A facility that serves up to 150 people experiencing homelessness has run into financial difficulties, and has asked the Sioux City Council to provide about $420,000 in funding to stay open.
The subject came up in the Monday council meeting, when Shayla Moore, executive director of The Warming Shelter in downtown Sioux City, said it was “a real harsh reality” that the shelter could close without new funding.
Moore said if the shelter closes, it would have a derogatory impact on unhoused people. She also predicted that if a closure takes place, police would see more incidents of people experiencing homelessness taking extreme actions to get shelter.
The center opened as a non-profit entity in 2013 in a small space on the Sioux City Soup Kitchen, and eventually moved to 916 Nebraska Street. It operates on a budget entirely made of donations, with a concerted decision not to rely on state or federal programs. On the coldest winter periods, from 130 to 150 people use The Warming Shelter.
Councilman Dan Moore said The Warming Shelter is a great resource, and other council members said it would be difficult to provide funding. Moore said it takes about $70,000 to operate the facility in each of the coldest months, and six months of financial support would be appreciated.
The council did not vote on the financial asking by Moore, as it came up in the meeting not as a slated agenda item. The council by April will set a budget for the fiscal year that starts in July 2024, and it could come back for consideration in those talks.
Councilwoman Julie Schoenherr the city supports people experiencing homelessness through several programs that are housed in the Neighborhood Services Division.
Also in Sioux City, an outside group that manages four other Sioux City entertainment venues will now also run the Sioux City Convention Center.
The Sioux City Council on Monday added that task in expanding its contract with the Oak View Group, a global sports and entertainment company. Effective on April 1, Oak View Group will take on the tasks of managing, and providing food and beverages at the convention center.
Sioux City City Manager Bob Padmore said Oak View Group has done well in its role with the Tyson Events Center, Orpheum Theatre, Sioux Gateway Airport, and Seaboard Triumph Foods Expo Center in varying management, concession, and events-booking tasks at those four sites.
Therefore Padmore said he expects more good work from OVG as it adds in the Sioux City Convention Center duties. In one example of positive changes made by the firm, Padmore said the operating budget deficit at the Orpheum has been reduced.
Additionally, there is a proposal being debated in the Iowa Legislature to increase teacher annual salaries to $50,000, and now a new proposal would give teachers money to use for supplies.
It has been widely reported for years that many teachers pay hundreds of dollars per year of their own money for classroom supplies. The proposal in the Iowa Senate would require school districts to set aside money specifically for supplies.
The bill titled Senate File 2009 would give new teachers an account of $500, while veteran teachers would get $200. That measure would cost an estimated $8 million, and would come out of existing school funding.
State Senator Sarah Trone Garriott, a Democrat from West Des Moines, said if such accounts to help teachers are to be created, legislators should come up with new funding, instead of moving existing money around.
