More than five months after state homelessness leaders announced the site of their massive proposed shelter, officials have yet to settle on a plan of operation or secure all the money needed to build and run it.
That could change during the ongoing legislative session.
A pair of Salt Lake City Democrats, Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla and Rep. Sandra Hollins, have teamed up to file a trio of bills that would create guardrails on how the west-side campus could operate, offer a tax credit to those who live near it and place a west-sider on the board that steers homelessness policy in the Beehive State.
At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, the duo said the state should do more to help those experiencing homelessness, but that an enormous shelter in the largely rural Northpoint neighborhood of Salt Lake City was not the right intervention.
“We want to make sure that resources are being put into those needs, but we don’t think that a 1,300-bed facility is the answer,” Escamilla said. “So we are here to say: if by any situation that moves forward, we do have some bills that will be addressing the actual services that will be provided to those individuals that will be part of this facility, but also the neighboring communities that could be potentially impacted.”
Gov. Spencer Cox has requested lawmakers pour $25 million into constructing the campus and earmark $20 million for running it once it’s built. But the details of its operation — including whether officials will force homeless Utahns into treatment there for mental illness and drug addiction — have yet to be worked out.
Now, Escamilla and Hollins are hoping to fill in some of those gaps by handing state homelessness leaders a framework for the shelter. Failure to follow their blueprint would trigger the facility’s partial closure.
Last fall, state leaders announced they had found a site at 2520 N. 2200 West for the campus. Then-state homelessness coordinator Wayne Niederhauser said the facility would cost $75 million to build and about $34 million a year to operate. Utah lawmakers have already allocated about $23 million to construction costs.
If legislators did fully back Cox’s request, the state would still need more than $25 million to build the facility and roughly $14 million more each year to run it, according to Niederhauser’s estimate.
On Wednesday, Escamilla casted doubt on those numbers, saying that she thought it would take more like $300 million to build and at least $60 million to run annually.
Some policymakers, including Utah Homeless Services Board Chair Randy Shumway, have advocated for using the facility to hold homeless Utahns against their will if they have been ordered to undergo treatment. Northpoint residents and homeless advocates have criticized the isolated site of the campus, its funding needs and what they see as a lack of transparency around the project.
Shumway said in a text that he had not been briefed on the trio of bills and that he could not responsibly comment on them. He added that he generally supports legislation that trims inefficiencies and fixes breakdowns in the system “so that Utah’s resources best help people stabilize, recover and be placed on a path of long-term stability and safety.”
“In Utah, our focus is upholding human dignity,” he said. “To the best of my knowledge, the Utah Homeless [Services] Board is unified in supporting legislation that pairs the right investments and supports with clear accountability so that we are demonstrably helping individuals progress to stable housing, recovery and improved self-sufficiency.
Interim state homelessness coordinator Nick Coleman declined to comment on the pending legislation and referred questions to the bill sponsors.
What the bills would do
SB239 is the meatiest of the legislative packages. If passed, it would:
• Require state officials to draw up a plan to run the campus that includes provisions for the safety of people inside and outside the shelter. The plan must also address transportation for those staying there and outline what other strategies should be used to help homeless Utahns.
• Demand reporting of emergencies that occur at the campus.
• Outline a process for the state’s homeless services ombudsman to investigate complaints, recommend changes, and cease all operations except for emergency shelter there if those adjustments aren’t made.
• Give the Legislature power to withhold money from the campus if operations there violate state law.
Escamilla and Hollins are also running SB279, which would offer campus neighbors a credit for 50% of their property tax bill. Eligible taxpayers must live within a mile of the shelter to claim that credit each year if the facility is built.
The duo also want to put a west-sider — or another resident who lives near the homeless campus if it is built elsewhere — on the state’s homeless services board via a third bill, SB246.
Neighbors split on bills
Northpoint resident Angela Taylor was excited that the legislators were pursuing the bills and commended them for listening to community concerns. “The most important thing is everyone’s safety,” Taylor said.
She hopes that policymakers will take time to think deeply about the campus and be transparent about their plans for it.
Another Northpoint resident, Allison Musser, said she wants lawmakers to focus on preventing the campus’ construction altogether.
“I appreciate, on the one hand, that we’re looking at safety, because it’s something that has not been addressed, at least not very clearly,” Musser said. “So, I appreciate that it’s in the bill, but I would appreciate it more if we were fighting still against it, when there’s no plan and no funding.”
Taylor also said she supported HB523 from Rep. Casey Snider, R-Paradise, that would limit low-barrier homeless shelters to 300 beds, possibly killing off the large campus model. Escamilla also backed that legislation Wednesday.
Escamilla said she expected that her bills would get a fair opportunity in the Senate.