Most of the $2M purchase price to come from state grant funds

By Morgan Rothborne for Ashland.news

The Ashland City Council voted unanimously to purchase a new property for an emergency shelter Tuesday — a decision that inspired strong responses from residents.

The 1.2-acre property at 2200 Ashland St. is the site of a 3,097-square-foot commercial facility owned by Coming Attractions, which operates the Varsity Theatre and other cinemas, according a city staff report. County records show the owner as a trust whose trustee is a Coming Attractions executive. The city will purchase the property for $2 million for use as an emergency shelter and a severe weather shelter, according to the agenda for the Aug. 15 business meeting.

Two grants funding the bulk of the purchase are $1,158,100 from the state of Oregon’s “All In” grant and a $1 million grant from the Department of Administrative Services. The city has also budgeted $200,000 in its general fund for an emergency shelter, said Joe Lessard, Ashland city manager.

The grants require the city to open the shelter as soon as possible and to provide 40 beds, he said. The shelter will be first-come, first-serve and may include meals, but few other details have been decided.

“It will be a little bit makeshift at first and we’ll have to work with our partner OHRA (Options for Helping Residents of Ashland) to make sure that it functions appropriately,” he said.

The final offer in the negotiations for selling the building to the city came in on Friday, he said. While OHRA was a partner in the grant applications, the city has not yet worked out a contract with OHRA for management of the shelter.

The facilities could include an exterior source of water, trash, portable toilets, a dog run and lockers. In the interior laundry, showers and cooking space are possibilities. Renovations will likely be done in phases to begin operating as soon as possible, Lessard said.

The property has security issues to resolve. The existing fence will likely be increased in height and cameras are a possibility, Lessard said. City staff have explored the area to consider concerns. The shelter will be closed and secured at some point during the evening.

Council would have preferred to have conversations about the shelter with residents prior to the purchase but, “that didn’t happen because of some elements that are outside of our control,” said Tonya Graham, mayor of Ashland.

Residents first learned the city was pursuing the property when the request to approve the purchase appeared on the city’s website last week as an agenda item for the Aug. 15 meeting, Graham said.

“As we know, we have a crisis in terms of housing and the needs of our unhoused neighbors,” she said. “What is also true is that we have neighborhoods that are concerned about this means for them.”

Neighbor Sabena Vaughan said she worried about the proposed shelter’s proximity to her home and her children’s school — the Siskiyou School at 631 Clay St. is a quarter-mile distant from the shelter site.

“I’m not against the shelter. What I want is to ensure for all residents of this town — housed and unhoused— is safety for all and adequate supports around a group of humans who need it the most as they rebuild their lives,” she said.

Vaughan said the streets adjacent to her home and nearby Clay Street Park have been experiencing issues such as vandalism, individuals sleeping in ditches and “potty issues.” She noted an abundance of dead blackberry bushes in the area, presenting a fire risk.

Graham said she and Councilor Paula Hyatt visited the Siskiyou School Tuesday morning to discuss the shelter. City staff will be meeting with school staff again next week, she said. Aurilia McNamara, administrator of the school, spoke Tuesday evening.

“We regularly have to sweep our campus and clean the belongings and trash of people who sleep in the bushes before the children arrive each morning. … Our children also witnessed a significant altercation between the unhoused and Ashland police,” she said.

She stated she was grateful for a productive conversation with the city and hoped for a partnership as the shelter progressed.

Erik Dukes referred to the city’s action as “half-cocked.” An optometrist and owner of Progressive Optometry at 2325 Ashland St., he said his business experienced issues after OHRA began operating across the street.

“Let me tell you what I have seen. In the last two to three years my building has been set on fire twice. I find human feces, needles on my property. … My staff are afraid and I walk them out at night,” he said.

There have been three bodies found related to overdoses in the area, he said. While he believed OHRA was doing important work, he believed the city was not doing enough.

James Foxbride said after volunteering at the city’s warming shelter last winter, he has come to know Ashland’s homeless community.

“These are people that really love and appreciate Asland. … The houseless community in Ashland aren’t just a problem to solve, they’re people with something to offer,” he said.

Foxbride urged the city to find a “win-win” solution that addressed neighbor’s concerns.
Bridgid Herron said as an employee of the Ashland library she has spent considerable time with Ashland’s homeless population.

The city’s proposal to include lockers would have an impact, she indicated.

“They have to carry everything they have from OHRA to the library, that’s a long way,” she said. “To have to carry everything you own is so inconvenient, it just makes what is already a very difficult life that much harder.”

The sale of the building is expected to close Sept. 8. The city hopes to open Oct. 1. Graham proposed a community meeting at the property after the purchase to address residents’ concerns and stressed that the shelter will be an adaptable pilot program.

Hyatt offered an amendment to the motion authorizing the purchase of the site calling for city staff to work with the Siskiyou School to secure access to the school and the park. The motion and amendment passed unanimously.

In other council business, councilors approved a plan for Ashland Parks & Recreation to purchase a property at the south end of Liberty Street under the Open Space Park Program. All councilors voted in favor with the exception of councilor Gina Duquenne.

The council also voted unanimously to approve a new intergovernmental agreement for the Talent-Ashand-Phoenix Intertie (TAP) water supply system and to approve a contract with CivicPlus LLC to revamp the city’s website.

Email freelance writer Morgan Rothborne at inkpoor@protonmail.com.