any of the soft
costs, SVDP acknowledges it would be difficult to take on more sites in Springfield without additional funds. SVDP has also asked the City to consider allowing for reimbursement of staff
time and mileage. If the City does not increase its financial allocation, expansion of the program
would rely on increased financial contribution from elsewhere such as the churches or other community partners.
QUESTIONS FOR COUNCIL Attachment 1, Page 2 of 3
1. Is Council willing to increase the city’s financial contribution to the Overnight Parking Program?
2. If so, is Council willing to allow for reimbursement of administrative costs?
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Provide direction on Overnight Parking Program
Attachment 1, Page 3 of 3