Redmond City Council and Deschutes County will meet next week to discuss providing nearly $1 million to help Bethlehem Inn complete their second location.
The nonprofit’s Executive Director Gwenn Wysling explained the need for extra cost coverage in a Redmond City Council meeting Tuesday.
She said the money received through the state-funded Project Turnkey was not enough to cover essential needs.
“Initial safety upgrades were included, other vital items were not,” she said.
Those items include a commercial kitchen, bedding, furniture, fire alarms, security cameras, external painting, fencing, and signage.
The shelter will be partially opened in August if the City and County agree to contribute $450,000 each.
Redmond City Manager Keith Witcosky says there will be an opportunity to discuss the funding next Wednesday.
“The City Council and County Commission will be hearing from houseless service providers, including Bethlehem Inn, about identified needs across the spectrum of social services as these groups seek funding to fill the gaps,” he said.
Wysling says she feels confident the request is reasonable, and that the City and County have formerly expressed support for the project.
Their new location on NW Birch Avenue in Redmond, formerly the Greenway Motel, has been in the construction process since May 14.
SunWest Builders is carrying out the transformation, after previously constructing the nonprofit’s Bend location.
Superintendent Todd Benson said his crews are currently working on the building’s plumbing systems.
“The process that we’re in right now is getting rid of all the plumbing that was existing and rerouting some of the upstairs restrooms so we can make room for the new walls and new space,” he said.
Benson said folks have walked up to them during the day and offered to give donations to the project.
“It is rewarding to know when all this is done that families who need a place to sleep and get a leg up will have a place to achieve that,” he said.
The shelter will eventually be able to house up to 88 people at a time.
