I say RL3 and you guys can do that.

Yeah, if there's another council where they can fill in over there, mayor I don't know.

So yeah, you're all good right there.

That's not even these evening.

Thank you, Bryce.

Good afternoon, everybody, and welcome to the City of Norman uh City Council Finance Committee meeting on Thursday, December 18th, 2025.

We're gonna flip the agenda a little bit and let Mr.

Francisco first, as his agenda item is currently number two, but this is his last finance community meeting ever, and he's in a rush to start retirement.

So we will let him let him address by all means.

So uh starting with agenda item number two.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair, and it's really my gotta pick up my granddaughter for her basketball game.

But anyway, um so on the revenue and expenditure reports that are in your packet.

Um, I will just highlight the one thing that we had um for the month of December that's not reflected here that we had a really good use tax collection month that got us back into the black uh for the fiscal year on use tax.

So that was really good.

Um, continues to be flat, but not um inexorably, so it's like negative 0.5 percent for the year.

Um, so it's kind of unlike right on what we budget.

What we budgeted is not good, but uh, but but at least we're not below that.

So I'll just try to respond to any questions that you might have on the revenue and experience reports.

Yes, sir.

Yeah, I've still like to have a little bit of insight from the state about use tax and the confidence in allocating those funds now.

I don't know who we contact in the state, but I'm just curious more than anything.

I want that confidence that hey, the system's operating at 95-90 percent as far as flow flow that collection and flow.

Yeah, and and all that I can say related to that is that um companies and online retailers that are quote unquote voluntarily complying.

Um we're very confident that they're reporting properly.

What we're not confident in is those retailers that are um fitting through the loophole in the in the um South Dakota versus Wayfair case, um, where if you have less than 100,000 worth of sales in the state, then you don't have to collect sales tax in the form of use tax and then admit it to the to the city that you're delivering the goods to.

And and a lot of retailers we think might be over that hundred thousand dollar limit.

A lot of retailers that you know we would like to be collecting because we know that mechanically they can't, but that's the that's the concern with use tax, and and uh so it's it's kind of a yes and no answer, but but we're very confident that those that are complying are complying correctly.

We're not we're not fully in compliance though.

I would think the state would would be able to echo that and show show hey, we're we believe the ones that are at the hundred thousand point thousand mark that yeah, there is percentage that we're not collecting, and we think it's this because of this.

They would have some type of procedures to give the health of that.

I'm just curious more than anything else.

Okay, what's the missed opportunity there, state, and then what are you doing about it?

Yeah, it's just anecdotal because remember that if you're under that limit, you don't have to report at all.

So the state tax commission has the same vested interest that we do, but they just don't know, and I don't think anybody can know how many retailers are out there that are just not reporting at all.

Okay, I think we should ask the question.

Absolutely.

Yeah, just um wanted to note the looks like this was the second best to again about like how things can look in comparison to something.

Um last year was the best December that we've had in the last eight budget years, going back to 2018 on this chart, and uh this this December reflecting October was the second best that we've had in the last eight years, only second to last year's.

So it it looks like it's down, which it is, but it's down compared to the best December that we've had in the last eight years, last year.

So that's my favorite chart to look at every month because you can see the whole history going back to the FY 2019 FYU 2019 budget.

And so and then yeah, just on the city comparison and the state being down by five percent so far, over five percent so far, and um that being just uh interesting data point and wondering why if it's the grocery tax or I suspect that it is, and I think the grocery tax should start to um the the year comparison will be uh as of next month, I believe.

Um that will start to wash itself out.

Okay, but yeah, um is interesting, council member, right?

When it comes to collecting that tax and knowing who's paying it and or not, how how do we find that out?

Like when somebody knows reporting.

I mean, if they make a report to the state tax commission, we have preview to that information.

The concern is retailers that are not reporting at all because they're not collecting the tax and remaining it to the state, i.e.

the city, so so we have no way of knowing.

But but but for example, if you have a new um favorite retailer in you know that's making purses and shipping them to um Wisconsin.

Um the state of Wisconsin does not know that.

Vice versa.

If you're buying a purse from Wisconsin and ship to Norman, we have no way of knowing that, nor to collect uh tax.

Thinking more locally.

This is small retailer that we're talking about.

Uh like how would you know if there are businesses in the city that weren't there's really no way to know you know now how we should know is that they're delivering it.

I mean, there is a zip code that we know that there's being delivered to um FedEx or UPS or somebody knows who that they're making delivery from that company, so that's how we should be able to collect it.

You know, um, when that retailer makes a delivery to this zip code, they should be collecting the tax and reporting at the rate uh that that is applicable to that zip code.

That's just not happening for the small retailers.

Okay, um I was also thinking just because we used to have an internal auditor that could kind of track down maybe not in the small retail scheme of things, but I was thinking about how the grocery tax is like uh make sure people understand their incompliance.

I was thinking more like businesses in the city uh that aren't you know we we'd have that ability.

Okay, um all right, and then also I appreciate the overtime year to date reports.

Uh I heard somebody say that one of our uh departments wasn't line item, but I see that all over well, they were saying the public safety uh aspect for the police department, but I see it as in the uh public safety sales tax fund, and I think there was like another section general fund expenditure versus budget year to date.

So um that person's wrong.

I definitely see it broken out that was it for me, by the way.

Tell me, help me understand that if you can't have a discussion on overtime related public safety there are employees who are being paid out of the public safety sales tax fund, and if they're being paid over time, then it's being tracked in that overtime uh account, and so yes, it would show up on this report.

So it counts 119.

I guess it's page 36.

I assume that's what it is.

I I don't know, but uh see transfer.

It starts at page 36, and you see the top left the front number is 15.

That's the public safety sales tax fund.

So everything on that page will be in the PSST.

And each line represents a separate division within that department.

So as uh council member grant was saying, this report does reflect every division in every department.

That has salaries, I should say anyway.

Yeah, since page 35 has that breakdown of staff services, 911, special investigation, general control, police administration, criminal investigations patrol, and then uh that's all in the general fund.

Yes, you down the toward the bottom of that page to see what says total general fund.

That is all the overtime expenditures in the general fund uh for those divisions and then 12 15 starts there uh just below the general fund.

Yeah, and then 30 page 36 is when you get into the public safety sales anyways.

I appreciate that.

Um further questions.

I just sorry.

So I'm just I keep hearing about overtime, overtime, overtime, uptime as it relates to uh safety and security.

And so if someone wanted to look at the hours, hours, not dollars, but hours.

Is it is it on here someplace?

It's not gonna be on here.

Okay, this is just tracking expenditures.

Does anyone know in the room if you know that you know we're missing on answering asking this question in the past as far as you know, there's a concept of hey, you here's you've got too much overtime.

This guy's got too much over, he's needs crew rest.

Military yet, he's passed.

He's he or she has passed them out of the authorized overtime by individuals or they're exceeded, he's unsafe, she's unsafe.

Is there such a thing here related to police or fire?

That would be really up to the supervisors.

Um, and yes, they would have privilege of that information at the employee level how much over time they're using, but and we can put up that information in the payroll system, but that's not public information, how much an individual is using.

I guess what I'm really asking.

There's I'll have to ask the chiefs.

Hey, is there internal policy related to crew rest?

You can only have three days or whatever it is, you know.

You some organizations have that military has that for sure, fire, safety, flight crews.

I I can't answer it.

Okay, I think the communion would probably have something to do with that.

Um I'm not sure.

Okay, good question.

For transparency, we have no dealings with the union as council.

Uh we're not to interfere in the employment decisions of anybody but our well, what is internal auditor, city attorney, and city manager.

I think that's great.

That's what should be, but it's also good to get informed from that union.

Yeah, there's an extra context.

It's fire, police, utilities, and parks that are our identified over time.

Uh main ones, main users.

Okay.

Okay.

Anyone else?

Thank you, Mr.

Francisco.

Okay.

We have the lieutenant and major from the Salvation Army.

I've didn't catch your name, sir.

So I'll let you all introduce yourselves for the record.

But item one is uh discussion regarding the Salvation Army shelter expansion.

Thank you, gentlemen, for being here.

