Sedgwick County will provide funding to help with operations of an emergency winter shelter that is provided every year for homeless people in the community. Humankind Ministries is operating the shelter, and it asked Sedgwick County commissioners for $125,000 in funding. The agency plans to ask the city of Wichita for the same amount later this month.
Scott Eilert, vice chair of Humankind’s board of directors, told commissioners this week that the agency has delayed action on staffing and maintenance needs in order to keep the shelter open over the past couple of years. He said the agency needs help to operate the shelter so it can continue to focus on its mission of ending homelessness. The emergency shelter will open November 8th.
Commissioners got into a lengthy debate on whether to provide the funding from a contingency fund or go to a formal bid process with only one vendor. The vote to approve the funding was 3-2 with commissioners David Dennis and Jim Howell voting no. They raised concerns about the impact on the county’s budget, and they felt the request should have been made during the budget process last summer. With the vote at 2-2, Commission Chairman Pete Meitzner became the deciding vote. He voted yes but strongly urged the Wichita City Council to take action to provide its share of the funding.
