There was plenty of municipal business going on at Dallas City Hall this past week, even for a shortened four-day schedule.
As previously reported by CandysDirt.com, Memorial Day weekend caused a little bit of a splash when a busted toilet flush valve caused some flooding on a few floors at 1500 Marilla St. Some meetings were relocated, but otherwise officials went about their work.
Here’s some of the news that came out of City Hall the last several days:
Voucher Scarcity Threatens Homeless Housing Project
A permanent supportive housing project in North Oak Cliff could be in jeopardy because of a lack of uncommitted vouchers, many of which are currently going to the city’s Street to Home program that focuses on shutting down encampments and connecting their inhabitants to services and housing.
Officials bought a former hotel called the Miramar at 1950 Fort Worth Ave. in late 2020 to convert into supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness. Now, more than four years later, the project is facing headwinds due to a budget shortfall at the Dallas Housing Authority. Adding more uncertainty, Congress is considering steep budget cuts to the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) and a reconfiguration of its housing voucher programs.
Catholic Charities, which signed on to operate the project at 1950 Fort Worth Ave., said it could not go forward without a contractual voucher commitment, according to Darwin Wade, assistant director for the Housing & Community Development Department.
“The voucher situation is critical to the success of the project, so we are kind of in a holding pattern right now until we can get concrete information from DHA and Housing Forward, along with our HUD partners in D.C.,” said Wade at Tuesday’s meeting of the Housing & Homelessness Solutions Committee.
Council Member Cara Mendelsohn (District 12) expressed frustration with the prospect of the project falling apart over a lack of vouchers.
“Who determined that the vouchers should go to Street to Home as opposed to the way we used to do it, with the agencies giving out vouchers to homeless who had followed the rules, gotten a job, and were ready for that next step?” Mendelsohn said.
Office of Homeless Solutions Director Christine Crossley said the city and its continuum of care partners have been following HUD guidance and best practices, which advise administering vouchers to homeless individuals who have the highest barriers to housing.
“There’s no way that we have sat on this Miramar property since December 2020 and…
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