City outlines progress and operational questions for Dining with Dignity pavilion

City staff told the commission the Dining with Dignity Pavilion has increased meal-site use and is moving toward expanded services, but several operational questions must be resolved before the city can roll out showers and laundry as routine services.

Community Services Director Jamie D. Perkins said weekly data collected by outreach staff show roughly a 62% increase in attendance at the new pavilion compared with the prior location. “Since transitioning those services to the site, we continue to see increased usability,” Perkins said. The city partners with Home Again St. Johns for meal coordination and UF Health’s mobile health bus for monthly wellness visits; Discover and Recover, a local recovery clinic, provides weekly services.

Perkins outlined outstanding operational issues: ADA accessibility improvements, locks on shower doors to allow staff access in emergencies, and limits posed by the site’s domestic hot-water heater that may constrain the number of daily showers. “We don’t have a commercial hot water heater at that site, so we may not be able to offer 100 showers a day,” Perkins said.

Commissioners asked about staffing and liability. Perkins and the city manager said the city funds security and one full-time outreach specialist; volunteers supply many service elements. Commissioners raised liability concerns about volunteer-monitored showers and suggested a formal survey of users to estimate demand before finalizing service levels.

Staff said they are working with the Continuum of Care to finalize a draft memorandum of understanding on operations and expect to bring that agreement back to the commission for review and approval. No firm phase-2 timeline was set; Perkins said staff prefer a realistic schedule rather than an optimistic date.