Council tells staff to find funds for continued use of Marshalling Yard

On Thursday, City Council approved a resolution directing City Manager T.C. Broadnax to find funding to continue use of the Marshalling Yard emergency shelter for homeless people in Austin. The resolution specifically directs staff not to use money already allocated to the homeless response system. While 10 members voted for the resolution put forth by Mayor Kirk Watson, Council Member Alison Alter abstained.

Alter did not deny that the city needs emergency shelter beds, but said Council needed to have work sessions so staff could explain their options. She said she was particularly concerned about the need for millions of dollars in spending so soon after Council approved the city budget. That budget contained just $500,000 to keep the facility open until next March. Now, staff must find millions of dollars – but exactly how many millions is still an unknown.

Council first approved using the facility as a temporary shelter in July 2023. Supporters of continuing use of the shelter told Council it was important to keep the shelter open. Even though Council approved increases to the budget to support people who are unhoused, they did not find a replacement for the Marshalling Yard.

According to Watson’s resolution, with the imminent closure of the Marshalling Yard, the Homeless Strategy Office “is beginning to curb new shelter intake and shelter beds must be held for the approximately 260 people still housed at the Marshalling Yard.” The resolution notes that reducing shelter intake hinders efforts to relocate people who are living unsheltered in unsafe environments. Such environments might include habitats with high wildfire risk.

City management has not identified another location that provides the benefits of the Marshalling Yard, but the Council resolution directed Broadnax to identify such a location and “provide a sustainable funding plan to operate both the interim operations at the Marshalling Yard and the future operations” at a second location.

For Alter, the city’s financial position seems precarious. The convention center will be closed for a year, and sales tax revenues are projected to fall this year, she said. The yearly cost of the Marshalling Yard, based on past spending, would be $6.4 million, Alter said. She noted that in response to her questions about where the city would get the funding to keep the Marshalling Yard open, city staff wrote, “the city does not currently have a funding source.” She said her gut was telling her that this was a bad idea, but she did not expect much support from her colleagues, so she did not make a motion to reject the resolution.

Council Member Mackenzie Kelly also expressed concern about where the city would get the money to keep operating the Marshalling Yard. She added, “I believe it would have been more prudent to wait” before deciding to close the Marshalling Yard. But she said those who need shelter could not wait for the city to find the money.

Among those speaking in favor of continued funding for the Marshalling Yard was Bill Brice of the Downtown Austin Alliance. He said it was important to continue the services provided by shelter, which helps to prevent people from developing debilitating conditions as a result of being homeless.

Beth Corbett, vice president of government affairs and advocacy for the Central Texas Food Bank, urged Council to continue funding for the Marshalling Yard. She said her organization “has witnessed firsthand how impactful the Marshalling Yard site has been in providing a clean, safe emergency shelter space with access to meals, transportation and case management services.” She noted that the food bank has supplied 62,000 meals to people housed at the Marshalling Yard since April.

A representative from Austin Pets Alive! also told Council that organization supports continued funding for the Marshalling Yard. Many shelters do not allow pets, forcing people to choose between being homeless and caring for their four-legged friends – in which case many choose to avoid the shelter.

Among the Council members speaking in favor of continuing services at the Marshalling Yard was Council Member Vanessa Fuentes. She said the facility had helped more than a thousand people. She added, “We certainly need additional emergency shelter options. My concerns lie with where the funding will come from. That conversation will continue with the dais once city staff has been able to identify the funding source.

“I really want to be clear with the public that this item is a next step, but we still need” to have further conversations about helping people without homes and finding funding solution, Fuentes said.

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Posted In: City Council, District 3