Yeah, I'm Lieutenant Corey uh Doggett, my wife and I, we're the pastors here.

Uh we've been here for two and a half years.

Um pass it on to Mike.

You can.

And I'm Mike Justice, and I lost my medallion that keeps me letting you know who I am.

Um, and I've been with the Salvation Army starting 12 years, February 1st, and I work all things development for Cleveland County, McLean County.

So I'm gonna take the first part of the this presentation, but I'll let you introduce yourself and I'll come back.

Sure.

Uh I'm Major Paul Ryerson.

I'm the area commander for Central Oklahoma.

So my office is in Oklahoma City, but uh the five central Oklahoma counties fall under my uh command, and so uh I'm excited to be here today and the opportunity.

And then behind us, actually, we have Kerr here, but Kurt is the uh Kerr introduce yourself and what your role is.

Um current chair of Salvation Army Cleveland and McLean Counties two-year board member, current chair, first year.

Um just work here locally and help as they can.

Yeah, as chairman of our board here in Cleveland County, I really don't know anything about your organization, so this is gonna be educational for me.

So when you say board chair, so it's is it is it board chair?

currently introduce yourself and what your role is um current chair of salvation army cleveland and male counties two year board member current chair first year um they just work here locally and help as they can chairman of our board here in cleveland county claims i i really don't know anything about your organization so this is gonna be educational for me so when you say board chair so it's is it is it board chair so it's like a nonprofit like uh any nonprofit would have a board of advisors or a board of trustees we have a board of advisors and her here is the chairman of our board of advisors so but but you're also a check and balance related to process and procedures and protocols and stuff like that so you're responsible countable official yeah yeah okay yes actually we're gonna talk a little bit about the board structure here in a minute so yeah we go so I'll I'll start off we'll have three parts of the uh presentation we'll keep it in our time frame we have an introduction which I'll have and then we'll have a programs and services section and uh a little bit of statistics and then we'll talk to you a little bit about our new build our remodel and our expansion of our shelter um first of all um we like you we have a local advisory board of of citizens business leaders that guide our discussion uh every month and and if it doesn't pass there and get approved it doesn't really go anywhere so we're really locally led although we have accountability all the way up and I'll talk a little bit about that we have had an office building and a and a shelter and a feed program since 1892 here we've had a presence one of the quietest humblest presence that that you can have but we've been sheltering and turning on the lights for the citizens and the people of Cleveland County since um 1892 and so we're really uh gonna talk a little bit about that but um our motto is doing the most good and our clientele is usually those people that are that are in poverty need a hand up and uh or shelter and sometimes we say soup soap and salvation but um we don't diminish salvation at the at the end of it but we're soup and soap before they ever hear anything else they get some soup and soap and they're always happy to do that.

Many of our clients are in the community they just add a level that they they're not in shelter they don't need shelter they just need assistance so we'll talk a little bit about that also we do service Cleveland and McLean County and uh and so that's uh since excuse me yeah right there right here yeah this will tell you a little bit about our mission we are in the uh international movement and I've traveled for the Salvation Army around the world and it looks just like it does here many of our officers they might have a yellow uniform on or a white uniform but we're we are army based just like an army we have lieutenants and captains and and uh majors and lieutenant colonels and they earn their ranks and they are full time 24 seven I'm not I'm a professional person uh not that they're not professional but I'm more in the professional line and I probably get to go home occasionally at five o'clock six o'clock but they might get a call at six o'clock in the evening and start another day that they've already had hard working individuals servants' hearts uh not self-promoting at all so great leaders um so we are a Christian organization based on the Bible and we're just motivated to to love people uh motivated by God to love people our mission is to preach the gospel and we do it often without saying a word just giving a cup of cold water giving shelter giving food giving utilities guiding them in in in crucial services where they need guidance removing barriers helping them to find more hope when they feel hopeless that's that's kind of who we are uh we do it without discrimination in the in the 11 years I've been here there's no one we turn down there's no one we turn down we give them some type of help in every single way the best people to ask about our mission and what we do are ourselves everybody said and someone said to me today well do you do anything besides Christmas bells and ring bells and I said well you'll have to ask we're 24 seven all year long so poverty shelter food never stops for people and so we're there 247 this is just part of what we do it's only one revenue stream of seven or eight that we try to have um I'll talk a little bit about that yes sir hey did your officers take oaths do they take what oaths oath an oath they have an oath for committee covenant yeah covenant yeah so it's about an oath but we do have a covenant yeah okay yes sir the uh so you say non-discriminating okay so anyone anyone so if I'm um oh hi anyone can do if you need shelter if you need food and we'll talk a little bit about um shelter because that's particular and people have questions well who can come to shelter how long can they stay we're gonna answer those questions yeah in depth what if it's just someone so anyone anyone anyone someone just needs hey I need to talk to someone anyone you'll find them on our property then and we'll we'll talk with them yeah they are our why we are there we're not there to we're there to remove every barrier we can and help them move on to hope

If you need shelter, if you need food, and we'll talk a little bit about um shelter because that's particular, and people have questions.

Well, who can come to shelter?

How long can they stay?

We're gonna answer those questions in depth.

What if it's just someone well?

So anyone, anyone.

Anyone, someone just needs, hey, I need to talk to someone.

Anyone you'll find them on our property, then and we'll we'll talk with them.

Yeah, they are our why we are there.

We're not there to, we're there to remove every barrier we can and help them move on to hope and stability.

And we've been doing that here since 1892.

And I will jump ahead and just say this that uh I'll take a question because I see one.

Yeah, I was gonna ask about uh sex offenders, because to my knowledge, there are no green zones in Norman.

Yeah, if you you if you don't mind, we'll cover that in depth in the next section, if that's okay.

Sure.

Okay, we will.

And um what when I say no discrimination, there are a few uh light rules that that we have, and they're they're well known, and so we we're glad to answer those questions.

And some are legal requirements as well.

Yeah, some of them are legal requirements, especially about sex offenders.

Uh we work off, and I think this is good to know.

A lot of organizations are one level deep, two level deep.

You'll see here we're four level deep.

So we have a local advisory board.

If they don't affirm it going forward, it won't go forward.

It's what they need to do in their community, what we have support to do, what we have funding to do in Cleveland and McLean counties.

Then it's sent to this central Oklahoma and Oklahoma City, and they approve it and embellish us to get that done even further by their approval.

Strong agreement is strong agreement in every community.

And then we go, if it's a financial issue or an issue of policy, it'll go up to division, which is in Atlanta.

The Salvation Army has four territories in the United States.

We're in the excuse me.

Yeah, the division is Oklahoma, uh Arkansas, Oklahoma, right?

And then we have a territory which is the Southern Territory of the United States.

So some decisions go up on a Tuesday and they might come down on a Wednesday, but they go up the chain and down the chain.

Well oiled machines, been around 160 years doing soup, soap and salvation.

So that's a little bit about that.

I think that it's important to um say to you that we have a 1.3 million dollar budget a year, and then every bit of that is paid by your citizens of Cleveland and McLean counties.

If they don't pay for it, we don't do it.

We're not we don't have uh money outside of what they give us, so we feel very blessed to have the support of this community.

And yes, sir.

So that 1.3 million dollars, yes, sir.

The footprint just Cleveland and McLean County Day.

All of that money is spent right here.

What's raised here stays here?

That's pretty impressive.

What's raised here stays here?

It's not like a uh a business that might raise it here and send it off to home office.

They've they pay a very small, maybe uh 17 cents of any dollar, and most of that 17 cents still stays here, pays some bills, and then some goes to division, but 17 cents on the dollar is a wonderful nonprofit to have.

If you give a dollar for uh for for disaster in this community, a hundred percent is that is is spent in that disaster here.

I'm more curious than anything else, not at the individual level, but at the organizational level.

Do you have organizations that give you funding?

Uh yes, businesses, foundations, all of that 1.3 is from an individual, a business, uh a corporation united way.

Yeah, yes, partners.

Yeah, yeah.

I would say very little of that is government funding.

Yeah, I think our contributions 10,000.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

Any other questions?

I'll move move on through that.

