After brief discussion at study session Monday, City Council won’t move to keep shelter doors closed in colder weather

By Morgan Rothborne, Ashland.news

After a brief discussion, information from Interim City Manager Sabrina Cotta and public comment from seven Ashland residents, Ashland city councilors on Monday unanimously agreed to maintain the city’s current temperature threshold for opening its emergency shelter. 

Before the council at its study session was a request to review lowering the threshold that triggers the opening of a severe weather shelter by 7 degrees to 25 degrees for extreme cold and raising it 7 degrees to 102 degrees or more for extreme heat, with the potential for shelter to opened at higher temperatures and extenuating weather circumstances such as extreme precipitation or consecutive days of high heat and humidity. 

Through a resolution in 2022, the city set temperature thresholds to trigger opening a shelter in the case of extreme heat, cold, or a smoke event. The city manager or designated staff open a shelter at temperatures of 32 degrees or below or 95 degrees and above. City staff can determine to open or not open a shelter due to accompanying weather conditions such as extreme precipitation or wind, humidity, or availability of resources for opening a shelter, according to the agenda item. 

The city of Ashland’s temperature threshold differs from other regional weather shelters such as the city of Medford, which opens a shelter at 25 degrees in cold and 102 degrees in heat, according to the agenda item. Ashland has developed a regional reputation for providing shelter when others do not and has received recognition for this in accepting and applying for grant funding, Cotta said. 

The city previously struggled to open the shelter due to the lack of a dedicated space and reliance on volunteers to staff it. The city now has a dedicated location at 2200 Ashland St. and a contract with Options for Housing, Resources, and Assistance to operate the shelter, Cotta said. 

But the city’s financial resources for shelter operation are limited. It costs $1,500 per night to open the roughly 28-bed severe weather whelter and only $200,000 is appropriated for its operation through the year, Cotta said. If this money were exhausted, staff would have to come to council to ask for further funds to be appropriated. 

When temperatures drop in months like November, it can be difficult for staff to determine if shelters should be called because long periods of sustained cold, heat, or smoke could come later in the year and result in a depletion of the city’s resources, she said. 

“Precipitation is the biggest factor, health wise, so if it’s a clear night and it’s 32 degrees, do we call a shelter? That’s where Kelly and I debate about what to do. … To have to open for smoke where there is no break for weeks, then we’re getting into potential cost considerations and the need to come back to ask for more resources,” Cotta said. 

Monday’s agenda item for the discussion was referred by Emergency Management Coordinator Kelly Burns and Cotta, but Burns was not in attendance because he was at a training to prepare for fire season, Cotta said. 

Chair of the city’s Housing and Human Services Committee Echo Fields stated she helped create the city’s resolution with the current temperature thresholds. 

“I’ve been in the middle of this for a long time. So the trick is to balance the needs of public health with what I know are the resource constraints of the city. … Smoke is particularly difficult. It’s hard to predict. To do adequate smoke shelter we would have to have overnight. I don’t know how to fix that one, but I know we’re going to have to work on it,” Fields said. 

Ruby Nicol begged the city not to alter the thresholds, describing herself as homeless.

“We don’t ask to be homeless. Once you get down here it’s almost impossible to get out,” Nicol said. “Let me tell you, at 30 degrees it is so cold. … It doesn’t matter how many blankets you have, it doesn’t matter how many thermals you wear, it doesn’t matter how many wool socks you wear — it is bone chilling.” 

Councilor Dylan Bloom asked for a future conversation about “structure” because the shelter is run with one host and he said, few rules or guidelines for how it should be operated. 

“As I have volunteered there, I don’t think the conditions are adequate. I think we have some responsibility in there and it is a little bit of a free for all and concerning. … If people want to go out at night, party, defecate, make noise, there’s nothing that one person can do,” Bloom said. 

Councilor Gina DuQuenne asked to have an “after winter review” of the severe weather shelter this year. Cotta stated staff would bring that information to council at the end of spring. 

Mayor Tonya Graham stated that this year was an “experimental year,” given the changes in the way the city is operating its shelter. The city should be prudent with resources and the coming heat waves and smoke of summer could pose a problem. Graham stated city staff could look into ways to bring down the nightly cost of operating the shelter instead of altering the temperature threshold. 

After public comment and information from staff, Graham asked councilors to individually state their support for changing or maintaining the temperature threshold. Councilors unanimously stated support for the existing temperature threshold. 

To view a video recording of Monday’s study session, click here.

Email Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne at [email protected].