HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 02/06/2018 - RESOLUTION 2018-016 APPROVING THE GRANT OF FUNDS FAgenda Item 23
Item # 23 Page 1
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY February 6, 2018
City Council
STAFF
Jeff Mihelich, Deputy City Manager
Ingrid Decker, Legal
SUBJECT
Resolution 2018-016 Approving the Grant of Funds for a Locker Program at Fort Collins Mennonite Fellowship.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this item is to provide City Council with details of the proposal for the City to fund lockers at the
Fort Collins Mennonite Fellowship, additional information about locker programs in other communities, as well
as possible options for consideration.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff does not recommend adoption of the Resolution.
BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION
City Council received a memo on January 11, 2018, providing an overview of a proposal to pilot lockers at the
Fort Collins Mennonite Fellowship (FCMF) (see Attachment 1 for memo and attachments). Council directed
staff to bring this item for a Council discussion at the February 6, 2018, regular meeting.
During Council discussions regarding Appropriate Use of Public Spaces in the Spring of 2017, the concern
about a lack of storage spaces for people experiencing homelessness was raised to the Council by the public.
The FCMF offered to pilot hosting 20 storage lockers on the north side of their building for one year. The
lockers would be outside and accessible 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, monitored by a security camera,
and managed by a part-time employee of FCMF. The City would work with them to evaluate the program to
gauge the effectiveness and success of the program. The City would provide the funding for the purchase and
installation of the lockers and awnings and the cost of program oversight (total of $10,500). The FCMF would
order and install the lockers, and they would perform the oversight and program management. The City
required that the FCMF host a neighborhood meeting and listen to and mitigate neighbor concerns.
The City has received both strong support for the proposal as well as strong opposition.
Other Community Locker Programs
The attached memo and attachments have comparison information regarding other locker programs. Staff has
been unable to find a project that is a close comparison to this proposal. Most of the programs researched are
much larger in scope and provide oversight and control when people access the lockers. See Attachment 2
for more details about comparable programs.
Specifically, Council was interested in the programs in San Diego and Vancouver, BC.
Agenda Item 23
Item # 23 Page 2
San Diego, CA Program – Transitional Storage Center:
• City-owned facility
• Non-profit operated
• Monday – Friday 7:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday 8:00 a.m. – noon
• 304 metal lockers and 120 80-gallon plastic bins
• City funding provided $138,750
• Security – daily staff of at least 2 and security personnel
• Staff on-site and available during all hours of operation
• Program serves 400 people daily; current waitlist of 130 people
• Since 2011, over 100 people have gained employment, housing, and moved off street
• Plans to open another facility with space for 700-1,000 more bins
Vancouver, BC – The Cart and Belongings Storage Facility:
• City-owned facility
• Operated by First United Church
• 7 days per week; 6:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
• 200 bins
• $50,000-60,000 annual cost
• City provided initial funding in 2009 to start program
• Storage space is secure area that only church staff can access – program participants much check in
with church staff to access bins
• 200 spaces are full nearly every night and they often turn people away
When researching other locations, such as Berkeley and Madison, they both initially tried to implement
programs using minimal expense and less security measures, and both programs were shut down due to
safety concerns. The concerns in Madison were primarily because the program was run by volunteers and
there was no way to ensure background checks were happening, and there was lack of funding to provide full-
time staff. Staff has not been able to find any programs that offer 24/7 unsupervised access to lockers. The
closest program to this was in Denver where they provided a short-term sidewalk storage project which
included:
• the City provided ten large storage lockers on the sidewalks by the Denver Rescue Mission and Samaritan
House for 90 days;
• the lockers were available for ten homeless individuals who were seeking services such as day shelter,
employment, or medical assistance and needed a safe space to store their belongings;
• the person utilizing the locker had to have a shelter ID and be able to demonstrate that they were
connecting to supportive services.