I would say I and I'm about done with my portion of it.

Um I want to stress a couple of things.

First of all, we are grateful to the citizens of Cleveland and McLean counties for their faithful donations, however, so small, uh, many of ours are small, but they're faithful, and so we represent them when it comes to feeding the poor, housing the poor, helping people with utility services, um, support services, and and we're really proud of that.

We are also want to stress that we're 24-7.

Never goes away.

Someone is there at our our facilities 24-7 for the last 132 years representing you.

So I'd like to turn it over to our local officer and uh Lieutenant Corey.

Next slide.

Ask a question real quick before.

Of the 1.3 million dollars, how many total donations is that?

Do you have that?

It's a great question.

I mean, I'm sure it's corporate and individuals, and there's a huge composite of it.

But do you guys have any idea of what that looks like in that way?

We consider a major donor 2,500 or more a year.

And we probably have 40 or 50 of those.

Okay.

Okay.

And some of those are much higher scale than the 2500.

But we have a thousands of small donations of 10 to 25 dollars per month.

Okay.

Yep.

Thank you.

Okay.

Any other questions before I pass it on?

Please please continue.

Okay.

So we just wanted to show you guys a little bit of the chain of command.

So anytime my wife and I have a have something that we want to present to our board, uh, such as we did here recently.

We're picturing to uh get some projects off the ground.

Uh we just got one approved this past Monday at a um central area commands uh board meeting on Monday, and uh Kurt brought that agenda to uh our sister board in Oklahoma City to get that approved by the the board there.

Uh we are uh gonna start by renovating the outside of our shelter first.

Uh we got brand new roofs uh this last January on both our admin building uh and our shelter.

Uh they started it in the middle of a snowstorm last year, caused some uh uh fire department issues uh with all of our sprinkler systems and stuff.

But uh we got that undertaken.

Uh we are gonna seal up some moisture issues, uh, and so they're gonna come in and clean the exterior of our shelter really well, seal it up properly, put new windows, uh new storefront in the front of our shelter and get all that up to par uh so that we can start uh the renovations on the inside and keep everything safe as that's going on.

But it shows you it starts with us uh bringing an issue uh to our local advisory council and then bringing that to the board, which is with the majors, uh, and they'll bring it before their board and they'll approve that.

And then so it's actually uh sitting on the divisional commander's desk right now uh in a system that we call TSAM.

It's the Salvation Army system uh management system, and uh that will be reviewed by another board at Divisional Finance uh where they will prove where we have the money in our bank account to pay for that, uh, and then we'll review minutes from our council, minutes from our advisory uh board uh to make sure that that was approved properly so that we're spending uh the citizens' money correctly uh for the Salvation Army.

And so the majors will uh sit around a table very similar to this.

Uh they'll they'll talk about it, they'll discuss the account that is coming from, look at the financials live, uh they'll look at pictures, whatever's attached to that uh to prove the need, and then they'll vote on that, and that will get shipped up the stream to territorial headquarters, and it usually goes to them on a Wednesday, Tuesday, Wednesday, uh, and they review that, and then Thursday they will vote on that, and they give the approval for those things.

Um it just shows you the everything starts here locally and then it gets vetted right up the stream.

Uh, you can go to the next slide.

And then just like Mike talked about, we're donor funded.

Uh the money's raised stays here uh even at a national level.

I'm sure you guys have seen the Salvation Army commercials, of course, this time of the year, talking about the red kettles.

Anytime money is donated online or with a credit card, that money is coded via zip code, and then it is sent right back to our bank account.

Uh, we actually bank with bank first here in town.

Uh they do a wonderful gift and kind every year and uh count all of our kettles for us so we don't have to bring in volunteers to count those kettles and it just brings more uh transparency when we don't have a bunch of hands touching money.

Um and then here's our impact card.

This is just uh year to date so far through November.

We closed out November on December the 12th uh this month, uh, and this shows our total person served, um which is uh on target for where we're normally at, uh, which is 4700 our meals served.

So one of the things I want to talk about with that is uh we're the only place consistently feeding the community every single night.

And so when we have Thanksgiving meals, uh we project how many people we're gonna do uh for the community, and and we're open 365 days a year for that.

So anybody experiencing uh any financial difficulty, they don't have to prove it.

They can just show up, sit down at a table and have a free meal uh right there in our shelter.

Uh and then we do food boxes uh out of our uh food pantry over our social service office, and then you can see our numbers are at uh 1,293.

Uh we're projected to see a little bit more.

I think uh we projected it within a 900 to a thousand more nights, depending on the people coming in and out.

Um and then emergency financial assistance, uh that's what we do in our office as well, uh, whether it's utilities or uh handing out gift cards for something, uh and then clothing items.

Uh that's another interesting thing that we do.

Uh so we get a lot of coats, clothes, socks, shoes, those kind of things in our front office, but we also uh are able to with our thrift store, we partner with them and we give out vouchers for clothing.

So somebody's house burned down, uh, they can come down and get a voucher to go get clothing from our thrift store.

Uh it's a voucher $25 a person.

Uh doesn't sound like a lot, but at a thrift store it goes pretty fast.

Uh or pretty far uh uh where at Walmart, you know, you might get a package of shirts for that price.

Um, but it helps get people the essential things they need in the immediate uh but we wanted to show you share with you guys what our impact is there.

Go to the next slide.

Okay.

Sorry if I can just show up and say I need a meal.

Do what?

Yeah.

Yep.

You you could show up and play dominoes tonight uh at dinner with the with the shelter guests and have a meal with them.

Do you know of anyone?

You know, I'm in my mind, I'm thinking that there's some NPAs that are out there that their jobs transportation, right?

That's why I specialize and that's my niche as an MPA.

I'm a tra I'm a transporter.

Yeah, I don't know how many there are.

There might be five or six as far as continuum care.

I don't I don't know.

But I'm just thinking of my out in some place and I need to get there.

I'm calling one of these MPAs that do transport, say, hey, like can you give me a ride?

So from your end, do you see that?

Do you see people coming in from an MPA that's driving uh uh someone in need to your guys' area?

Yeah, we see that all the time.

We have uh people that bring folks in uh for that.

So a lot of people take uh advantage of the city's bus system.

I've lived in a lot of major cities where you know the buses weren't free, and that's a beautiful thing about Norman is you can get on a bus and go about anywhere.

We've my family has actually ridden those to see how the system works, uh, so that we can tell people, you know, this is what happens when you go to the bus station and those kind of things.

So you got a bus stop next to you guys.

We do just write down the store it's right down by the liquor store in the marijuana shop.

Yes.

Yep.

Norman police regularly uh understand and bring all day time the night and bring guests to us.

And um, you know, there's a working relationship there.

They feel very comfortable bringing the those that need housing.

And then we wanted to touch base on our shelter.

Um we're sorry one sec.

Uh I had a question.

Yes, go ahead.

That is about the shelter.

Can we go back to the impact card?

Uh-huh.

So I was looking at 9,465 nights of shelter divided by 335 since we're about 30 days off uh because you don't have December.

So that roughly looks like 28.25 or 28 people, 29 people, 30-ish people a night.

Um is that typically what you're seeing?

Um, I know that another card said you could have up to 40, and then when I skipped ahead, the current capacity looks to be 38.

Um, so we we do have up to 40 beds.

Uh and that is what we usually see.

The number is a little bit different, is because we have three family units, and typically out of those three units, we have one room that stays open most of the time.

Uh and that that room we actually sometimes in it, so um on average night, we have at least one family room available.

And uh nights like tonight when it's gonna get below 30 to 32 degrees, uh, we sometimes will turn that family room into a flex room uh so that we can safely house females in that room, and then we'll open up the the center area where we have dinner uh for males on cots.

Um but we try to keep women behind locked doors uh so that the monitors, you know, if if you take your eyes off of somebody, something can happen at any second.

So we try to keep the keep everybody separate.

So usually winter and inclement weather is when you see a bump where you're at max capacity.

Yeah.

And we can have up to 48 people in our facility according to the fire marshal uh when we're on emergency situations.

So are you doing all 48 when it's weather like when it's weather like this, we're we're maxed out and we're turning people away.

