Supervisors OK $3M for Project Roomkey
OROVILLE » As part of the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Butte County Board of Supervisors approved a $3 million budget adjustment on Tuesday for expenses related to Project Roomkey.
Through the statewide Project Roomkey, Butte County has provided non-congregate sheltering, meal delivery and other services to vulnerable populations experiencing homelessness during the pandemic.
According to Shelby Boston, Department of Employment and Social Services director, 87 people are currently being housed through Project Roomkey — 72 in the north part of the county and 15 in the south county. Since the beginning of the program nearly one year ago, a combined 502 people were Federal Emergency Management Agency-qualified. In that time, 212 people
have successfully exited to permanent or transitional housing.
The recommended budget adjustment is coming from the General Fund Appropriation for Contingencies, which has a current balance of $3,867,213.
The budget adjustment was approved unanimously by the board, though Supervisor Doug Teeter also requested that county staff provide a breakdown of costs related to Project Roomkey to be brought back to the board at a future meeting.
“What we’re paying the hotels, what staff time is there, what repairs afterwards that the county is on the hook for,” Teeter explained. “I’m just kind of curious — I think the public is curious too — what we’re paying per room.”
Chambers reopening?
During board member comments, in response to a number of people who gathered outside of the board chambers at Tuesday’s meeting calling for the chambers to reopen to the public, Supervisor and Board Chair Bill Connelly voiced support for that effort.
Board meetings held at the County Administration Building, 25 County Center Drive, in Oroville, have been closed to the general public since the early stages of the pandemic in March 2020.
“Today I was certainly surprised that there was people in the lobby. I’d really like the board to direct staff — even if we have to leave it limited to very few people — allow the public to come and talk,” Connelly said. “Because the frustration is when someone doesn’t feel like they’re being heard, and it festers into something more than it is. That’s my opinion.”
Later in the meeting during Chief Administrative Officer Andy Pickett’s comments, Pickett said the room is currently set up for online meetings by creating extra space between board members and staff, which required taking away some space that would normally be reserved for members of the public.
“The way that it is configured right now, because of how much space we’ve taken into and because of the needs for social distance, we can have a total of 14 people in this room, which is not a whole lot,” Pickett said. “It would be about five or six more than we have right now. So, in order to have that public participation, I’ll be taking a look at this room to see what we can do to have that be a more meaningful participation for all.”
A number of possibilities were discussed such as managing a flow of people in small numbers inside the chamber to make their comments, then cycle through additional small groups, if necessary. Teeter also suggested considering an alternate facility for meetings, and Pickett said county staff would take a look at that option “and see what the ability is for our technology to follow.”