Funding Considerations
While one-time, specific requests for funding are something that the City receives, it is important to note that
these requests are outside of the normal funding processes such as the City’s 2-year budgeting process
(Budgeting for Outcomes-BFO) and the City’s Competitive Funding Process for Affordable Housing and
Human Service Program funding. These funding processes allow context and realization of the many funding
requests that come into the City, some of which do not get funding at all or receive partial funding. With limited
resources, it is valuable to weigh funding requests among other community requests to have a more complete
understanding of needs and strategic priorities for homelessness and other critical issues in Fort Collins.
In the 2017-2018 BFO process, there was a funded enhancement offer for $224,132 entitled Homelessness
Initiatives that partially funded several programs including Outreach Fort Collins, Homeward 2020 Housing
First Initiative, Coordinated Assessment and Housing Placement System, Landlord Risk Mitigation and
Outreach, Murphy Center, and Safe Place to Rest. Additionally, the Human Service Program awarded
$176,511 to homelessness prevention and homelessness support programs.
Agenda Item 23
Item # 23 Page 3
Options for Consideration
The following options are available for consideration:
1. Fund the Fort Collins Mennonite Fellowship proposal as requested
2. Request budget offers to come to the City within the upcoming 2019-2020 Budgeting for Outcomes
process
CITY FINANCIAL IMPACTS
If Council chooses to fund the FCMF proposal, the $10,500 would come from the Community Initiatives Fund
within the City Manager’s budget.
PUBLIC OUTREACH
The FCMF hosted two neighborhood meetings (see Attachment 1 for detailed feedback). Additionally, City
Council and staff received numerous emails, phone calls, individual meetings, group meetings, and service
provider feedback. Attachment 1 provides general feedback received both in strong support as well as strong
opposition of the FCMF proposal.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Memo to Council RE: Locker Proposal at Fort Collins Mennonite Fellowship, January 11, 2018
(PDF)
2. Locker Program Matrix (PDF)
ATTACHMENT 1
Locker Program Matrix
City
operated?
Hours
Size(s) and
type
Expected
Costs
City Funding
Provided
Security
Staff
available
during all
hours of
op?
General program
success
Issues/proble
ms
Changes
made to
program
San Diego, CA
Program:
Transitional
Storage
Center
No; City
owns the
facility,
but
nonprofit
operates
the locker
program
M-F, 7-
11am and
4:30-
7:30pm.
Saturday, 8-
noon.
304 metal
lockers and
130 80-
gallon
plastic bins.
$138,750
Daily staff
of at least
2
individuals
to include
security
personnel
Yes
Program serves
400 people daily
and currently has
waiting list of 130
Locker Program Matrix
City
operated?
Hours
Size(s) and
type
Expected
Costs
City Funding
Provided
Security
Staff
available
during all
hours of
op?
General program
success
Issues/proble
ms
Changes
made to
program
Madison, WI
Program:
Sanctuary
Storage
Program no
longer
operating.
No;
operated
by
external
organizati
on
8 am – 6 pm
7 days per
week
Individuals
were given
1-2 tote
bags to
store their
items for up
to 90 days
$21,000
annually
$21,000
annually
No
cameras or
security
personnel,
but
individuals
had to
place their
items in
the tote
Locker Program Matrix
City
operated?
Hours
Size(s) and
type
Expected
Costs
City Funding
Provided
Security
Staff
available
during all
hours of
op?
General program
success
Issues/proble
ms
Changes
made to
program
Berkeley, CA
Program:
Storage
Locker
Program
Program was
never actually
implemented
No –
issued
RFPs for
nonprofit
agencies
to operate
storage
program.
