A plan to use deteriorating cottages at Mather Community Campus for winter shelter for homeless families was poorly thought out and won't mesh with an existing transitional homeless shelter at the site, Rancho Cordova city officials warned Monday night.
"Western exposures are rotting," Vice Mayor Ken Cooley said of the cottages. "There are premises that are appallingly filled with mold. There are no stoves or refrigerators." Boards in play areas have nails sticking out, he said.
"It's not clear to me that anyone has actually thought that through," Cooley said.
As part of a plan to provide 269 temporary shelter beds starting in December, a task force organized by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson proposed allowing up to 105 people, including children, to sleep in cottages at Mather. The rest of the beds would be available at various locations, including area motels and inside buildings in downtown Sacramento.
The existing housing at Mather, long viewed as a success in helping homeless people make the transition to stable and permanent housing, has had wide support from the Rancho Cordova community. It predated Rancho Cordova's July 2003 incorporation as a city by nearly a decade.
Bruce Wagstaff, Sacramento County human assistance director, said the county wants to work with the city in assuring that the cottages at Mather Community Housing are safe and healthy to occupy. He said families occupying the cottages would be screened for drugs, alcohol and criminal background, would participate in some of the homeless programs at the site, and would remain until the end of June.
But some community members were not enthusiastic.
"We have more than our share of low-income housing, drug rehabilitation programs and homeless," said Eugene Morris, a 53-year resident of the area.
City officials called on Wagstaff to return in a month with more details about the program.
Several city officials weren't sure the two homeless programs would mesh. The requirements of a special planning area call for the county to seek a use permit for the project.
What about costs to the city? asked Mayor Dan Skoglund. "We haven't budgeted any money for this," he said.
"That's the million-dollar question," responded Curt Haven, Rancho Cordova's director of economic development.
Underlying the discussion was what some on the council felt was a rude discovery that the shelter plan was being devised without their being notified.
"I have to say I don't feel very comfortable about this plan," Skoglund said. "We were slapped with this. This hit us cold. It was such a shock. And when (Sacramento) Mayor Johnson called me last week to apologize ... I was appreciative."
He said Sacramento County Supervisor Don Nottoli also called to apologize.
"I have no problem with your county staff or somebody bringing this back to us," Skoglund said. "But at this point in time, I'm not supporting this at all."
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