By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews
NEWPORT – With an “Are we ready? Let’s do this!” the staff at Lincoln County’s winter shelter for the homeless reopened Wednesday night for the first time this season after five months and $605,000 worth of renovations.
But as one shelter opened, a second in Lincoln City was forced to close because Lincoln County must connect the building to a larger water source for a newly installed fire sprinkler system in the building it owns at 2125 N.W. Highway 101.
That shelter had been operating under a 60-day waiver from North Lincoln Fire & Rescue, which has to inspect and sign off on the sprinkler system – and required the larger connection.
In the meantime, the county said it would offer to bus any homeless people in Lincoln City to and from the overnight shelter on Southwest Seventh Street in Newport.
The completely refurbished building in Newport has space for 50 people, more than twice the capacity of First Presbyterian Church, which has let the county use portions of the church since Nov. 1.
Outside Wednesday night, winter shelter program manager Chantelle Estess gave detailed shelter instructions to 15 people – many she knew by first names — waiting for meal, a shower, a warm room and to sleep on either cot or bunk bed. By 7 o’clock the next morning they’re ushered out of the shelter, many to spend the day at Agape Respite Center on Southwest 10th Street.
In a rush two years ago to provide overnight shelter during the winter, the Housing Authority of Lincoln County purchased the Newport building. The county used space in two Newport churches for shelter for two months before opening the facility in November 2023.
When the Newport shelter closed for the season last March, the county planned extensive renovations to operate it more effectively – a project which grew more complicated and expensive when contractors discovered asbestos in the building.
The six-month operating window for the Newport and Lincoln City shelters was moved back a month this season from Nov. 1 through April 30 to account for typically harsher weather. That meant when the shelter program re-started Nov. 1 it once again had to use the Presbyterian church.
The renovations in Newport included new flooring, new paint inside and out, a fire-suppression system, new plumbing, an ADA-compliant bathroom and entry door, medical and navigation offices, a training room, private rooms for individuals with mobility issues, new windows, new siding, and wiring for the internet and cameras.
“These improvements will significantly enhance our facility, allowing us to increase capacity with more beds while providing better accommodations for individuals with mobility limitations,” Estess said in a news release.
The newly built medical office will offer basic health care and referrals by a doctor volunteering his services. The navigation office is where county employees can meet with people to make referrals for mental health and substance treatment service, and transitional or permanent housing.
“This is a vital first step in stabilizing our guests and working toward ending homelessness,” Estess said.
The cost of the renovation was $605,000, the county said. The city of Newport contributed $250,000, the county contributed $200,000, and the Lincoln County Homelessness Advisory Board contributed $200,000 via state funding.
While extensive renovations at the Lincoln City shelter, including a new sprinkler system, are complete, the county said in a news release this week it is awaiting permits before a contractor can increase the outside connection to the water main.
Despite the facility having two on-duty staff overnight, the county said the North Lincoln fire marshal will not allow the shelter to continue operating until the new connection is complete.
North Lincoln fire marshal Cody Heidt issued the agency’s own news release Tuesday saying that the fire department had given the county a 60-day waiver to operate the shelter that expired Tuesday and that it had not been asked to inspect or review the new sprinkler system.
A county spokesman told YachatsNews it hoped to seek another waiver while its contractor completed the work, which requires approval from the Oregon Department of Transportation to dig into Highway 101.
County public information officer Kenneth Lipp said Thursday that it’s not known how long the repairs will take but that the county will try to re-open the shelter by the end of March.
I’m remaining hopeful that it will be back up and running sooner than the end of March for the folks that have different barriers that are preventing them from being able to travel, even if it is a shortish distance. For the population that any shelter serves, the smallest things can mean the biggest hurdles for these individuals so fingers crossed they open back up soon.
I live next door to the SW 10th Street parking lot. I am not against what your doing but I am against these certain people who keep hanging here almost daily and now garbage is a issue, and I have a small dog I cannot let outside unless I go out first to see if the woman in the motorhome’s big dogs are not out and also she lets them poop in our yard area. Then you have ones who work on their cars and trucks plus now they mouth off at any of us who lives here. Anyways I don’t want to but if this continues then I will take this to a higher source. Your call. Also that motorhome can park away from my place as it is the one with all the painting on it. Thank You, Steven