photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

Members of the Lawrence Community Shelter Board of Directors engage in discussion during the group's meeting on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023.

The Lawrence Community Shelter Board of Directors is still working toward finalizing another new proposed funding agreement with the City of Lawrence, with sights set on doing so by Monday.

The board voted unanimously Thursday night to authorize its executive committee to finalize an agreement between the shelter and the City of Lawrence by then, in time for it to be included on the agenda for Tuesday’s Lawrence City Commission meeting.

As it stands, the agreement is already included for consideration on the City Commission agenda released late Thursday afternoon, but with placeholder text where a dollar amount will go. Board members at Thursday’s meeting didn’t share any specifics about the draft document, and Misty Bosch-Hastings, the city’s homeless programs coordinator, told the Journal-World following the meeting that it won’t be shared publicly until it’s been updated and finalized.

For now, what is clear is that according to Tuesday’s City Commission agenda, the proposed agreement will “substantially increase staffing and city funding for LCS to support expanded emergency sheltering capacity and operations of The Village,” the community of 64-square-foot Pallet cabins that was recently constructed at 256 N. Michigan St.

The agenda also gives an idea of at least a minimum amount of funding support the shelter might expect to receive. There is again placeholder text included in the space on the agenda detailing the agreement’s fiscal impact, for the amount of money from the city’s General Fund and Special Alcohol Fund that funding for the agreement will be pulled from. But a third line notes that $1.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds will be used to that end.

The group had previously hoped to finalize the proposed agreement by earlier this week, as the Journal-World has reported.

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The group also heard an update about progress with the search for the shelter’s next executive director.

After a field of nine candidates dwindled to eight following another drop-out, shelter board president Charlie Bryan said the semifinalists were selected earlier this week — three candidates were identified to move on to the second round after interviewing with board members Tuesday.

The next interviews will take place virtually Wednesday, Dec. 20, facilitated by a panel including seven community stakeholders — including people with lived experience and who work with area supportive service agencies — and a group of board members. Bryan said background checks have been initiated for those candidates as well, and some have already been completed.

The board also approved a consulting services agreement with TEB Consulting for reference checks for those candidates at Thursday’s meeting.

Interviewing the finalists the following day at the board’s next scheduled meeting probably isn’t going to happen, though. Bryan said it’ll likely be too quick a turnaround to adhere to the original plan. But he said the board will plan on discussing its next steps at the Dec. 21 meeting, and could elect to make a decision on the shelter’s next steps then and there, without the candidates coming to Lawrence in person.

In other business, the board also heard a presentation from interim executive director Melanie Valdez about what the shelter’s staffing model could look like under an expanded operations plan. The group didn’t take any action on increasing or adjusting shelter staffing because the presentation took place during a study session.

Valdez showed the board a rough model that was intended to provide a “smoother transition without it feeling like a complete overhaul all at once.” One of the highlights of that proposal was a set of changes to the structure of the shelter’s executive team, as well as the employees who report directly to the executive director.

Under the model Valdez prepared, three directors — overseeing programs, human resources and payroll, and finance and operations — would report to the executive director. So would a case management supervisor, an executive communications liaison and a volunteer manager. Valdez noted in her presentation that this closely resembles the previous structure at the shelter and would be intended to create a smooth transition as the agency develops.