Ottawa City Council moves ahead with new homeless shelter site

The proposed new homeless shelter in Ottawa is no longer … homeless.

The Ottawa City Council on Tuesday night conducted a public hearing, heard a presentation regarding grant applications and approved several measures of support for the building of a new 100-bed homeless shelter at 1120 Canal St., the site of the current Public Action to Deliver Shelter building.

The city now is seeking a Community Development Block Grant through the Coronavirus Rural Shelter Program for the new address, which would replace the old 55-bed facility with one with almost twice the capacity.

The new 11,000-square-foot structure would include men’s and women’s dorms, four regular and two large family rooms, a living area and a community dining room. There also would be a family isolation room, a single isolation room, a classroom, an indoor play area, a laundry room, a community kitchen, a pantry, shower rooms and a donated clothes closet.

Blaire Krichl of the North Central Illinois Council of Governments said the cost of the “Give Hope A Home” Ottawa shelter project is expected to be $4,494,905. The grant would provide $2 million of that amount, with $2,494,905 ($944,905 in cash on hand, plus $2 million from a secured loan) coming from PADS.

Ottawa Mayor Robb Hasty said the deadline for the application is Nov. 14. The city likely will hear the results of the program’s awards in May or June, which would mean construction could begin in spring 2026.

“The shelter would have liked to have broken ground yesterday,” Hasty said, “but we’ve had to explain to them that this is a much longer process. … We didn’t have a lot of time because of the grant deadline being what it is, [and] the options were limited. With the pushback they received, [PADS] approached the city and asked, even though this was not their first option, if the city would support them for staying in their current location.

“In talking with the council, even though it’s not our preferential spot, the council isn’t in a position to hold up $3 million. It is a priority and a need in our community, so we’re making sure we’re doing whatever we could to make sure this happens.”

The council conducted a similar hearing Oct. 15, but the backlash from residents near and around the proposed site at 429 W. Lafayette St. caused the city to go with another option.

The city-owned West Lafayette property hopes to move forward in seeking U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields grants for the remediation of several levels of toxic top soil, making it of general use again.

However, although the city has “several ideas” on what to do with that lot, Hasty said now that there’s no project for use of the lot once it’s cleaned up, it likely would “slide to the bottom of the list.”

The council also conducted another public hearing regarding an application for a Community Development Block Grant for the Illinois EPA-mandated storm sewer separation.

Also, the council heard a presentation from Matt Stegeman, project manager for the firm SRF, that it is preparing a strategic plan for NCAT.

In other action, the council:

• approved the purchase of a cover for the Riordan Pool at a cost of $35,947.
• approved a quote from Municipal Emergency Services for $386,356 for Ottawa Fire Department air packs, with a majority of that cost covered by insurance.
• approved the correction of an employment agreement between the city and Matthew Burgwald.
• approved the hiring of Daniel Pond as a community development assistant.
• heard Hasty read into the record a proclamation retroactively proclaiming Nov. 1 as National Family Literacy Day.