SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) – The Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness held its final meeting on Monday. The task force was created to help the city determine a location for a permanent low barrier homeless shelter.
The final report lists five potential locations for the new shelter and recommends a location over two miles away from the city center.
Mayor Ron Kim created the task force to determine where a permanent shelter should be located and to determine what agency should operate it.
On Monday night members decided on the recommendations that the task force will send over to the city council in a final report.
However some are still concerned about the proposed location because there are no sidewalks, crosswalks or bus stops nearby.
The task force recommended the new shelter be located on Lake Avenue, near the Northway overpass. Task force member Hannah Hurley disagrees with that proposal.
“Because we have such a great continuum of care here we have a lot of great options for people but unfortunately those are all located downtown so it’s essential that we keep the shelter somewhere close to the other services,” Hurley said.
She said she walked from the proposed Lake Avenue site to downtown Saratoga and it took her 45 minutes. She expressed concerns for the elderly and others with low mobility.
The city council is expected to review the recommendations made by the task force next year, under a new administration.
“Unfortunately, in the richest nation in the world, we have a terrible homeless problem throughout our country. We need to address it. Our community has, and I hope it continues to do that,” said Kim.
Hurley said Kim attended every meeting the task force had. She hopes the new mayor will continue the work they’ve started.
“I think one of the challenges the next administration will have is funding. We stepped up to fund this on a temporary basis, but we need to look at other resources,” said Kim.
During his campaign for mayor, John Safford told NEWS10 that working in conjunction with the county is the key to long term success.