Okay.

So thank you.

I was just curious if you have breakdowns.

Yeah, yeah.

Good question.

So the uh is the shelter space in Norman is that the only one, or is there in one in McLean County also somewhere?

No, that's the only one we have.

So and so you work with Norman PD.

Are there other Cleveland County and McLean area police departments that also bring folks together?

Yeah, we frequently see uh more police department, uh sheriff's department brings people by on occasion.

I would say the the biggest agency would be the Norman Regional Hospital uh system that's constantly dropping folks off.

We do have the availability that if if if it got to that that we could partner with our sister organization if they have rooms available, which they have a uh a much bigger facility, we can transport there.

Yeah, okay, but ours.

Yeah, so we have 130 hours.

130 beds there.

The new one in Oklahoma City.

It's yeah, 10 years old.

Okay, yeah.

Okay.

And so uh we wanted to kind of just clear the room with who are we?

Uh so uh our red shield shelter uh we consider it a low barrier shelter.

Uh an ID is not required to stay in our shelter.

Um case management is not mandated.

Um while case management is there for those who are available.

Um case management does not hinder you for staying 60 days in our shelter.

Um convicted fellows felons are also permissible on property as long as those are not uh uh fall in that sex offender category, which we'll talk a little bit about that.

And also, you know, since we are a church, we do not require any of our shelter guests to go to the church or partake in religious activities if they don't want to.

Um that's not something that we push on those.

We usually see about um anywhere from two to five people from our shelter every morning uh on Sunday mornings, but when that goes um that's usually about that.

So I just took it.

So let's say I'm behind or Hindu.

So no religious activity required.

Right, right.

Like the atheist.

Right.

Oh, yeah.

Absolutely.

Yeah, there's any salvation facility.

Uh there's no requirement ever to be uh religious activity is never a requirement to receive any services at any facility.

Um, just by the nature of our mission, you know, we're gonna have a Sunday service you know in a chapel or something like this, um, but it's not a requirement for anyone to attend it, or it isn't hinder further service if you don't attend it.

Um but it's there, you know, it's there.

Um so that's the same here in Norman as it is in Oklahoma City.

Yeah, and anywhere.

Yeah.

And just to be clear, Councilmember Brewster, we're having this discussion to talk about the updates of the shelter, not to qualify Salvation Army for religious purposes or anything because they don't receive money from the city, so we're not discriminating in that way.

I I get it, I get it.

I just didn't know.

And it was a fair question, yes.

I didn't know.

Yeah, thank you for asking it.

Yeah, and I think there's probably sometimes an assumption of these things just because we're a faith-based organization.

Um but uh and that's a it's a fair question, but it's never been a requirement to receive or to have religious uh activities as a part of service.

Um and also as far as the discriminator, you know, if you don't discriminate, um any person, regardless of staying at the shelter, if it's staying or coming to get a food box or anything at all.

Um we we don't we don't even know how someone would choose to identify or choose to believe or choose to do because we don't ask them, like it's not on the application, it's not a part of the process.

So be it an atheist or maybe someone who identifies with a certain community or anything at all, we wouldn't know uh unless they disclose that to us on their own free will.

But it's never a part of our intake process, it's not a part of our questionnaire or anything like that.

And so when we open up, it's really just based on well, two things based on need, and based on do we have the resource, those resources can we can we do it right?

Yeah, if we can do it, then we'll do it.

Yeah, council member great.

Yeah, um just curious since we were touching on data and populations.

Do you all use HMIS?

Yes.

Um so you're kind of just what are you using your HMIS system to do?

Um so that we just use that to uh to share with other partner agencies what we're doing with continuum care.

So um they use it for like um Heidi, you could probably explain it a little bit more.

I don't actually use the system myself.

Uh our shelter monitors use it.

Right.

But it was when they were receiving ESG funds specifically around prevention and rapid rehousing.

So they would enter people in that are getting prevention and rapid rehousing resources, and they might give, I don't think they enter in HMI.

I would have to look to see if they're doing shelter per night in HMIS.

We did when we received those kind of funds, but yeah, yeah, absolutely.

We still use it.

We we we push it, and I know every time we hire a new uh shelter employee, they go through the training uh on how to do that.

So we have a um we we do keep that up to date.

So the continuum can take a look at the data that is coming from their shelter, depending on what the data is, but specifically ESG data, yes.

Okay, and that's emergency.

I'm sorry, emergency solutions grant money.

They received that um during COVID, but they did not choose to apply for it in the last cycle.

Okay.

Thank you.

Yeah, and this did you go to the next slide?

I did.

Okay.

So this shows a little bit about our shelter and the services that we do do.

Uh we have 40 beds available.

That's uh women, men, and families.

Uh, we're the only emergency shelter for families in Norman, uh, which makes us a little unique.

Uh, we do provide two meals a day.

We provide uh breakfast and dinner for their shelter guests.

Um, and we also provide laundry services.

Um we've actually used the when we first got here, we used that $10,000 grant to help uh purchase commercial equipment for washing machines and dryers because they were going out when we got here.

Um we do have guest showers uh and hygiene products provided daily.

Uh our women's auxiliary keeps us stocked up with stuff uh for people to brush their teeth and take showers, and then so if you want 60 plus day stay with case management plan, so uh people can stay up to another 60 days if they have a plan and we're working with their mental health provider or uh working with food and shelters case managers, or they have a voucher uh from the Norman Housing Authority, and we're on track for somewhere uh and we're working towards that uh that continues to extend their stay up to 60 days, and we even go further than that.

We're not gonna put somebody on the street because they've stayed their 60 days um 120 day stay, and they got three weeks left before they're getting into their uh into their housing.

Um and then case management is available, um, and then community dinner is available for anyone in the community seven days a week.

And then we wanted to share a little bit of a list that's more exhaustive than this, but these are just a few of our community partners that help make it possible to do what we do.

Um, because OU's food food kitchen actually provides about 90% of our food uh at our shelter.

We're a warming shelter the way our kitchen is set up currently.

Uh so we can we currently take that food from OU and put it in a warmer and we serve it uh and the school uh takes care of all that, and then when the school is out and dismiss, uh that's when we transport food uh safely from Oklahoma City from the major kitchen to here, and so we just work with the kitchen staff there to provide that as well, and then I'm gonna actually hand this over to the major.

Um, but before we start talking about our facilities, go ahead.

You know, I I think I understand your financial controls, you know, the chain of command and your you know your manager controls.

I don't understand your internal process controls and how you flow goodness best in class down to your line level officers, your line level units.

How does it how does that work?

So, how to empower them to do what they're doing?

No, I you know, I so I'm thinking you're you're a big organization, you're a huge international organization.

There's some people that really have a particular system that's best in class for a site.

How do you share that knowledge with the uh field units?

Yeah, well, there's definitely certainly best practices and best in class that are shared among salvage terming nationwide.

Um but I will tell you this is that the way that the side was farming is structured.

Um time ago, uh the army just decided that um because of our size and we were growing and expanding at a rate, uh, right now the sideway astronomy serves every zip code in the United States.

Well, uh, in order for us to remain effective to our local communities to serve what's best here because while how Norman looks salvation army doesn't necessarily mean that that's how even Oklahoma City or Ardmire, anywhere else needs to look like that because it may not be the same needs, right?

And so that's where a lot of these guys come in.

Yep.

So this is where our local advisory board members here who come and sit on the board and they advise how what the salvation army should be addressing in our local community.

And so our role, uh, certainly at my level is to be listening to them and then to empowering these guys to go to meet the needs and then get them resources, of course, to try to meet those needs.

And then the best practices just come from, of course, we have a shared unity as far as communication on how we're seeing what works and what doesn't work.

Um, but then that's really is I kind of joke around and say we're like one of the biggest, smallest nonprofits, you know, because all of our funding is completely local.

We don't have a corporate bank account.

Um I like to say we're a bottom-up organization where larger corporations like what we might be considered are top down.

The only thing that's top down is how you handle paperwork and policies and procedures so that they're succinct everywhere.

That's what I want to hit on there.

So I'm talking operational procedures for your units.

