HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 01 Overnight Parking Program Update AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: 9/4/2018
Meeting Type: Work Session
Staff Contact/Dept.: Erin Fifield/DPW Staff Phone No: 541-726-2302 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: OVERNIGHT PARKING PROGRAM - UPDATE
ACTION
REQUESTED:
Provide direction on the budget request for the Overnight Parking Program.
ISSUE STATEMENT: The City recognizes 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 2016-17 schoolyear, 528
children in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade were homeless.
Other than if a church decides to open an emergency shelter indoors, the Overnight
Parking Program is the only year-round shelter program available to the homeless in the City of Springfield. The program provides safe and legal places for unhoused people to sleep in vehicles, campers, trailers, or Conestoga huts, provided the site is
part of a supervised program operated by the City or its agent.
The City’s budget for this program does not cover current costs.
ATTACHMENTS: ATT1: Council Briefing Memo ATT2: SVDP Springfield OPP Expenses FY2018-19
DISCUSSION/ FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Since 2014, St Vincent de Paul (SVDP) has been subsidizing the cost of the Overnight Parking Program for singles and couples. This summer, SVDP informed
the City it would discontinue delivering the Overnight Parking Program in
Springfield because the City’s current contract does not cover all of SVDP’s expenses. SVDP has indicated that it would be willing to continue providing service
for sites for singles and couples in Springfield if full costs were reimbursed.
Catholic Community Services (CCS) will continue to deliver the parking program for families with children through the G Street OASIS program under the current
budget, but as an agency is not set up to deliver the program for singles or couples.
There are three primary budget options Council can consider: 1) keep the budget
as-is and possibly end the program for singles and couples, 2) increase the budget to
cover current costs and maintain services, or 3) increase the budget to be able to cover additional costs for an expanded number of sites.
If SVDP discontinues its work in Springfield, it is unclear whether another agency would step in to run the Overnight Parking Program for singles and couples.
Attachment 1, Page 1 of 3
M E M O R A N D U M City of Springfield
Date: 9/4/2018
To: Gino Grimaldi COUNCIL
From: Tom Boyatt, Interim DPW Director
Erin Fifield, Management Analyst
BRIEFING
Subject: Overnight Parking Program – Update MEMORANDUM
ISSUE: The City recognizes 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 2016-17 schoolyear, 528 children in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade were
homeless.
Other than if a church decides to open an emergency shelter indoors, the Overnight Parking
Program is the only year-round shelter program available to the homeless in the City of
Springfield. The program provides safe and legal places for unhoused people to sleep in vehicles, campers, trailers, or Conestoga huts, provided the site is part of a supervised program
operated by the City or its agent.
The City’s budget for this program does not cover current costs.
COUNCIL GOALS/
MANDATE:
Promote and Enhance our Hometown Feel While Focusing on Livability and Environmental
Quality
BACKGROUND
Springfield’s Overnight Parking Program started in 2014 as a pilot project to address what was seen as the temporary need of certain individuals and families to have a safe space to park their car for a number of months. Such a program gives certainty to individuals and families, knowing
where they’re sleeping that night, that they won’t be harassed to move, that they can leave their possessions in a safe spot and not need to carry them around, and that their kids can continue to attend the same school. The program connects folks who are unhoused to a site host (e.g. a
church community), as well as a social service organization with other services to offer.
The municipal code allows churches and light-medium industrial zoned sites to host up to three
vehicles/campers/trailers as part of this program. Sites in Springfield are managed by St. Vincent de Paul (for singles/couples), and Catholic Community Services (for families with children who
participate in the G Street OASIS program). As the city’s agent supporting the church hosts,
both agencies have served many couples, individuals, and families in need helping to provide a safe space for folks to sleep and troubleshooting when issues arise. These agencies ensure that
participants have access to a bathroom and trash service; some site hosts also provide electricity,
and thus heat and light in the winter. Some participants have since moved on from the program, moved into housing, and even become homeowners.
Attachment 1, Page 1 of 3
MEMORANDUM 8/27/2018 Page 2
CURRENT SITES
There are currently 8 churches in Springfield participating in the parking program, each hosting one or two vehicles for a total of 14-16 spaces. Five (5) sites host singles and couples, and three
(3) sites host families with children.
There are no industrials sites participating in the program.
BUDGET DOES NOT MEET COSTS
Budget
As mentioned in the 8/23/18 Communication Packet Memo, the public cost to keep the program running has increased the past few years. In Spring 2017, St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) informed
the City the staff costs to deliver this program were not being covered by the budgeted amount.
SVDP staff indicated they did not want to continue to subsidize the program, and asked that the full costs of the program be eligible for reimbursement. At that time, City Council opted to
increase the budget for the program from $5,000 to $10,000, split between SVDP and CCS, and
allow up to 20% of the budgeted amount to cover program delivery (including staff time to visit sites and respond to client needs). While this budgeted increase allowed SVDP to cover
additional costs this past year, it still did not fully cover their costs to run the program.
SVDP as an organization is focusing on ensuring each department and program within the
organization is financially viable. This has caused them to revisit the true costs of the Overnight
Parking Program in both Eugene and Springfield.
This summer, SVDP informed the City it would discontinue delivering the Overnight Parking Program in Springfield because the City’s current contract does not cover all of SVDP’s expenses. SVDP has indicated that it would be willing to continue providing service for sites for
singles and couples in Springfield if full costs were reimbursed. CCS will continue to deliver the parking program for families with children through the G Street OASIS program under the current budget, but as an agency is not set up to deliver the program for singles or couples.
