BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — As the City of Bakersfield continues its efforts to get the homeless off the streets the city council will discuss a handful of projects Wednesday and also get an update on the problem.
The city council will consider increasing funding for the Bakersfield Homeless Center to add 40 more beds and expand its jobs center. Right now about $1.1 million has been put into those projects. But the city council will consider adding another $200,000 to the project. The money would come from multiple grants.
And council members will also get an update from two local organizations in the efforts to combat homelessness. The Bakersfield Kern Regional Homeless Collaborative and Mercy House will update the city on what they're doing to curb the problem.
Mercy House, the local organization that runs the Brundage Lane Navigation Center will provide an update on the project. The Center, which can house 150 people, opened up last October.
The city council will also consider selling a property that would help create affordable housing on Baker Street in Old Town Kern. It's a one-and-a-half acre plot of land that would go to the Housing Authority and the Cesar Chavez Foundation. The project would have 85 units of affordable housing and 5,000 square feet of commercial space.
If approved the project could be completed by December 2023.
Wednesday's meeting starts at 5:15.