Yeah.

So I mean the financial control management control.

Operational procedures.

Um, because to me, that unit that's uh organization at size, there is a hey, this is the preferred orthodox route to handle this function.

Yeah, right.

And then it's audited.

Yep.

So we have a minute book on how we handle that.

We have a minute book, how we handle that three times a year.

Our minute book uh has policies and procedures.

They take every so, like just as an example, they take every make and model for 2025 and they bring it to territorial headquarters of everything that they want to approve vehicle wise that the Salvation Army can purchase, and they say you can buy one model of Toyota Sienna, one model of Honda Odyssey, and you can you know, there's three sedans that you can choose from.

Here's the make model, and these are what are vetted, and you cannot purchase anything over that price.

Yeah, uh, and so they they kind of bring those rules into us, and uh those are all vetted by the commissioners.

Okay, one more and then I'll get off the subjects.

I'm really curious about this.

So are you able to tell when an organization is out of variability for assistance with their operational procedures?

Like if a local unit's out of policy, you mean out of air, yeah, yeah, yeah.

They're out of availability, you know.

Can you tell?

Oh, yeah.

There are multitudes of checks and balances, unlike maybe a smaller nonprofit.

There, there are levels of checks and balances.

Let me just answer that by saying I'm audited minimum twice a year, right?

So sometimes three depending on the year.

So two are internal, one's external.

So you guys kind of talk my language.

Are you guys auditing for your mission social tasks?

For auditive finance and policy, yeah.

So spending income, spending money, and then internal policies.

Yeah.

So there's and I might say that this may be too much information, but you look like you might like it.

Uh all of our facilities across Arkansas, Oklahoma, which is our division.

I think we have 22 campuses, and we have 52 storefronts in other cities.

Um, and I said that to say that you know they they have forms of audit audits that go on regularly.

So they're very tight machine, which makes us financially uh accountable in a very strong way.

Yeah, yeah.

Doesn't allow you to make some loosey goosey decision, needs to fall within the guidelines.

Right.

I understand, I get it, I get it.

And then at the operational level, there are controls, and you're within variability, and you take action when you're not the opportunity.

Yeah.

So moving into the next section, if we don't have any more questions, so uh before I hand it over to the major, I just wanted to explain.

So when my wife and I got here, we were looking at a uh 12 million dollar capital campaign project that we just simply could not afford.

It was a dream uh at the most.

Uh it included uh a shelter, uh, a new new shelter, uh, renovation of the shelter, uh, a new uh community center down at the end of the block.

There was just so much money to be raised, and we had to step back and look at our blueprints and say, what does our community really need right now?

Uh we really need to do what we do well.

Uh we we do dinner really well.

We're the only uh nonprofit that does that every single night, so we need to focus on the kitchen and the dining hall so we can service our community uh well, and we also need to take our shelter and we need to do it really well, and so we decided we're gonna renovate that.

Um, and uh so I'll pass that over to the major to talk about that.

Yeah, is it is it okay if I stand up over so I can see everybody?

Okay, I feel like it's behind me, and I just want to make sure I can see everybody.

Okay, here we go.

Well, I'm gonna again I want to truly say thank you for allowing us to be here.

We we are humbled that you've given up space in your your your committee meeting to allow us to come and share um what it is that we do.

We we are humbled that you've given up space in your your your committee meeting to allow us to come and share um what it is that we do, and my you know, where my role where I sit in my chair um is quite local as well.

My office is in uh Oklahoma City, but my I live in Cleveland County, so I live in more uh so this is this is very uh prevalent to me as well.

And my jurisdiction, if you will, is just the central Oklahoma area.

So I'm not worried about a state or anything at the higher level, that's not me.

Um I am I just care about the right here in Central Oklahoma.

So everything that's happening in Norman is of my great concern.

Um, and and something that my the what we call our area command board takes very seriously because it's a part of who we are as well.

The lieutenants here um they have the joy of just serving this community and they get to focus full time on Norman, Plain County and Cleveland County, and this is their world, this is what they focus on, and they advocate and they serve and they just give 110% to this community.

And I want to share with you on um well a building project that I know you're not a stranger to.

Um I have been serving uh in this role uh for about six months now.

Uh received transfer orders this last summer to come from here uh into Columbus City into this position.

Uh I've been a salvation army officer for 15 years, though, uh serving in various capacities.

And when I first got here, um, this project was actually was on my desk first week, and we've been talking about it nonstop since with progress.

And so we thought that this would be a good time to come and just share a little bit about kind of where we are, right?

Um now, as the lieutenant had said here just a moment ago, uh, it did about five or six years ago when we started talking about a building project and getting everything off the ground.

You know, we we did at first the initial thing is we kind of started small first.

Let's just tackle that, and then the board and everyone said, Well, if we're bringing in an architect and we're doing that, well, let's dream a little bit first, right?

And so we made a dream, and we put down a dream on a piece of paper, and then and we looked at and what that dream, and and it's a beautiful dream that we're not giving up on, but we're instead of just going all in on it, we're gonna phase it out.

And so this dream uh was about 12 million dollars.

Uh, and it's gonna include new kitchen, it's gonna include shelter space, it's gonna it was gonna expand certainly our square footage and our in our impact as well.

Now, over the course of the last several years, as our board's been looking at it, as we're doing feasibility studies, as we're looking at okay, what can we actually do?

Because there's a dream, and then there's actual reality, right?

We got it.

What can we actually do?

Now we've looked taken that for the last six months, and we said, okay, this is what we can actually do.

So we're gonna we're not gonna stop dreaming, but now we're gonna look at the part of the dream that we can do right now, and that's what I want to show you is the part of the dream that we can do right now, and then as we start this phase and we go into this part of the dream, uh, we're not gonna give up on the other one because we know it needs we know it it needs to happen.

Um, but I think this footing will allow us to also uh get critical needs that we know are existing right this moment to get that started, and then we can expand and we can grow.

And so we're gonna we're looking now at three phases, and we're just gonna look at phases one and two.

Uh now we have three in here just so you can dream with us.

We don't want you to stop dreaming either, you know, because I know the citizens of this community are your people, they're the same ones that we're serving, and they're your people too, and we know you see the need, so don't stop dreaming and don't give up on us.

But I'm gonna tell you that here's where we're at.

So we want to go into the next slide there.

So this right here, this is gonna be uh phase one.

So this is what we're actually working on right now.

And when I say right now, I say we're we are in the high level phases of getting this project officially approved and off the ground.

So we're I'm crossing.

I mean, I don't want to say anything in writing because you know how building projects are, you know what I'm saying?

You know how this is, you know that, but if we stay on track and we're checking all the boxes, and I'm meaning the biggest box is gonna be okay.

Do we have cash in bank to actually break ground?

That's gonna be our biggest one, and we're we're working with the builder, we're working with the architect, we're working with everyone now to get that number.

But if all if everything is on all cylinders going, we're hoping to break ground sometime in February.

Don't rebuild unless we have money and first, and that is salvation from a policy.

We don't put a shovel on the ground unless we are fully funded 100%.

We don't take mortgages.

We don't put a mortgage in, we don't we don't lend or borrow money.

We gotta have it fully funded before we break ground, and so that's the biggest piece of the puzzle right now.

So the but right now we're attracting that way to where we feel good and comfortable with that.

Um but this is what we're looking at is this section right here.

This would all be new construction.

And this is this is existing, that's existing, that's existing.

Right now, this is kind of a lot of land with some parking lot, but this would be the new bill.

That's gonna be the dining facility that we we would immediately be able to expand our our dining room services and our meals, um, and an additional uh space up here as well.

So all this will be dining.

So that's phase one.

Um, and if you know we get that going, uh going, I feel like if we can even continue our fundraising efforts, which we are.

Um actually wonder what you go to the next one.

Yeah, this is what the inside of phase one looks like.

Uh so this will be the dining facility once you know it's built and all that sort of thing.

Um kind of gives you a peek in the inside.

Uh it's a multi-purpose space as well.

So now, besides just serving mills in the kitchen, um, we'll be able to because right now it is it's uh it's a serving kitchen, is what we have.

