Kaysville city leaders and many residents pushing back on proposed code blue shelter
Nov 8, 2024, 5:00 PM
Emissions testing building at 20 N 600 West in Kaysville. (Google Maps)
(Google Maps)
KAYSVILLE — City leaders and many residents of Kaysville are pushing back on a proposal to use an old emissions building as a code blue homeless shelter.
Related: Fruit Heights church pulls offer to host emergency shelter on ‘code blue’ nights after backlash
A code blue alert is when the National Weather Service predicts temperatures of 18 degrees Fahrenheit or less, or any other extreme weather conditions. The 2024-2025 code blue season starts on Oct. 15 and ends on April 30.
Utah code states that the Office of Homelessness Services shall assist individuals experiencing homelessness during a code blue event. That includes providing the location and availability of homeless shelters. This law was effective as of May 1 of this year.
Why not Kaysville?
Kaysville Mayor Tami Tran said the city does want to be part of an overall solution to help the homeless. But they don’t feel like Kaysville is the right location.
In a city council meeting Thursday night, Tran said they don’t believe Kaysville is right for even a temporary shelter.
“I know I made a promise [that] it’s not going to come here. I’ll do everything in my power to prevent that because we don’t feel like Kaysville is the right location,” said Tran.
One of their main problems is that the city had proposed an idea to have a mobile bus that could house more than a dozen people on these nights. But Tran claims the county shot down the idea and moved forward with finding other locations, like the old emissions testing building at 20 N 600 West in Kaysville.
“Kaysville City has done everything possible. I promise you we have talked to everybody. We have talked to ourselves until we are almost out of the ability to speak about this. Tried to come up with solutions,” said Tran.
The code blue backup plans
The city can protest, but the county owns the old emissions building, so the city won’t have the final say. Tran said if the building does end up being used as a shelter they will do what they can.
But, ultimately, she encouraged folks to take their concerns to state lawmakers.
“This law needs to be tweaked,” said Tran.
Related: Code blue bill would open emergency beds at 18 degrees
Diana Jones contributed to this article.
