Roughly 300 people to be housed at Austin's Marshalling Yard, here's what we know
The City of Austin is moving forward with a one-year, $9.1 million contract with Family Endeavors to run homeless shelter operations at the Marshalling Yard after Austin City Council signed off on the funding Thursday.
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The City of Austin is moving forward with a one-year, $9.1 million contract with Family Endeavors to run homeless shelter operations at the Marshalling Yard after Austin City Council signed off on the funding Thursday.
The nearly $10 million will come from the city's allotment of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.
Council Member Zohaib Qadri -- who ultimately ended up being the lone vote against the resolution -- attempted to introduce an amendment that would have brought the contract back to council before being executed. That amendment failed.
"I don’t believe the item that was passed today will bring long lasting help to our community who are unhoused. A community that needs and deserves help with dignity. That’s why I voted NO. At its worst, I fear that an unintended consequence could be loss of human life," Qadri tweeted.
Several groups, including the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance, spoke against the proposal before its approval Thursday, saying not enough information was provided about the services offered and there wasn't enough clarity about what would happen when the one-year contract was up.
"If we close it, and when we close it, we're going to be back [with] less beds, so we ought to be looking at those kinds of things but I don't think that decision needs to be made right now," Mayor Kirk Watson said.
The item passed after some back and forth among council members about getting people out of the Texas heat and the need for more details about the contract. The homeless strategy officer for the City of Austin said she had hoped people would be moved into the Marshalling Yard as soon as early August.
"We can't even enforce, effectively, the no camping ban that the voters authorized two years ago. And we have not been able to effectively enforce it because there's insufficient shelter beds," Interim City Manger Jesus Garza said.
What is the Marshalling Yard?
The Marshalling Yard was built to be an extension of the Austin Convention Center where trucks could be parked and materials could be stored, according to its website.
It's roughly 70,000 square feet and is located near the airport.
Watson noted that even though the building has been called a warehouse, it had already been retrofitted to house people in emergencies. He said that happened first after a hurricane where it was used to temporarily shelter people who fled to Austin.
Who will be running the shelter?
The shelter will be run by Family Endeavors, which already does rapid rehousing in Austin, according to its website. The city's financial records website shows the city already contracts the group for other homelessness efforts.
KXAN has reached out to Family Endeavors to ask what it plans to do with the site. The group said they were waiting to hear back from the city before interviewing with KXAN.
According to city documents, the other groups that applied were AnyPlace Healthcare Organization and the Austin Area Urban League.
What services will be provided?
According to council documents, there will be beds, places for personal storage, three meals a day, hygiene resources including outdoor showers, laundry, charging stations, computers, case management and housing-focused support resources, among other services provided at the facility.
Pets will be allowed and there is a green space nearby to walk pets, the request for proposal (RFP) said.
A questions and answers document shows there are two showers inside that are "ADA only." Additional showers will be put outside of the building, it said.
The group must also operate a shuttle service between the shelter and bus stops in the area. During a work session last week, Dianna Grey, the homeless strategy officer, said that was because those bus stops are a distance from the shelter and they didn't want people walking between the two.
That shuttle service will run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and could also go to places like grocery stores.
What about security?
According to the RFP, security guards will need to be hired at the facility as "Convention Center security guards are not sworn officers and are on-site to monitor the grounds, trucks and cameras."
They will not be part of the shelter operations, the document said.
The RFP also shows even though the shelter will be operational around the clock, it will have designated intake hours and nightly curfews.
Who will qualify?
That's something the city said it was working with Endeavors to determine.
The RFP said there's a possibility minors are temporarily housed at the location.
"If it's an operation of the City of Austin's Homeland Security Emergency Management (HSEM) department, the City would work to set up separation of activities," it said.
KXAN is still working to get details about the contract and has requested access into the Marshalling Yard. This story will be updated as we learn more.