Possible New Direction On Tuolumne County Homelessness Projects
Sonora, CA — Some members of the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors are concerned about the amount of money that will be required, and what will actually be fully reimbursed by the state, in relation to homelessness projects in development.
In recent years, the board of supervisors purchased a building in Soulsbyville to house a navigation center, which is now operational. In addition, the county has bought the former Satellite Health commercial building at 136 Columbia Way, two homes at 720 Snell Street, and the Miner’s Hotel on Highway 108 in Jamestown. In addition, four homes were purchased on Parrotts Ferry Road for Behavioral Health supportive housing. Also, the Justice Center site, next to the jail, is being used as a sanctioned homeless camp.
District Three Supervisor Anaiah Kirk, along with District Four Supervisor Steve Griefer, requested that there be a deep dive into the homeless projects, indicating that the county may want to change course on some of the efforts. Griefer is a new member of the board, having joined with Mike Holland, in January.
Indicating a change in some of his earlier opinions, Supervisor Kirk explained, “We were told that X amount of money would provide X amount of housing for the homeless population. What I’m understanding now is that X amount of money is not going to be enough for X amount of housing moving forward. I want to have that conversation sooner than later. I think it could potentially hit us in the long run and potentially start drawing on county funds.”
Supervisor Griefer added, “My concern is that we have a lot of liability ahead of us. We are obviously struggling with budget cuts, and things like that. What I don’t want to do is continue to spend money on buildings that we are not going to get open on time. And that’s been confirmed. We will not be able to hit our target dates, which means that we would have to give money back (to the state).”
District Two Supervisor Ryan Campbell supported hearing an update on the projects, but questioned some of the statements being made. Speaking after Supervisor Griefer, he said, “I think that it is important that we have the same information before we start making decisions, because it sounds like you are hearing something that I’m not hearing. To me, it seems really appropriate, as you guys are new on the board, and we have gone down this road with the different capital project investments with different sources of funding. I think it is entirely appropriate that we have an update.”
The vote was 5-0 to request a presentation on the homelessness capital improvement projects. It will also be a time to provide any new direction if the board chooses. Interim CAO Roger Root noted that the item would come back to the board in April.