In other words, the mill is made off-site and then is delivered, and then we serve it.

That's why OU Kitchen was amazing.

I mean, partnering with us at a wonderful level.

They've been able to help really make this a reality as well as as far as other partners as well.

This actually puts in a full commercial kitchen where we can make hot meals on site.

We can meet that need right there.

We can get we can hire staff to come and actually start serving cooking hot meals.

This is a multi-purpose space, meaning that all these tables and chairs would be great for a meal time, but then once the temperatures drop, once the steel, we can convert this space into additional cots, additional areas where we can bring people in.

So this is gonna be multi-purpose, multi-usage space.

And we'll go to the next slide there.

Now, this right here is our existing shelter.

But these are this is gonna be a part of uh the second or the first and second phase, this would be phase two.

This uh is our existing shelter, but this is where our serving kitchen is at the moment in that shelter.

Well, since we'll be building the new one, we don't need that space anymore used for that.

So it's gonna be repurposed for additional family areas, rooms, and beds.

So we'll be actually able to be able to add.

I think we have it in here.

Uh, and then is it the next slide?

Or or maybe is this one the is that phase three?

Yeah, that's right there.

Or go to the next one.

Yeah, that one.

Oh, you're not controlling the thing.

There you are.

Can you go to the next one?

I was like, that's the one.

Uh yes, that one.

Yeah, okay.

Got it.

Yeah, they look good on your computer.

Uh so yeah.

So once we do that full renovation, uh, when we can actually move out of the serving kitchen there, this will be what uh the new capacity would look like uh once we get through phase uh phase two and that sort of thing.

So uh not go back to phase three, that was just the one slide before that one.

This is phase three.

So this is the dream.

All right, so this was the dream, and the most expensive part of that 12 million dollar bill was this section.

Now, this is a full-blown additional new square footage of shelter space for men, women, families.

This this is that's the dream.

That's the big that's the big ticket thing.

So instead of just putting the whole thing on pause and saying until we can get 12-13 million dollars raised, let's phase it out because we know these other ones are critical needs that need to be met now.

So that's why we're phasing it, and we're gonna do one and two, and we're gonna continue living the dream as resources and availability comes up.

If you want to go to the next slide, go to the next one for the night.

Let's move right.

Oh, I do have a couple of questions just because I'm aware of the Porter Overlay, uh, which is a zoning thing.

Yeah, if you were coming up with these designs, were you working with the planning department about that overlay district and the requirements?

Yeah, I mean, uh, right, yes, our builder, an architect, and all the ones who have put all this together.

Actually, the builder has already got these permitted and approved through the city.

Okay, yeah, one and two are approved.

Right, phases one and two are permitted and approved at the city.

So um it's not like coming to us for like a sp or small planned unit development or some kind of zoning moving forward.

No, no, all zoning has been uh we're not changing zoning, and it's uh we had to do some lot platter and combining, and that's all been done.

Okay, yeah, and we're not asking you for any money, we're not asking for any money.

Um and I just asked because I'm familiar with the thing for buffer walls, and so this is something I've heard about from residents.

I believe I talked to Lieutenant Corey about this, but it was somebody on Mosure.

But uh, I do know there's like that track of land that has been raised and question mark on what might be built there as well.

Which track of land would you be for at the very end of the street?

On the Haze between provinces, in between across the street, right?

So, anyways, I just there is a question that would be what's gonna be built there.

Yeah, that's for sure.

We don't own that land.

I don't think we should put a liquor store or a well or a marijuana shop next to uh shelter.

I mean that's right.

I mean there is already one next door, you're right, and uh I would agree with that.

Yeah.

Is there an ordinance related to liquor store or it's handled by the state?

So is there one?

Is there an ordinance?

The state controls where marijuana and liquor goes.

So state statute.

I don't think yeah, just the school restrictions and the church.

Well and churches, which we do have, but um, yeah.

Yeah.

Anyways, that was just my good question.

Good question.

Okay, so there's an ordinance churches, yeah.

Service churches for alcohol, yes.

So what is it?

Well, it's probably I think it's 1500.

I mean across the street, and it's probably gonna be okay.

But yeah, I'd have to have somebody else.

I'd have to dive into the rules and that too.

Yeah, we can we can check on that.

Yeah.

We're still gonna open up 24-7 no matter what's across the street.

Okay, question.

So what happens?

I mean, I don't know.

I mean good question.

Okay, it's got a lecture store right next to it, right?

We do, yeah.

So what what happens if there's a violation with that?

What happens?

Is your grandfather dens the liquor store grandfather den?

I don't know.

It opened there.

Well, they opened up what in January.

We normally tell people on a regular basis when they call us to say, hey, there's a problem on that land.

We say, you know what, we don't own our people and we don't own that land.

We stops right here at the curb.

So we would love to, and we might walk over to talk with them, but we don't have any jurisdiction over people or the land.

Right, I understand.

Yeah, yeah.

So whatever's built in violation of state statute, yeah.

What the heck?

Yeah, yeah.

And those I was saying, that's uh that question's bigger than us, you know.

Right.

So this particular uh section would be a women and family shelter, and it would sit right in front of our shelter, and then it would again uh dedicate all of our current shelter to mid.

Right.

Yeah, yeah.

And that's where uh shelter capacity increases come into play uh to show you what those projected numbers are like, Mike, you could show the next slide.

Uh-huh.

Can I just say this too?

If you're dreaming, this is the kind of building that the people of uh Cleveland County, McLean County would say, I want to give you the full 10 million, and I would love my father and mother's name to be on it.

And that's the way that's probably gonna happen.

And and we're fortunate that people care about those kind of things, but we still don't build just because of money.

We build in the protocols and the procedures of what we do.

We we're not a commercial that a business that could just get it done next.

It takes a long time.

We think through it.

We not only want to build it, we want to support it.

Yeah, and I said let me let me double down on that.

Is that I will tell you the the honest truth.

We're not gonna be the fastest nonprofit that's gonna build something in your town.

I'm just gonna be truthful with you.

We're not if you give me a million dollars today, I'm not gonna break ground next month.

Um the process of the salvation army is to ensure it doesn't even need to exist to begin with.

And there was a process.

In fact, yesterday we've got the answer that uh we were wanting for this project from our headquarters, which is yes, it's called a program proposal that I have to submit.

And I have to present it, which I did yesterday.

Um, and that whole purpose of that is that's correct, you've got money.

Does it need to exist?

And prove it to me.

And so that's part of our process.

So we're not gonna be the fastest person that's gonna say, let's get it going in the ground.

Sometimes that could be not in our advantage, right?

I mean, sometimes it isn't.

Um but when we break ground, we have the confidence that we have the money in the bank, and that we have actual scientific data and proof that this needs to happen.

Um so that's our commitment to you, is that when we get to that point, we've done all of our due diligence.

We've done everything to say yes, we can this is needed, and that we're ready to do this and meet that.

So based on the projections that you guys have with all of the permits and planning and everything already completed, what is your proposed timeline for groundbreaking?

Right now, uh the two proposals for program proposal, that's internal, and then the property proposal, which is also an internal document, those are being sent up.

I should probably know by mid-January.

The thing is the only variable, unless someone like literally right now walked in the door and was like, I was looking for a way to spend money, you know.

The only variable is just gonna be okay, contractor tell me the bottom dollar number, which right now that projection is probably be between 1.62 million for phases one and two.

That's what we're looking at.

So once I get that bottom line, here's the number I need to break ground, then I'm gonna go and look to see what how much we've raised, how much money do we have in bank marked for this project, not for operations or anything as before this, and if those two reconcile, we could be talking February.

Okay, and so starting, say we start in February timeline to completion.

So I'm being told by the builder eight to nine months.

So we're looking at November, December, potentially be opening up around that time.

To get to this point, we've already spent a half a million before we spend the 1.6.

Correct.

We put some money and time and thought into what we want to do.

We're very serious about it, yes.

Yeah.

Question.

Yeah, so phase three.

Uh I guess you probably have should cost this should cost us something.

Uh whether you know it's estimates, your estimate should cost.

Do you have do you have it's a feeling?

It's a feeling on your side.

