Columbia City Council approves $2 million funding Monday for affordable housing
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Columbia City Council approved $2 million in funding for a 24 unit affordable housing development project with the Columbia Housing Authority.
The development would be built at Sexton Road and Garth Ave. and would be called Kinney point.
The development would work to directly address homelessness by providing affordable housing in the community.
Randy Cole, CEO of CHA said the development has support from the neighborhood it would be built in.
"I think it could be a catalyst for our community to begin addressing homelessness and housing insecurity in the community. I think it could be a project that unites us. I know there's other projects that need to come forward such as a low barrier shelter transitional housing, and many of the agencies and partners that volunteer at those agencies are here tonight in support of our project," Cole said.
Cole said the project would leverage $2.7 million in federal tax credits that would come into the community to complete the project, $1 million in financing from CHA, and they received 1.3 million commitment from veterans united, and now the $2 million from the council.
Council is set to discuss solutions for the homeless population and an agreement for school resource officers with Columbia Public Schools.
City of Columbia Addressing Homelessness
During the meeting, the city of Columbia addressed its timeline for creating a homeless services center for the community. Columbia says its goal is to create a functional zero level of unsheltered residents.
Columbia states at any point in time within the past five years, there have been anywhere from 220 to 280 people who were considered homeless in the area.
Currently, the city is working to create an extensive plan for the center with a $75,000 contract with the Columbia Community Housing Trust. The city is in the process of entering an agreement with Columbia Community Housing Trust with the money approved by the council.
The organization would plan out the homeless services center or campus which would aim to provide meal services, transitional housing, and supportive services to the community. The city aims to create a center that would be open all year round and provide restrooms, showers, phones, mail service, internet access, and storage lockers.
Columbia plans to have the 24-hour homeless resource center opened by the winter of 2024-2025.
CPS Resource Officer Agreement with CPD
The city of Columbia is looking to introduce an agreement between the Columbia Police Department and Columbia Public Schools to place multiple officers in high schools to monitor students and help build a relationship with the community.
Since 2014, the city of Columbia has passed seven similar agreements with Columbia Public Schools.
If passed by the council, the city would place four school resource officers in high schools. One officer would be assigned to Hickman High School, one to Rock Bridge High School, and two to Battle High School.
Once the agreement is signed, council documents state CPD would start off by providing two officers to CPS and move up to four as staffing allows.
In the agreement with CPD, the school district would pay 75% of the $393,551 cost of the program or $73,791 per officer.
The agreement would also have CPS provide support to the city in recruiting future officers. The Explorer Program would provide summer internships with the police department for up to ten students who have an interest in working in law enforcement after graduation.
