Below is an article printed in today's edition of the local newspaper The Daily InterLake
By KRISTI ALBERTSON/Daily Inter Lake
Samaritan House is the winner of the Sonstelie Hall lottery.
For the last few years, local agencies and organizations have eyed the former Sonstelie Hall Army Reserve Center near Peterson School on Second Street West in Kalispell.
Flathead County Agency on Aging hoped to relocate from its cramped facility on Kelly Road to the more spacious Army Reserve building.
Kalispell Public Schools hoped to move its centralized elementary support kitchen there and possibly using some space for additional kindergarten and early childhood classrooms.
Instead, the U.S. General Services Administration assigned the building to the Flathead Valley’s only homeless shelter.
“I feel bittersweet,” said Chris Krager, Samaritan House’s executive director. “I know a lot of people had an interest in the building.”
Samaritan House was able to acquire the property because homeless-assistance programs are given priority over other programs, he said.
“My application was given a priority consideration,” he said. “There must be a reason that the government put a homeless priority in there.”
Samaritan House will use the 12,327-square-foot main building primarily as office space. Krager’s office, as well as the accounting and case management offices, will move into the building, which has been empty since 2003.
There won’t be any beds at the new site, Krager said, but when the offices move from Samaritan House’s current building on Ninth Avenue West, the shelter will be able to serve more people.
In 2007, Krager had to turn away 545 people because Samaritan House was full.
“That’s why I applied for the property,” he said.
Moving the offices will allow the shelter to accommodate an additional 60 people annually. About 1,500 people stay at Samaritan House each year.
“It doesn’t make a huge impact,” Krager admitted. “But it does make some positive impact.
“That is 10 people at any point in time that will get help by nature of us having this extra building.”
Better still, Samaritan House gets the property for free. Federal law says underutilized, unused, excess or surplus real estate may be made available at no cost to homeless providers.
“The essence of it is with an increased demand for homeless services and increased numbers of homeless people, and the weight of our budget and trying to make ends meet, it feels really, really refreshing to get something for free,” Krager said.
Samaritan House will have a 30-year deed, he said. During that time, the shelter must use some part of the property to serve homeless people.
When the 30 years are up, the property belongs to Samaritan House to use as the organization deems best.
The building may need some minor repairs, Krager said, but except for years of accumulated dust, it’s ready for new occupants. Samaritan House’s existing facility will need some construction, he said. Staff will remain the same.
Krager hasn’t yet received the key or the deed. As soon as he has those, he has one year to move in.
“It’s going to be a slow process,” he said.
The Army Reserve building is Montana’s latest government property handled by the General Services Administration, the largest public real estate organization in the country. It also handled an armory-turned-homeless-shelter in Bozeman and the former Air Force base in Lakeside, which now houses a Youth With a Mission base.
Samaritan House is the winner of the Sonstelie Hall lottery.
For the last few years, local agencies and organizations have eyed the former Sonstelie Hall Army Reserve Center near Peterson School on Second Street West in Kalispell.
Flathead County Agency on Aging hoped to relocate from its cramped facility on Kelly Road to the more spacious Army Reserve building.
Kalispell Public Schools hoped to move its centralized elementary support kitchen there and possibly using some space for additional kindergarten and early childhood classrooms.
Instead, the U.S. General Services Administration assigned the building to the Flathead Valley’s only homeless shelter.
“I feel bittersweet,” said Chris Krager, Samaritan House’s executive director. “I know a lot of people had an interest in the building.”
Samaritan House was able to acquire the property because homeless-assistance programs are given priority over other programs, he said.
“My application was given a priority consideration,” he said. “There must be a reason that the government put a homeless priority in there.”
Samaritan House will use the 12,327-square-foot main building primarily as office space. Krager’s office, as well as the accounting and case management offices, will move into the building, which has been empty since 2003.
There won’t be any beds at the new site, Krager said, but when the offices move from Samaritan House’s current building on Ninth Avenue West, the shelter will be able to serve more people.
In 2007, Krager had to turn away 545 people because Samaritan House was full.
“That’s why I applied for the property,” he said.
Moving the offices will allow the shelter to accommodate an additional 60 people annually. About 1,500 people stay at Samaritan House each year.
“It doesn’t make a huge impact,” Krager admitted. “But it does make some positive impact.
“That is 10 people at any point in time that will get help by nature of us having this extra building.”
Better still, Samaritan House gets the property for free. Federal law says underutilized, unused, excess or surplus real estate may be made available at no cost to homeless providers.
“The essence of it is with an increased demand for homeless services and increased numbers of homeless people, and the weight of our budget and trying to make ends meet, it feels really, really refreshing to get something for free,” Krager said.
Samaritan House will have a 30-year deed, he said. During that time, the shelter must use some part of the property to serve homeless people.
When the 30 years are up, the property belongs to Samaritan House to use as the organization deems best.
The building may need some minor repairs, Krager said, but except for years of accumulated dust, it’s ready for new occupants. Samaritan House’s existing facility will need some construction, he said. Staff will remain the same.
Krager hasn’t yet received the key or the deed. As soon as he has those, he has one year to move in.
“It’s going to be a slow process,” he said.
The Army Reserve building is Montana’s latest government property handled by the General Services Administration, the largest public real estate organization in the country. It also handled an armory-turned-homeless-shelter in Bozeman and the former Air Force base in Lakeside, which now houses a Youth With a Mission base.
1 comment:
hello, I am a str4anded traveler I have not worked gainfully for approximately 16 weeks I am seeking emergency shelter I am at the Shelby Library heading to Kalispell, Montana I will traveling by Bus Tuesday morning form the Amtrak Train Stop, I am trying to get emergency funds to keep me going via family and friends who have helped me since I lost my employment I am selling Theater Memberships and Show Events, I did leave some authentic history about me with The Sacramento Bee Newspaper contact Mr Mac Namara and or Ms Wallace for media such as Award Winning Football Action Photographs of me playing same college football "I am a Historical small college football player, actually published sports articles , official football game film shorts "game clip" of me playing football in college I recovered the Game Winning Fumble to help win the NCAA 1979 Small College Football Championship and I also have a color copy of my last Award Winning Painting that was reviewed as a Master an Acrylic I titled "Suppression" a Picasso emulation of his Cubist and Blur Periods described to to be a parallelism and abstract object side by side with a realism, thank you, please forward to the concerned my email address is phillipjbianco@hotmail.com to send me emergency resources information including housing or shelter resources and employment, Phillip Bianco
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