By James Day
Sheltering Silverton’s move to a new space in the city’s Public Works complex is just a week or so away.
Sarah White, the nonprofit’s executive director, told Our Town “we are very close to completing the renovations of our building.”
Key work to be done on the modular structure includes plumbing, adding a kitchen and a bathroom, electrical work and fire sprinklers as well as Americans With Disabilities Act compliance modifications.
The modular building and four pallet shelters at the site eventually will be able to accommodate 20 people, using $564,000 in state money that is part of the Governor Tina Kotek’s $130 million emergency appropriation for housing and homelessness from earlier this year.
“We continue to use the governor’s [emergency operations] funds to operate our shelter and expanded day center in the basement of the Community Center, though our capacity will increase at the new site,” White said.
White said Sheltering Silverton will be out of the Community Center by December.
“We will cease all services there and just take a few extra weeks to clean out our spaces,” White said.
Other tenants at the Community Center are getting anxious about their status. The Oregon Military Department owns the building. The city’s lease expires in March but will move its City Council operations to the new Civic Center early next year. Silverton Area Community Aid plans to move out of the basement and into the former Ratchet Brewery building, but will not be in a position to do so by March. The Silver Falls YMCA and local pickleball players also use the center.
Mayor Jason Freilinger said the City Council likely will discuss the situation at one of its November meetings.
