Title
Site Recommendations for One-Stop Assistance Center for the Homeless (B)
This item includes a detailed explanation of the site evaluation and selection process and presents the City Commission with recommendations for a site for the One-Stop Assistance Center for the Homeless.
Explanation
Pursuant to the award of the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the One-Stop Assistance Center, staff has completed a search for appropriate sites. More than 125 sites, public and private, in all quadrants of the City were identified and reviewed (see Attachment A in back-up materials). In addition to considering public property owned by the City, City staff also contacted the County Manager and the Executive Director of Facilities for the Alachua County School Board to determine if these entities had surplus property which could be considered.
The site selection process evaluated sites based upon the criteria approved by the City Commission at the December 11, 2006 meeting. The process also evaluated the suitability of sites based on the services to be provided at the Center, which include, but are not limited to, case management, personal care including showers and laundry facilities, and meal distribution. These services are expected to be provided to more than 100 clients per day.
As a result of the above factors, most of the sites were eliminated for one or more of the following reasons:
1) Many existing facilities could not be renovated at a reasonable cost to accommodate the personal care services (showers, laundry) to be provided.
2) Many existing facilities and sites could not provide adequate space for the large number of clients expected for meal distribution and/or social interaction.
3) Even if the site and/or facility were adequate in size for the one-stop center services, appropriate buffers to protect existing neighborhoods could not be provided. This was especially true of leased spaces which are primarily located in existing nei...
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