Do you have a feeling that you have donors that are capable of saying?

Yeah.

For for phase three.

Yeah.

What I have consistently said to the leadership, the major, uh, and to the lieutenant, is that I have one or two donors in that category that I believe want to put a name on the building.

But we have got to demonstrate success in putting this building up.

But money with the Salvation Army is very different than a business or of any other nonprofit.

We do have donors that have pocketbooks that we can uh appeal to, and they are in our mission statement, and they want to do so.

So do can we make them do that?

We need to present a small case to do that, and that's what we do.

Yeah.

And this and just phase three bill, just this bill, that's about a 10 million dollar phase, you know.

So that's the that's the biggest ticket.

Soon, yeah.

There's also a piece of property at the end of our property that's tied up in legal issues and has been for a long time that we would love to acquire that property.

We would love to have attempted to do that on more than one occasion, but it's pretty tied up legally, and that would complement, give us the space to wrap around and do some other phases.

Yes.

That's absolutely right.

So in that process of phase one and two, when we're doing heuristic here.

When would yeah, I'm with you.

Yeah.

When is that come up?

Like halfway into phase one and two, or when phase one two is completely done.

Oh, or you're saying when we might do a look look at a feasibility of doing a three and you get the head knife for three from your big donors.

I'm a dreamer, so you don't want to talk to me.

I'm the the glasses have full on this.

I I believe that we have the kind of donors, and I have names in my tongue that would say, I see what you're doing, I'm ready to give you 10 million dollars.

That's not out of our ballpark.

I I raise I run a team of people across both states that that are very good at raising funds.

So, you know, it's it's a possibility for us.

Yeah, so we've got to demonstrate this building first.

We want to help the situation in Cleveland County, McLean County, with shelter, and we can do it at a at a very low cost where most people cost a whole lot more to do it.

We know what we can do, and we've proven it.

So we're in the game.

Again, we've been here 132 years.

I think we're gonna be here.

And I was just saying wrap this up with you guys because I know you got other genitals, but um this oh, yes, so go back one moment when the phase three is complete.

This is what the campus would look like, phases one, two, and three.

So that this is the third phase right here, so that'll be that.

Um just kind of wanted to get a picture view, and then if you go to the next one, I think it's just kind of some renderings of what phase three would look like.

So, like that's what the street value, kind of the the street corner view of what that will look like, which would be quite honestly would be um um some new construction in that area that will uh because right now from you know from Robinson, you can see our full campus, and uh they'll be able to kind of get a good clearer look of new build, new construction in that neighborhood, which we obviously want to bring value to that community when we build.

Uh, we want to bring value both on kind of corner look, but also in what we're doing uh as well.

We've designed it to look more residential so that it can complement that particular area.

Because that's a primarily residential area, yep.

Um and so uh let me just close it off, and if we have questions, we're happy to answer them.

Is uh there's uh well, I guess yeah, I can mention the adult rehabilitation center because that is an also a service that we provide as drug and alcohol rehabilitation, and so that's something that we that we regularly uh bridge and bring together for the people who are staying in our shelters, or anyone really who is looking for that service.

Um but let me just say that we we share the same heart that you do with the homeless population, those who are hungry.

Um I think we can all collectively around the table, um, say yeah, we have a heart for that.

I think we're we're all on board with that.

And I want to I want to make sure uh that we know that there are other nonprofits and agencies in this community doing amazing work, really good work, and we partner with them and we talk to each other all the time.

When there's something we can't do, we reach out to them and they say, Yeah, we can do that, and then we we send a family there, and there's sometimes things they can't do, and then they'll send them our way.

Happens all the time.

Um we're not a silo, we want to be a part of the team.

We want to be accessible, available, and we are.

Uh the good lieutenant here is in his office every day, and uh and and putting in the hours of helping his community.

But friends, I'm gonna just tell you that yes, it is true that the brand, the logo, the salvation army is certainly known.

Um but we were as local as you guys.

We live here, we live in this county, and the people we serve are right here.

And so, friends, if you if you need something, you want questions.

You if there's a service we can do if we can help you.

I mean, call us, man.

We're we're there.

I know the lieutenant will give you a cell phone number, you know.

Uh, and we're just we're with you, we're on your team, and we believe that uh together we can meet this need.

So if you have any questions about the project or anything else at all, we're happy to answer that.

But the adult rehabilitation center is an 80-bed facility within 20 miles of here that is free.

All services are free to all that enter, and we don't turn anybody away, but we take from this county to there to if they want to be in the the drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

So one-year program, yeah.

Uh first, I definitely like we can get rid of surface parking lots and do more street parking.

So I like that.

Yeah, um, and then two questions.

The uh resource center that faces Porter.

You say you there were gonna be some renovations to that building and the current shelter building or just the shelter building, or um, just the shelter building.

We did talk about eventually painting the resource center to match uh because when we did acquire that in 2017, it it got a complete remodel.

Yeah, we spent a lot of money on the inside.

It's just really nice.

Yep.

Yeah, so any anything that could be done uh on the side facing Porter in the future.

Yeah.

We even talked to the uh art committee, but you know, they how they do the art on the side about maybe even doing like some salvation army history art facing where it's like a mural, yeah.

Um whether that looks like the the Salvation Army band coming in, some covered wagons, something that kind of represents who we are and and how long we've been here, something like that on that just a little square where there's some place where we can take our shield down and put a um put a nice little mural there instead.

Yeah, with the uh new Porter streetscape and sidewalks and like all that stuff.

Yeah, could be an opportunity.

Um, and then the other part was just um on your based on your experience, uh other than capacity, why are why are there people that don't stay at the Salvation Army?

Is it uh is it a misconception about your rules or a religious affiliation, or um they don't think you'll take them in because it's uh because you dress nice or something and uh you know military style uniforms?

I dress like this because I'm in front of the mayor.

You should see what I dress like in the other day.

Yeah, so just uh that reason I know capacity is a big one, but um that's been a question is is it higher barrier than our existing shelter?

And on paper, it doesn't seem like it really is, but well, people may have a misconception that it is, let me only that question to based on experience to the individual who's actually needing service, actually looking for a shelter, they're coming.

Like they're coming, like there is no misconception, there is no it literally is just gonna be we ran out of space.

Really, where that talking piece comes in are people typically who have never needed shelter, but they're just talking about nonprofits or just talking in general what they think or what they understand what a nonprofit is.

Uh, and that's anyone, not just us, that's anyone.

And so most of the misconception is really just coming from people who who have never actually been to our building, actually walked into the building.

But anyone that's actually needed something from a they just show up.

They just come in and uh what one thing that we will see is that we are not a no offense to the name Motel 6, but you can't come and say, I want to stay two nights, but I want to go party for two more nights, I'll be back.

Save my room.

We don't save room.

We have a policy that if you've stayed with us and you exited without a good reason, then you have to wait 60 days before you come back.

60 days.

Yeah, and you can only use us twice a year if you want to say it that way.

You you know, we we're trying to bridge people into stable stability, not provide temporary motel room, so to speak.

So we do have some policies there, and you'll find some people that they they want to go get do whatever they want to do on Friday and Saturday nights.

Well, they can't come back to do that.

We don't leave slots open.

So I hope you can understand that.

So they'll go somewhere else and say, Well, they just wouldn't take me.

Well, you didn't you didn't stay to get you know in but there's a rule there.

Is that fair to say as well?

It's fair to say, and I think it comes to you again to capacity.

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, it really comes to capacity, is like if we we don't have the space to just be an open house.

Right.

Like there are there are people needing places to stay tonight, yeah.

Shelter over their head tonight, right?

Um, and so when someone decides to leave the program, we're gonna we're gonna fill it, right?

We're gonna put someone in there.

Um as long as they are peacekeepers, they can be high, they can be drunk.

As long as they're peaceful, they can they can be with us.

No alcohol or drugs on the premises, but they can be with us.

Yeah, so there's a lot of misnomers about every shelter.

And those of us that don't live in the world, I live in the world.

We we get our questions asked.

And and no joke, even in Oklahoma City, where my office sits, and we have the shelf, like we're there's five shelters within four blocks radius of our building.

