Members of the Ashland City Council in a meeting in March 2023.
Roman Battaglia / JPR
On Tuesday night, the city council of Ashland, Oregon, voted to decline state funding that would have been used to renovate the shelter and keep it open long-term.
The southern Oregon city acquired the building, at 2200 Ashland Street, in August, when the state was under a homeless emergency order. State funding for the shelter, which provides 30 beds, will end on March 31.
The shelter also needs to be renovated to install bathrooms, showers and a sprinkler system, among other things.
The state offered Ashland $1.8 million for renovations, and $800,000 for operational funds, to continue the shelter in the future.
But councilors didn’t feel there was a clear plan for the shelter long-term.
“What we need to do now, through multiple commitments to multiple organizations and entities and groups, is to truly honor our duty to step back, take time, analyze and move forward with a solid, comprehensive plan,” said Councilor Jeff Dahle.
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On Tuesday, the council voted 5-1 to decline the state funding and close the 24/7 emergency shelter.
Councilors said that construction would be expensive and take a long time.
“It does not seem to me that a protracted construction season over that time period for a significant amount of money, to make a building be what it was never designed to be, makes sense when what we’re dealing with is an actual emergency on the street where people need to get immediate shelter,” Mayor Tonya Graham said.
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Instead, city staff will work with the housing nonprofit ACCESS to explore other sources of state funding for potential shelter options in the community.
Ashland will continue to run its severe weather shelter at 2200 Ashland Street on especially cold nights.
The city is also working on a master plan regarding homelessness, which is set to come out in the coming months.