This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Oct. 10 came and went and, despite a deadline set by the Salt Lake City Council, Mayor Jackie Biskupski has not made public her recommendations for locating four new 150-bed homeless shelters to be constructed in the city.
Biskupski, along with Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, had announced plans for two new homeless shelters of 250 to 300 beds. The proposal was the outgrowth of 18 months of talks.
Last month, council members, who had been largely left out of those discussions, voted for four 150-bed shelters. They demanded an Oct. 10 deadline for prospective sites. Further, they insisted the mayor, not the council, decide where the shelters will be located.
In something of a showdown Sept. 30, Biskupski agreed to the council's demand for four shelters.
On Oct. 4, David Litvack, the mayor's deputy chief of staff, said the deadline to announce potential sites had become fluid and that the council appeared willing to push back the deadline to give the administration more time to analyze options.
On Oct. 6, however, Council Chairman James Rogers said he was unaware the deadline was being extended, but added that he wasn't against it.
At present, there are at least a dozen potential sites — none of which has been publicly released.
Matthew Rojas, the mayor's spokesman, said Monday that Biskupski wants the council in on site selections.
"This is an enormous decision," Rojas said. "We think the public wants all of its elected officials involved."
The mayor and the council hope to provide the Legislature a list of potential sites at an interim committee meeting Nov. 16, Rojas said.
The public will be able comment on the sites through year's end; the mayor and the council will choose the final four sites after the public input window is closed.