Kings County supervisors approved a letter of support in requesting $2 million in earmarked funds from the state budget for a homeless shelter Tuesday, but only after the initial site in Armona was removed from the funding request.
The shelter project as presented consists of a 65,000 square-foot warehouse-like facility which would operate as a kitchen, foodbank, low barrier shelter and housing navigation center located in either Armona or Hanford. A 5.6-acre lot in Armona was listed in the request as the preferred site because the Kings Community Action Organization already owns the land.
Several Armona residents asked the board to reject the proposal, however, saying the shelter would have a negative impact on nearby schools and neighbors if it was built on the 11486 Oak Ave. lot.
Isaias and Imis Gonzalez urged the board to consider the potential exposure to children in the community.
Human Services Director Wendy Osikafo assured the board that a final location for the center had not been chosen, and the property in Armona was suggested because it was large enough to develop on and it was already owned by the Kings Community Action Organization. Therefore, if the earmarked funds were approved, none of the funding would have to be used to acquire property.
Osikafo listed statistics supporting the need for a homeless shelter in the county, and said the homeless population doesn't consist of what some would consider the homeless stereotype.
"While there are folks that have chosen not to be sheltered, chose to return to the streets, we've had a lot of success," said Osikafo. "We are working with some first time homeless folks. We are working with 39 percent of the population having a disability. We are working with 6% that are veterans, and 27% that are over (age) 55. So there is a portion of the homeless population that are a bit unseen and not the stereotype and I just wanted to share some of that data to express why this is an important project for this community."
Osikafo then introduced Jeff Garner, executive director of Kings Community Action Organization, who explained the project concept and potential design.
"The project concept is priority one, site is priority two," said Garner.
The joint-use building would house a kitchen, foodbank, housing navigation center and low barrier emergency shelter. The foodbank and kitchen would encompass roughly 75% of the facility, while the remaining 25% would be used as a shelter and navigation center.
Garner emphasized that the location on Oak Avenue in Armona was chosen for convenience, as the entire facility would fit on the lot without having to be broken up.
"When we bought this property in August our intention was to make this our foodbank and centralized kitchen, but as we brainstormed on this concept, and instead of developing on two different properties, we thought this was a big enough piece of property to do it all on one piece of property," said Garner. "But this isn't where we're putting all of our eggs. This isn't the basket that we're doing that. We are still working with the City of Hanford to find locations that might be more suitable for this type of project."
Garner said that between $13 million and $16 million would be needed to fully fund the project, and a cost of $1.2 million would be incurred for annual operating costs.
Supervisor Rusty Robinson opened the board discussion, saying that the constituents who live near the Armona site are nearly split on the project, but that those opposed were extremely opposed. Robinson said he could not support the project if it were to be built at the Armona location.
"Unless I were to have assurances that this project would not go in Armona, I can't support the project," said Robinson. "You will greatly change the dynamics in the City of Armona with this project."
Before it went to the board for a vote, Osikafo requested the recommendation be amended to remove specification of the Armona location for the shelter and that the funding instead be used to seek property in Hanford.
With the amendment to the request, the board unanimously approved a letter of support for a request to the state for the earmarked funds.
In addition to the homeless shelter request, the board approved a letter of support for the request of $15 million from the state budget to help fund an integrated health center. The request by Public Health Executive Director Rose Mary Rahn was unanimously approved without concerns or questions. While the funds will not cover the entire project, they will cover a down payment on the 85,000 square-foot facility.
In other business the board:
- agreed to write a letter of support for the Santa Rosa Indian Community to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to support the acquisition of 37.19 acres of land south of Jersey Avenue.
- appointed Eric Gonzalez as the county's Director of Finance. Gonzalez will begin on March 13.
- heard an update on American Rescue Plan Act funds, which assist small businesses in recovering from financial hardship due to COVID-19. The update noted there is $3.5 million dollars remaining in available funding. The county has received 421 applications, 141 of which have been approved and 132 of those approved have received their funding.
The next Kings County Board of Supervisors meeting is scheduled for March 7 beginning at 9 a.m.
Editor's note: This story has been updated. Kings County backed a $2 million request, the board of supervisors did not approve the money. Additionally, the Armona property initially proposed for a homeless shelter site is owned by Kings Community Action Organization, not the county.
