FORT SCOTT, Kan. — Fort Scott city commissioners voted 4-1 Monday night not to apply for nearly $1.6 million in federal funding to convert the former convent at 810 S. Burke St. into transitional housing for people experiencing homelessness.
Commissioners toured the building before reconvening at city hall, where Commissioner Julie Buchta moved to disapprove the application. Commissioner Tim Van Hoecke seconded the motion.
Commissioner Matthew Wells, who noted before the roll call that the proposal was for transitional housing rather than a homeless shelter, cast the lone vote against the motion.
"Even if I was going to vote yes, I've been outvoted. So I will go ahead and vote no," Wells said as he cast his vote.
Before the vote, City Manager Brad Matkin read a prepared statement opposing BridgePoint Community, saying his concern was not transitional housing but city ownership and operation of the facility.
"While grant funding may pay for the acquisition and renovation of the former convent building, those funds are temporary," Matkin said. "Once the grant period ends, the responsibility for operating, maintaining, staffing and funding the facility could ultimately fall on the city and its taxpayers unless a qualified nonprofit organization assumes those responsibilities."
Matkin said organizations focused on housing and supportive services are better equipped than municipal government to run such a program. He welcomed talks with a qualified nonprofit willing to own and operate one.
"My position is based not on opposition to helping people, but on fiscal responsibility, long-term sustainability and ensuring that the city remains focused on the core services and investments that benefit all residents while partnering with organizations better suited to provide specialized housing and social services," he said.
"I agree with everything that you've said, Brad, completely," Buchta said before making her motion.
After the vote, Matkin said the decision did not end the city's work on housing and homelessness.
"This does not mean we are not going to continue looking for avenues," he said.
Commissioner Tracy Dancer thanked Matkin for allowing staff to explore the proposal and credited Housing Development Director Lisa Dillon for her work. He said his vote came down to timing and unanswered questions.
"It felt rushed," Dancer said. "I did not feel that I had the time to do the due diligence, and I don't have enough information."
Van Hoecke said the community must address homelessness but called the proposal too large a first step.
"I think for our first step, this would have been more like a gigantic leap," he said, thanking residents who toured the building and attended the meeting.
Mayor Kathryn Salsbury said she lacked information about the building's title and did not want the city to discover encumbrances later. She also questioned its condition, saying she understood its single-pane windows would need replacement before it could be used for housing.
Salsbury said she had seen "a campaign of misinformation" about the proposal. She distinguished transitional housing, in which residents typically contribute about 30% toward their stay, from a homeless shelter, which she said the city could not support as an entity. Transitional housing can serve people aging out of foster care, escaping domestic violence, recovering from substance abuse or otherwise working to regain stability, she said.
"I don't think this was the right time, the right place, the right building, the right program, but we need to keep working and we need to keep helping, because we are a community who cares about one another and we're trying to build something solid going forward," Salsbury said.
She also thanked Dillon for her work.
Wells said he spent Monday fielding calls, texts and emails from residents. He asked audience members to raise their hands if they opposed the location, transitional housing or a homeless shelter.
Wells said he supports transitional housing for families who have lost their homes and people improving their lives, but not a homeless shelter. He cited the local Core Community program, where he said small investments in people have benefited the community overall.
"They're taking care of their families, they're working jobs, they're paying taxes. And that helps all of us as a whole. When they become better, we become better," Wells said.
During public comment, Jenni Simhiser, CEO of the Path of EASE Association, which operates a recovery house for women and children near the former convent, said her facility is beyond capacity.
"I'm getting ready to couch a girl. I am overly full and I have a waiting list," Simhiser said. "I can't offer any more help for the numerous amounts of people that call me."
Simhiser said the transitional house has a 61.1% success rate, with residents who had been homeless now working, living in their own apartments and reunited with their families. She said she is working to open a men's house and a resource center, but those facilities still would not meet Fort Scott's need for transitional housing.
"Transitional housing is phenomenal," she said.
Buchta asked Simhiser to discuss possible solutions and said Continuum of Care is not the only available grant program.
“We’re not giving up on our homeless people, but we have to be very careful with our dollars spent,” Buchta said.
