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City Approves Plans To Build An $836,000 Shelter For The Unhoused

City of Eugene

The Eugene City Council voted on Wednesday to distribute nearly $2 million toward tackling homelessness in Lane County. This moves the city closer to establishing a low barrier public shelter.

Councilors voted to allocate $836,000 to build a tent–like Sprung structure. Specifics on the interior design, including the cost of furnishing the shelter, and the location remain unknown. Councilor Emily Semple expressed concern that these details weren’t fleshed out.

“I’m still in favor of this, but not having a site first, it’s making be kind of dubious, and not having the money to furnish it, is making me kind of dubious,” said Semple.

While Semple joined 5 others in approving the motion, Councilors Betty Taylor and Mike Clark voted no. The proposal also includes $525,000 to fund a Strategic Initiatives Manager and other services to oversee the project for the next 3 years. 

City staff assured the council they will iron out the details. City Manager Policy Analyst Jason Dedrick told KLCC that now that the city has approved the motion, they can look for possible locations.

"In theory, [the shelter] could locate on a quarter to a half acre depending on the site...we've been doing a lot of work trying to understand what the needs are geographically and how that might factor into the location," Dedrick said.

The proposal follows recommendations from the Technical Assistance Collaborative, or TAC report, that came out earlier this year.

Correction: A previous version misstated the pay of the Strategic Initiatives Manager

Melorie Begay is a multimedia journalist for KLCC News. She was the Inaugural KLCC Public Radio Foundation Journalism Fellow. She has a bachelors in Multimedia Journalism from the University of New Mexico. She previously interned at KUNM public radio in Albuquerque, NM and served as a fellow for the online news publication New Mexico In Depth.