FOLSOM, Calif. — Folsom is examining a site’s potential for homelessness services roughly half of a mile south of the Historic District light rail station.
Mayor Mike Kozlowski asked city staff to assess whether the “Wye” property, a 3.1-acre site between Oakdale and Forrest streets just north of Bidwell Street, would be a viable location for a homelessness service facility, according to report submitted to Folsom City Council by Public Works Director Mark Rackovan ahead of Tuesday's council meeting.
The report comes one month after Folsom Police Chief Rick Hillman told residents at a community event the city estimates the newest point-in-time count will show around 120 homeless inhabit Folsom nightly. In 2022, Folsom’s point-in-time count estimated 20 homeless inhabited the city nightly.
Sacramento Steps Forward, a nonprofit geared toward ending homelessness in Sacramento County, conducts the count. This year’s official numbers will be published sometime during spring.
City staff identified two potential locations on the Wye property to place a 2,400-square-foot trailer, the report said. The first option is on the property’s east side near its Bidwell Street entrance; the second is on its west side near the Oakdale Street entrance.
Initial costs to place a trailer are estimated around $225,000, and the trailer’s monthly lease cost is estimated at $2,200 per month, the report said.
“This analysis assumes that the tenant would bear ongoing staffing, maintenance and operational costs and not the city,” staff wrote in the report.
City staff did not identify a funding source for the project’s startup.
Both sites would require additional fencing and gates to prevent access when the site is closed, and neither site currently has Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance, according to the report.
Within the Wye property is a roughly 1-acre undeveloped site used by Folsom’s public works department as an extra base of operations for city crews, the report said. Operations consist of equipment storage, mulch and sand stockpiles, and the city allows the Placerville and Sacramento Valley Railroad (PSVRR) and the Folsom Chamber of Commerce to store equipment, too.
The report said staff did not include potential impacts to the surrounding community.
“Community members have noted that similar facilities throughout the region see an increase in homeless camps and other activities related to those experiencing homelessness, particularly in light of the project proximity to light rail and the end of the Gold Line in the nearby Historic District,” the report said.