Costs
SVDP and CCS have different constraints and programs, and there are some differences in the
costs to deliver the program and what each organization requests for reimbursement.
For FY2017-18, Council allocated $10,000 to the Overnight Parking Program. Based on
FY2016-17 reimbursement requests, the City budgeted $6,000 for SVDP and $4,000 for CCS. A similar amount of $10,000 has been budgeted for FY2018-19.
SVDP has identified the true costs to deliver the program as-is to be $20,000 per year (see ATT2). This includes all staff costs to deliver the program, working with and placing individuals
at sites. In the past, SVDP has not identified costs or requested reimbursement for items such as
background checks. While Council allowed 20% of staff costs to be reimbursed in FY2017-18, more than half of SVDP’s costs to deliver the program is for staffing. In order for the true costs
to be covered, SVDP would need all costs to be eligible for reimbursement.
This was CCS’s first year delivering the program for families with children. Given that G Street
OASIS staff is already working with the families, and paid through another source, CCS is not currently requesting reimbursement for staff delivery costs or other costs they incur through the G Street OASIS program. CCS has requested reimbursement for only sanitation and trash
service, which was $3,500 in FY2017-18.
OPTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION Attachment 1, Page 2 of 3
MEMORANDUM 8/27/2018 Page 3
There are three primary budget options Council can consider: 1) keep the budget as-is and possibly end the program for singles and couples, 2) increase the budget to cover current costs
and maintain services, or 3) increase the budget to be able to cover additional costs for an
expanded number of sites.
Budget for
FY2018-19
Parking program for
singles/couples
Parking program for
families with children
Option 1 Maintain at
$10,000 and
continue to
allow only
20% of staff
costs to be
reimbursed
SVDP will not continue delivering
the program for singles/ couples;
City staff will take over the
transition for a few months, but
will not expand the sites or add
new individuals; unclear whether
another agency will continue the
program
CCS will continue delivering
the program; additional
funds may be available to
expand sites
Option 2 Increase to
$24,000 and
allow all
costs to be
reimbursed
SVDP will continue delivering the
program, but will not be able to
expand sites
CCS will continue delivering
the program, but would
need to fundraise to
expand sites
Option 3
Increase to
$37,000 and
allow all
costs to be
reimbursed
SVDP will continue delivering the
program, and would have funds to
double the number of sites
CCS will continue delivering
the program, and would
have funds to double the
number of sites
Question for Council:
1. How would Council like to proceed?
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Provide direction on Overnight Parking Program
Attachment 1, Page 3 of 3
St. Vincent de Paul
Self-Sufficiency Services
SPRINGFIELD SPRINGFIELD
TOTAL TOTAL
5 slots 10 slots
OPP 340 OPP 340
Operating Expenses
30-300-5210-xxx Salaries and Wages 8,976.00$ 13,548.00$
30-300-5250-xxx Jobs Plus Reimbursement -$ -$
30-300-5310-xxx Payroll taxes & benefits 2,154.24$ 3,251.52$
30-300-5610-xxx Rent paid to Others -$ -$
30-300-5620-xxx Equipment Rental -$ -$
30-300-5650-xxx Rent paid to SVDP -$ -$
30-300-6110-xxx Utilities
30-300-6115-xxx Portable Toilets 4,080.00$ 8,160.00$
30-300-6130-xxx Garbage -$ -$
30-300-6310-xxx Client Assistance (UA for clients)155.00$ 310.00$
30-300-6317-320 Client Assistance - Food for Lane Co -$ -$
30-300-6320-xxx Client Rent Assistance -$ -$
30-300-6380-xxx Medical supplies or services -$ -$
30-300-6510-xxx Office supplies and expense -$ -$
30-300-6511-xxx Training supplies -$ -$
30-300-6710-xxx Telecommunications 112.00$ 150.00$
30-300-6810-xxx Insurance 918.00$ 1,285.00$
30-300-6910-xxx Repair and Maintenance 66.00$ 100.00$
30-300-8310-xxx Bad Debt -$ -$
30-300-7110-xxx Operating supplies 95.00$ 95.00$
30-300-7710-xxx Professional services -$ -$
30-300-7715-xxx Background Invest. Expense 100.00$ 200.00$
30-300-7910-xxx Fees, licenses and taxes -$ -$
30-300-8510-xxx Advertising -$ -$
30-300-8710-xxx Travel -$ -$
30-300-8720-xxx Conference, meeting, classes -$ -$
30-200-8910-xxx Vehicle expense (not fuel)-$ -$
30-300-8730-xxx Mileage reimbursement -$ -$
30-300-8920-xxx Vehicle Fuel 468.00$ 655.00$
30-300-9210-xxx Dues, subscriptions, books -$ -$
30-300-9710-xxx Depreciation 435.00$ 622.00$
Total Operating Expenses 17,559.24$ 28,376.52$
30-300-9940-xxx SVDP Overhead 2,190.00$ 2,900.00$
19,749.24$ 31,276.52$
C:\Users\efifield\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\TemporaryInternet Files\Content.Outlook\CBGASZ1N\Springfield OPP summary 2018
19(3).xlsx 8/24/20189:29AMAttachment 2. Page 1 of 1