photo by: Journal-World

The west side of the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St., is pictured on Sept. 23, 2021.

Douglas County’s plan to virtually eliminate homelessness by 2028 is still in development, but it could involve building tens of millions of dollars worth of supportive housing and could cost $4.8 million per year after that, according to a progress report by county staff.

The report on the plan, which is dubbed “A Place for Everyone,” will be presented to the County Commission at a work session on Wednesday. As the Journal-World has reported, the plan’s overall objective is to achieve “functional zero” homelessness in the county by 2028 — in other words, making sure the number of people experiencing homelessness never exceeds the community’s capacity to move them into permanent housing.

A major part of the plan would be creating more housing units that offer wraparound services to ensure that residents have the support they need to stay housed. The report contains a table of estimated costs to construct and operate the necessary supportive housing in Douglas County — noting it could cost $35.2 million in one-time costs and an additional $4.8 million per year to keep the supportive housing services going.

Assistant County Administrator Jill Jolicoeur told the Journal-World Tuesday that “those numbers are what we need for our chronically homeless population” and people on the fringe of homelessness.

It’s not clear from the report when that spending might take place or how many units of supportive housing it might build.

The report said that right now, the county faces many costs associated with rising homelessness, including costs for the county’s new behavioral health crisis center and the funding the county provides to Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center. Jolicoeur also pointed to things like ambulance services and emergency room visits at LMH Health and said that for many people who frequently use ER and ambulance services, “housing security, or homelessness, are more often than not common denominators.” She said that “tells a story of how we’re spending resources for folks who may be homeless and may be in need of a different kind of service.”

The report isn’t just about the money that might be needed to implement a future homelessness plan — it’s also about what county residents said the plan should focus on. At a series of listening sessions conducted earlier this year, the county gathered feedback from more than 200 people, the report said.

What county staff heard at those sessions, the report said, was that people who had experienced homelessness should have a voice in the plan’s development, and that more information should be shared about what homelessness costs the county today. The feedback also stressed the importance of getting buy-in from the community and providing housing tailored to specific populations, such as families, LGBTQ+ people and youth.

No decisions related to the report will be made on Wednesday, because the commission does not take action during work sessions.

At its regular business meeting, the commission will:

• Consider two permit applications for private fireworks displays in the rural areas of the county. One application is for a display at 8 p.m. on July 3 at 1035 East 1600 Road, and the other is for a display at 9:20 p.m. on July 4 at 1115 East 1400 Road. The county’s Zoning and Codes department recommended approval of both contingent on several conditions.