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AGENDA: City’s Urban Renewal Agency could help to homeless services provider

The sign at The ARCHES Project. (Anthony McGuire/Special to Salem Reporter)

On Monday, the Salem Urban Renewal Agency will consider agreements intended to help Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency expand homeless services. Also on the agenda is giving the city library room to rehabilitate its miniature dollhouse and a revised contract for the Salem Convention Center.

The Urban Renewal Agency leases a 74,052 square-foot property  located at 2640 Portland Rd. N.E. from Dick and Gayle Withnell. According to agency documents, it has plans to buy the lot by next month.

Meantime, the agency is seeking approval from its board to sublease the property to the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency, a large social services provider, to operate an overnight shelter. The shelter will be used for individuals over 65 and those with chronic and persistent health issues who are at risk of having a severe reaction if they contract Covid.

The Urban Renewal Agency will not charge the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency for the space. The lease will run 18 months from Nov. 15 through May 14, 2022.

The board will also consider an agreement to buy land at 615 Commercial St. N.E. from the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency for $2.2 million.

The property, which is three-quarters of an acre, is where the Community Action Agency provides homeless services through its ARCHES program. The city would own only the ground, not the building that sits on it.

The staff report describing the agreement notes that two years ago the Urban Renewal Agency took on projects in the downtown area to help address homelessness. Both the city and the Urban Renewal Agency have provided loans and other funding to the Community Action Agency to cover the costs of services at the property.

The Community Action Agency is currently paying off debt on the property. If the city takes over ownership, the agency would use money that had been going to the mortgage instead for expanding the hours services are offered, according to the staff report.

The Salem Public Library will get some extra space for artisans to rehabilitate its miniature doll house under another agreement being considered by the Urban Renewal Agency board. The agency acquired 311 Commercial St. N.E. in 2019 for future redevelopment but the new deal would let the library to use the space at no cost for through next June.

The Urban Renewal Agency board also will consider revisions to its agreement with the Salem Group, LLC, a subsidiary of VIP’s Industries, to manage the Salem Convention Center.

The new provisions would waive a requirement for the Salem Group to pay for expenses that exceed the convention center’s income. That new provision would be in place through 2023 and is being proposed because of the Covid pandemic.

In April, VIP’s Industries signaled that it was laying off 72 employees who worked at the convention center and 26 from the Grand Hotel. It also laid off 40 workers at Bentley’s Grill, the hotel’s restaurant.

Meeting details: 6 p.m., Monday, Nov. 9, via Zoom. Link: https://www.cityofsalem.net/Pages/Public-Comment-at-Salem-City-Council-Meeting.aspx

Contact reporter Jake Thomas at 503-575-1251 or [email protected] or @jakethomas2009.

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