What is driving the requirement to establish a homeless shelter in Davis County?
The Utah Legislature passed House Bill 499 (HB499) in 2023, which among other things, requires counties of the second class, including Davis County, to convene a county winter
response task force to develop a winter response plan for providing shelter for homeless individuals. Under this current legislation, Davis County would be required to provide a
temporary “Code Blue” winter shelter somewhere within the County in order to house unsheltered individuals on days between October 15, 2024 and April 30, 2025 whenever the
temperature the temperature is forecasted to reach 15 degrees for a period of two hours or more during the coming 24-hour period.
Who makes the decision where within in Davis County the shelter will placed?
In response to HB499, Davis County established a Homeless Task Force and asked mayors from around the County to participate. Mayor Tran volunteered to participate as one of seven Davis
County mayors on the Task Force in order to represent Kaysville City and contribute to the longterm goal to help those in need work to achieve mental wellness, financial stability and independent, permanent housing. The Task Force is responsible for finding a suitable location for the required shelter and providing a recommendation for the Davis County Commission, which will ultimately make any decisions.
The Task Force has reviewed several locations throughout the County as possible temporary shelters. Due to funding, the County has prioritized looking at properties that it already owns
such as the Davis County senior centers in Bountiful, Layton, and Kaysville, the old County fairgrounds in Farmington, and the diesel emissions testing center in Kaysville. All of the senior
centers were deemed as unsuitable due to conflicts with the existing use among other things, such as a lack of nearby support services for the homeless population. The old County
fairgrounds in Farmington, near Station Park, was determined to be unsuitable due to safety and liability issues related to the active construction that is underway within the fairgrounds.
Is Kaysville being considered as a location for a homeless shelter?
The County’s diesel emissions testing center at 20 North 600 West in Kaysville (directly north of the Deseret Mills) was identified as a potentially viable location for a temporary shelter due to
its availability. The building was decommissioned as an emissions testing center years ago. If the County ultimately were to select the emissions center as its temporary shelter, it is
estimated that over $1 million would need to be spent to make the building suitable to temporarily shelter homeless individuals. Under HB499, the State is currently requiring the
County to implement the temporary shelter during the winters of 2024-25 and 2025-26, after which, it is the intent of the County to have a permanent shelter up and running in a more ideal
location.
Does Kaysville City have a say in where the shelter will be placed, and what is the City doing
to look out for the best interests of the Kaysville community?
As indicated above, the Davis County Homeless Task Force is responsible for finding a suitable location for the state-required shelter and providing a recommendation for the Davis County
Commission to approve. Even if the location selected by the County is at the County’s emission testing center in Kaysville, that decision does not go before the Kaysville City Council, nor can
the City Council override the County Commission on that decision. Additionally, while Mayor Tran has volunteered to serve on the County’s Homeless Task Force, she is only one member of
the Task Force and could be outvoted if the Task Force were to determine to recommend the emissions center in Kaysville as its preferred site for a temporary shelter.
Mayor Tran and the City Council strongly oppose a shelter at the emissions testing center and have never at any time advocated or supported any type of homeless service (temporary or
permanent) in Kaysville. The emissions building is not a suitable site for a shelter for a number of reasons. Kaysville City is highly concerned about the effects a shelter would have on the
surrounding neighborhoods and businesses.
It is also very important to consider that the emissions center is not near the services that the homeless population relies on, such as mass transit and work force services. The emission
center, and Kaysville in general, are not in proximity to regular and reliable mass transit, which so many homeless individuals heavily rely on. In order to successfully meet the needs of the
people the County is trying to help, we believe it is highly important to put the shelter in an area where there is already a concentration of unsheltered individuals and where the transit
and services that these individuals rely upon already exists. The County’s point in time (PIT) counts have suggested that there are very few, if any, unsheltered individuals who expressed
need for services. The PIT volunteers were unable to locate anyone living in their cars or camping in Kaysville.
Mayor Tran, along with other Task Force members, have been working diligently to find a more suitable location for a shelter. This includes not only vetting data and locations throughout the
County, but also working with state legislators to pass legislation that would amend and remove the requirement that counties spend funds to establish temporary shelters if they have
a plan to establish a permanent shelter. Mayor Tran and other Task Force members recently met with State Homeless Coordinator and former Senator Wayne Niederhauser, to amend a bill
to exempt counties that submit a long-term shelter plan from the current temporary Code Blue winter response requirement. The bill sponsor wants to include additional amendments one
being considered would also change the make-up of the Task Force to exclude and limit most mayors. This amended bill would completely remove any requirement for Kaysville or any
other city in Davis County to host a temporary shelter IF they submit a long-term plan for a permanent shelter in their county.
The Davis County Commission and the Homeless Task Force, which Mayor Tran has volunteered to serve on, have submitted an appropriations request to the state legislature for $30 million
and $2 million in ongoing funds to hire consultants to collect data, locate a building or land for the County to purchase, and work through the land-use process with whichever city is
determined to be able to best support the needs of unsheltered individuals. Once again, Kaysville is not the right location to best serve the homeless population in Davis
County for the obvious reasons that have been stated.
When will a decision be made?
Under the current legislation, the County is required to submit a winter response plan to the State Office of Homeless Services by no later than August 1, 2024. This plan is required to
include a plan and location for the County’s temporary Code Blue shelter. That being said, as stated above, work is underway to make amendments to the current legislation, which is
expected affect Davis County and the need to even provide a temporary shelter if the County has a plan to eventually establish a permanent shelter.
More will be known as the state legislative session continues throughout the month of February. The 2024 legislative session will officially end on March 1, 2024.
How can Kaysville residents stay informed about this issue?
Please follow us at www.facebook.com/kaysvillecity/ or check our homepage under “Latest News & Events” at www.kaysville.gov for the latest information. You may also attend any city
council meeting at 7:00 p.m. on the first and third Thursdays of each month. The County’s proposed homeless shelter was posted and discussed as a work item on the January 4, 2024
City Council agenda. It was also discussed as a work item on the October 19, 2023 Council agenda as the County sought feedback from cities throughout Davis County about allowing
billboards along I-15 as part of a proposal that would allow the County to purchase privately owned land for a homeless shelter in Clearfield. Although the homeless shelter topic will not
be a work item at every council meeting, the City will report any notable updates from the County at each meeting. Residents are also always welcomed to provide public comment on
this or any other topic at any city council meeting. Should you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to email us at mailbox@kaysville.gov.