SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams recommended on Friday that a new homeless shelter be built in a vacant lot in South Salt Lake near the county jail.
McAdams issued his recommendation in a news release after hosting a series of raucous town halls to discuss possible sites around the county, including West Valley City, South Salt Lake and Draper. Residents at these events overwhelmingly spoke out against having a homeless shelter in their area.
About 1,000 people in Draper packed a Wednesday night meeting, where attendees shouted down the idea of a shelter in their city, booed a homeless man who asked for understanding and threatened to impeach Mayor Troy Walker.
The proposed South Salt Lake shelter would be one of three new ones that are part of a broad plan to close Salt Lake City’s overflowing downtown shelter.
Democratic Rep. Mark Wheatley, who represents the area, said in a statement Friday that he is “deeply disappointed in this site selection.”
“I will be working with everyone in the district to ensure their security is held paramount during this possible time of transition,” he said
McAdams recommended that the shelter not be built until after lawmakers in next year’s session approve legislation that would send taxes from across the state to those Utah cities that have these homeless shelters.
He also recommended that the state buy the houses near the proposed South Salt Lake shelter.
South Salt Lake announced on its webpage that it will hold an “emergency” meeting Friday evening in response to McAdams’ decision.
A state homeless committee gets the final say on the shelter’s location. The committee is expected to make a final decision by April 10.
State lawmakers recently approved about $10 million to pay for two new 200-bed homeless centers in Salt Lake City and this third one in Salt Lake County that could have up to 300 beds.
Salt Lake City was initially going to add four homeless centers, but last month, officials announced they would only build two there.
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