City outlines cold‑weather shelter strategy: 600 adult beds, hotel vouchers for families and contingency plans

Housing staff reviewed the city's cold‑weather shelter thresholds and capacity planning before winter. The city’s current activation standard — nights forecast at 25°F or below or two inches or more of snow — and a 24‑hour model for activations remain in place; staff said they are planning for a worst‑case 80 nights and regular capacity for about 600 single adults and 200 families via hotel vouchers.

Jeff Kasitzky (Host) and Cole Chandler outlined the contract landscape: a Bayaud contract that primarily serves families is expiring Dec. 31 and staff plan to extend that contract through the upcoming season while issuing a new RFP in spring 2027. Staff said the system's first‑tier sites and contracted hotels could provide roughly 600 adult beds and that, if necessary, they would flex into city buildings (recreation centers, Coliseum) for major cold snaps. Transportation vendors include large bus vendors and smaller accessible vans; Bayaud provides inter‑site transport while deactivation transport is provided by private vendors and the city’s outreach teams.

Staff discussed utilization in prior seasons — about 420 single adults served nightly in 2024–25 versus roughly 320 last season, and family counts falling from about 200 to around 100 — and stressed the need for flexibility: "We are preparing for up to 80 activation nights," Chandler said. Councilmembers asked about staffing ratios (staff cited approximately 1:20 staff to clients for sites like the Zuni intake) and how the city will manage neighborhood impacts at sites that operate for extended activations.