So there's five of us, all within four blocks, and like once a month we all get together just to share each other's frustrations and just like resources and that, you know, because there is a lot of misconception, but you know, we we all collectively want to do the same thing, we just want to help people.

Our missions may be a little different, how we execute it may be a little different.

Um, but we all want to do the same thing.

One thing about shelter that I think is good is that the homeless, truly homeless, they understand if they see our emblem, whether it's in a car taking a hot meal out into this community, or they just say they know what they're gonna get from us.

They know they know better than we know what they're gonna get.

So it's just question.

I recognize that hand again like that.

There you go.

Um thank you for going in depth, giving us the overview of your dream.

Yeah, this is I mean, really, it is an honor.

Thank you.

Um to Mayor Holman's point, I think I had heard different about your ID role.

Um, like you don't require it.

Has that always been, or was that a recent change?

But we ask for it, but we don't require it.

And we and we think it's it's the first step in in removing barriers to get you to stability is helping you get that.

But we wouldn't say we don't have when you can't spend the night.

How how could we help them?

Because the fact one of the services that we provide, anyone in our shelter is to get their ID.

We we give a voucher, they come down to Gray Street tag agency and get their IDs that way.

Right.

So you don't need an active ballot ID to stay in the shelter.

If you don't have one, let us help you get one.

Okay, yeah.

If you give us a name, we do look up for sex offender because of the population of children.

Yes.

So I I'm I'm new to this, yeah.

So I've always wondered low barrier.

Definition that way.

Oh, very so.

What is the definition of low barrier?

What is it?

Is it what you want it to be?

There's no barriers and there's low barriers, so there's high barriers.

We've been called everything.

Yeah, that's true.

But what is it?

That's how you ask us.

What is the definition of a low barrier cell?

Where do you go if that's it?

Well, the lowest barrier is we don't care if you have a gun or alcohol or that you're angry, or you just come in and grab you a bit.

Right.

Yeah.

But we have we have rules.

Stay as long as you want or leave and come back.

Anybody that does that, that's the lowest barrier.

Yeah, you can have weapons.

We do have a metal detector that everybody walks through, and we do go through bags.

Right.

Uh now, if you're coming in for dinner, uh, they just take your bag, they put it off to the side, you go sit down, you eat dinner, and there's no questions asked, you grab your bag and you leave.

We don't go through your bag.

But if you're staying on premises, we do go through the bags because we don't want somebody uh slipping a handgun or anything in there.

Uh sometimes occasionally people will bring in mace and they'll uh use it on somebody, and that's how you get yourself exited, also uh is when you violate somebody else's space.

Uh and no, those are the things we people will be exited for uh violating somebody else uh in that space.

And and to help to answer the answer that question again, I'm coming from the even an Oklahoma City perspective where we have four or five shelters right there, and one of them is a no-barrier shelter, who I know very well.

Um, and so like the difference between say, like even our shelter and a no-bearer, a no-barrier is just that there's no bear.

I mean, you can just walk in, there is no questions asked, there's no proof of anything.

You do walk through security there, so there is a security thing.

You walk in, and I mean you could be drunk, you can you could be whatever, right?

Um, and so you go in, and I'm gonna tell you that I I mean I know that shelter well, and I mean it's uh it takes very special people to do that.

It does, and and I'm not even here, I'm not even gonna come up here and say that that isn't something needed because those guys need shelter too, right?

And so, but it takes now at an you're having to increase high levels of security to make sure that that's a safe environment.

Yeah, I guess it's amazing the risk because it is it's a very high-risk facility, and they know that, but that's what they prepare themselves for.

So a lot of security, high risk.

Um, they try to to mitigate it as much as possible.

Uh, but that comes with the territory, and you have people like us, which would be lower or low barrier.

Now, low barrier just means that very minimum requirements, like we don't require a shell or uh ID or anything, but when you enter in, we do have okay, you you can't be intoxicated, you can't be you know, high, you can't be like we have a minimum thing of just being in the community in which you're engaging in because we take families, so we have families and kids, and so because of that, we have a low barrier, meaning here's our here's our basic requirements to say to come in.

But those are usually just intoxication, drugs, alcohol, that sort of thing, but there is no ID barrier because one of our services are you don't have an ID, we'll help you get an ID.

That's something that we do.

But that'd be a low barrier example.

Higher bearer means that we have a higher stricter intake process.

We need identification, we need here's our rules, here's this, here's this.

Like it's just the more stuff you add to the requirement to be in the shelter, it makes you a higher bearer.

So if you have like two or three minimum things, you're a low bearer.

So if you're going five, six, seven requirements to be on to be in this facility, that's a high bearer.

And then a no is just walk in and walk in through the security guard or you know, through the metal detector, that's another.

I think for us, one thing that you can count on is these are the people that we love.

We're not trying to keep them out.

No, we're trying to bring them to a better place in life.

So we really want everybody we can to come in off the street.

Those that are in shelter, we know that they're not perpetrating on the community if they're with us at night.

And so anybody that can come in, they're safer in and we want them in.

Yes.

Now, if we have a barrier and you want to call it high or low, we want them in, but not at any cost of safety to other people or children like that.

Yeah, yeah.

We just have one or focus here in Oklahoma City.

Yeah, continue care.

Then you have a continuum, you're in that we do one of the partners.

Yep.

Do you guys have software to understand where you're at with other your partners?

Yes.

So we have software that keeps us, we know how many beds are open in every shelter.

So we know how many beds are open, we know who's available, all that.

Yeah, so there is software that we all work together, and then we get together once a month, and then we what's the software called?

Oh gosh.

The commercial.

Oh, it would be commercial, yeah.

I have to, I'd have to dive into that because my team team uses it every day.

But there's there's like we're a part of that system, yeah.

In Oklahoma City, that is, yeah.

Yeah, I mean, it really depends on how you use it, right?

So, and if and if people are choosing to use it, I mean you could choose not to use it, right?

So the ones that are choosing to use it and to be that now in Oklahoma City, um, there are if you're receiving funding from the from the city in any way, then there's gonna be a requirement to use the software, right?

To be a part of that.

Um, but there, and it's not just for shelter, but it's also for rent assistance, utility assistants.

Um, there we can see if someone went to say apply for rent or utility at nonprofit A, we can see the last time that that person, like so.

We're all communicating with each other, and then actually one thing they just start in Oklahoma City, just thought of it out here, is they did uh what's called embedded case workers or case management in Oklahoma City.

We have one at the Salvation Army.

So we actually have a case worker from Catholic Charities that actually offices in our building, and so if someone comes into the Salvation Army and maybe we can't meet that need, the actual case manager from another nonprofit, in this case, Catholic charities, is actually in the same building, and so they could take a case meeting with that person right then and there, but it's in the same building.

And so there's about five or six of us nonprofits that kind of all went in on this.

So there's a different like embedded case worker, and each different ones trying to close the gap.

Yeah.

In Cleveland County, we also have Trinity Legal that comes once a month, and they uh give free services.

It's a group of uh attorneys in your area that give free services to the homeless or the poor, doesn't matter.

We set up appointments and they come once a month to our facility and they help them move through the system at no charge.

Weekly, we have a better way meets in our office.

Um, I'm not sure who funds them, um, but they meet in our office uh Monday on Mondays and Fridays.

Thank y'all.

I have to read about it.

Thank you for the good questions.

I got one more about legal aid.

So I'm actually um councilman Bruce.

If you can ask after the meeting, we try to keep those.

I think that's important.

I think it's an important thing.

You got you understand you know some of the stuff because I don't, and it I but I got a question as far as legal aid.

Does OU help you guys legal aid?

No, we are not legal aid, it's Trinity, it's a nonprofit that sends licensed attorneys to us, it's not legal aid, and it's at no cost to us or to the client.

Okay, but it's not legal aid.

Uh legal aid, yeah.

We whole we handle a multitude of legal issues for people free of charge.

Okay, yeah.

Good questions.

Thank you.

Thank you for the time.

Thank you guys and very best of luck on your fundraising for the well.

Thank you.

I can't wait to come back and say here's the legal.