The future of Saratoga Springs’ only 24/7, year-round, low-barrier homeless shelter remains in limbo after a tense city council meeting Tuesday.
RISE Housing and Support Services began operating a so-called “temporary” shelter for the city in 2022.
Now located on Adelphi Street, the shelter is funded through the end of this year. At the end of last month, Executive Director Sybil Newell wrote to the city council demanding a commitment to fund the shelter through the end of 2026. Without the commitment, the letter says, the shelter would close as soon as June 3rd — just days before the Belmont Stakes is set to be run at Saratoga Race Course.
More than 30 individuals currently reside at RISE’s shelter.
Associate Executive Director Lindsey Connors spoke during the public comment period of Tuesday’s council meeting.
“And the one gap we have always had in our region, the missing piece, is a year-round, low-barrier shelter. That gap is precisely where our community has struggled so profoundly to treat homelessness. When the Adelphi Street shelter opened the impact was immediate. The encampment in the Woodlawn parking garage cleared. This program works. Whether or not we approve of where people are in their personal journeys, the reality is this: a low-barrier shelter meets people where they are and helps take them to the next step. It is not only of benefit to the guests we serve, it is a benefit to the entire community,” said Connors.
The shelter currently costs a little over $40,000 a month to operate.
Newell spoke with reporters outside city hall.
“It’s been amazing how many more conversations we’ve had since we made this statement. It’s amazing how many more of our phone calls have been returned since we made this statement and we were pretty confident that would happen,” said Newell.
In 2023, then-Democratic Mayor Ron Kim started a task force to find a location for a permanent low-barrier shelter. By the end of the year the task force had chosen a 4-acre plot on Lake Avenue two miles east of downtown.
The city has yet to move forward on establishing a permanent shelter at that, or any, location.
Newell said without a permanent solution at hand she was forced to take this drastic step.
“For the last two years we’ve really had to scrape and struggle to get funding committed every year. And that has left us in complete limbo until very close to the end of our contract every year. We have been told, ‘wait until the track season is over, wait until we’re not so busy, wait until the fall,’ and that really takes the pressure off the city and the county to do anything really about this,” said Newell.
Earlier this year, Saratoga County closed on a $3 million purchase of a 1.4-acre lot on Ballston Avenue on the city’s south side. The site will serve as a permanent location of the county’s mandatory seasonal Code Blue shelter run by Shelters of Saratoga.
Newell and Mayor John Safford both suggested the two organizations could share the space.
First-term Republican Safford, who campaigned on helping the city’s unhoused residents, had a tense back and forth with Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi, a Democrat, on the issue.
“We are committed, by contract, to support the low-barrier shelter through this year, and we are totally committed to that,” said Safford.
“Yeah, I think we all heard that several times over,” said Sanghvi.
“What is unclear about that?” asked Safford.
“What is unclear is that you are not willing to address the pieces that RISE has asked you for,” said Sanghvi.
“What RISE has asked me for? I’m asking you for,” said Safford.
“No, no, let me finish. They have asked for two things. They have asked for commitment until end of 2026 and you seem to not want to be doing that, that’s my understanding based on your words,” said Sanghvi.
“Exactly,” said Safford.
Following the meeting, Safford said he supports a variety of ways to help the homeless in the city but he can’t sign on to committing funds.
“RISE is asking for something that any good manager of funds just can’t give at this point. They’re concerned about federal funding, the county’s concerned about federal funding, the city has to be concerned about our funding. So, to make a commitment, especially talking about a two- or three-year commitment, is something when we have no idea what our funding is going to be is just not wise financial management,” said Safford.
Sanghvi said she's as confident as possible that city finances can handle RISE’s request.
“We’re expecting revenue streams from cannabis revenue, from short-term rental revenue, sales tax, occupancy tax, our mortgage taxes is at like 40% over projections. Our occupancy tax was 30% over projections. Not to mention that we are finally going to have a full season of paid parking, which as you saw Commissioner Chuck Marshall just extended the program to include more people. So, I think that what they mayor is doing is hiding behind excuses because it’s very clear from his omission he does not want to fund this beyond 2025,” said Sanghvi.
Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran is expected to present a funding proposal in the coming weeks.