7 days a
week from
7-11am and
from 6-
10pm
Located in
the
basement of
old City
Hall; 100-
160 lockers
Nonprofit
provider
contract:
$185,000
Site
improve
ments:
$50,000
Allocated
about
-1-
RESOLUTION 2018-016
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
APPROVING THE GRANT OF FUNDS FOR A LOCKER PROGRAM
AT FORT COLLINS MENNONITE FELLOWSHIP
WHEREAS, as part of the City Council’s consideration of an ordinance regarding
appropriate use of public spaces in 2017, members of the public expressed concern about a lack
of storage spaces for people experiencing homelessness; and
WHEREAS, Fort Collins Mennonite Fellowship (FCMF) has offered to host a pilot
locker program on its property in downtown Fort Collins that would provide twenty outdoor
storage lockers managed by FCMF for one year; and
WHEREAS, under FCMF’s proposal the City would provide $10,500 as a grant to FCMF
to fund purchase and installation of the lockers, awnings, and the cost of program oversight; and
WHEREAS, if the use of City funds for the locker program is approved, funds are
appropriated and available for expenditure in the Community Initiatives Fund within the City
Manager’s budget; and
WHEREAS, the City has received both strong support and strong opposition to this
proposal; and
WHEREAS, City staff has researched programs around the country that provide lockers
to people experiencing homelessness and whether they have been successful; and
WHEREAS, staff has not found another program that is directly comparable to the FCMF
proposal, as most programs are larger in scope and provide oversight and control when
individuals are accessing the lockers, mitigating safety concerns; and
WHEREAS, the City Council believes that the pilot locker program proposed by FCMF
is in the best interests of the citizens of the City.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
FORT COLLINS as follows:
Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and
findings contained in the recitals set forth above.
Section 2. That the City Manager is hereby authorized to enter into a funding
agreement with FCMF to provide $10,500 for the pilot locker program described above, on terms
and conditions consistent with this Resolution, along with such additional terms and conditions
as the City Manager, in consultation with the City Attorney, determines are necessary or
appropriate to protect the interests of the City and effectuate the purposes of this Resolution.
-2-
Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Council of the City of Fort Collins this 6th
day of February, A.D. 2018.
_________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_____________________________
City Clerk
$180,000 to
the
program,
but put the
program on
hold and re-
allocated
the funds
Staff would
have
provided
people
access to
their
belongings
under
supervision
Yes
The pilot program
was set occur from
January 2017 –
December 30,
2017. However,
the pilot program
was never
initiated. The
money was re-
allocated by
Council prior to
start-up.
N/A
Their
Council
recently
allocated
$50k for a
storage
program
in the
downtow
n area and
staff is
working
on a
program
design
that
would be
lower cost
bags with
volunteers
as witness
Yes; 1-2
voluntee
rs
present
during
hours of
op.
Was initially
supposed to be a
6-month pilot
program, but was
extended to last 3
years total.
Program ended on
12-31-2017 due to
staffing issues and
lack of space to
house storage
after landlord of
storage facility did
not renew lease.
Program run
by volunteers
– did not have
a way to
ensure they
were
background
checked;
needed full-
time staff
person, not
just
volunteers;
lack of
funding to
provide
necessary
support/staff
for program
None –
program
ended
people. Since
2011, over 100
people have been
able to gain
employment,
obtain housing,
and move off the
streets because of
the Transitional
Storage Center
Mayor
plans to
open a
2nd
storage
facility
with space
for 700-
1,000
more bins.
Vancouver,
BC
Program: The
Cart and
Belongings
Storage
Facility
No;
owned by
City but
operated
by First
United
Church
7 days per
week, 6 am
– 8 pm
200 units
(bins rather
than
lockers)
$50,000-
$60,000
annually
–
primarily
for
staffing
the
facility
Initial City
funding in
2009 to
start
program -
United
Church
converted
space within
undergroun
d parking
garage.
Storage
space is a
secure area
that only
church
staff can
access.
Individuals
must check
in with
church
staff.
Yes
Has been in
operation since
2009; 200 spaces
at the church are
full nearly every
night and they
often turn people
away.
Successfully won a
$40k grant in
2015.
ATTACHMENT 2