Durango City Council will vote Tuesday on whether to approve an emergency warming center this winter at Sacred Heart Catholic Church Parish Hall in South Durango.
The temporary warming center would offer a place for people experiencing homelessness to shelter from extreme cold during the winter months.
It would operate 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. from Nov. 1 to Feb. 28 on nights when the temperature falls to 15 degrees or below. That occurred 19 nights last winter, according to the City Councilor agenda packet.
The Emergency Warming Center Council, composed of local organizations including Neighbors in Need Alliance, Manna soup kitchen, and the American Red Cross ‒ which would oversee the operations ‒ made the proposal after initiating discussion with the city in March. If approved, the Emergency Warming Center Council would oversee the center.
The city would incur no additional cost, and the center would be staffed by one paid coordinator and several volunteers. Capacity would be capped at 20 people per night.
Last winter, the Community Compassion Outreach building on U.S. Highway 160 in west Durango was used, but overnight sleeping was prohibited because the building lacked fire sprinklers.
The Emergency Warming Center Council reached out to the city in the spring to develop an alternative plan in a building that permitted overnight sleeping.
Staff recommended that City Council approve the plan for the temporary warming center, according to the agenda packet.
According to the packet, the Emergency Warming Center Council made significant efforts to engage the community and the surrounding neighborhood about the proposed location.
The Boulevard Neighborhood Association unanimously voted not to oppose a warming shelter at Sacred Heart. However, Durango School District sent a letter opposing the location because it is 0.3 miles from Park Elementary.
Durango School District declined an interview for this story but provided a written statement by email.
While the district supports the concept of a warming center, the location raises safety concerns, said Karla Sluis, spokeswoman for the district.
The proposed shelter would be located at 255 East Fifth St., about five blocks from Park Elementary School at 510 East Sixth Ave.
“At this time, there is no clear safety plan outlining how the city, law enforcement, and the district would work together to prevent or respond to issues that could arise,” Sluis wrote. “Over the past several years, our school has experienced repeated incidents involving individuals frequenting or residing near campus – ranging from trespassing, theft, and vandalism to public intoxication, inappropriate behavior, and other safety and sanitation concerns that directly impact students and staff.”
Durango School District wants the city to select a different location or develop a detailed safety plan before proceeding with the shelter, Sluis added.
In gauging neighborhood sentiment, 20 volunteers attempted to contact roughly 350 residents, according to the agenda packet.
Of the 177 surveys completed, representing 51% of the addresses, 156 showed some level of support, while eight demonstrated some level of nonsupport to the warming shelter.
“I’m in full support,” said Lacey Enderle, a longtime resident of the neighborhood near Sacred Heart. “I don’t know how my neighbors would feel with that extra pedestrian traffic. But you know what? It’s just three months, so as long as there’s communication, to the (unhoused) population … I want it to be there.”
Enderle said she can understand some of the concern about safety but believes that consistent communication among the warming center, guests, the city and law enforcement would prevent any risk to the neighborhood.
“I’m willing to deal with some possible tricky situations for just a few months out of the year,” she said.
Neither Sacred Heart nor the Emergency Warming Center Council immediately responded to a request for comment Monday.
jbowman@durangoherald.com
