Kalamazoo staff will ask commissioners Oct. 19 to send more than $450,000 to United Way for winter shelter

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Kalamazoo city staff plan to ask the City Commission on Oct. 19 to direct more than $450,000 to United Way to pay for winter shelter for people experiencing homelessness, according to a summary of the commission’s Oct. 5 meeting.

The city manager told commissioners that providers have been identified for winter shelter services, and that the city is working with the Kalamazoo County continuum of care on plans for individuals and families, according to the meeting summary and the city’s video record.

The dollar figure is the headline for taxpayers. The recommendation has not yet been voted on, and the commission will be able to question how the money would be spent and measured before it acts.

The same Oct. 5 meeting showed commissioners willing to slow spending they wanted to understand better. They voted unanimously to postpone for one month a cooperative purchasing agreement capped at $220,000 so staff could bring more information and options. They approved a $168,600 pavement-maintenance change order and a $385,500 engineering agreement for well replacements and water treatment plant work.

The city manager also spoke about recent violence in the community and the city’s Blueprint for Peace effort, and about follow-up from a recent water advisory.

The commission meets Monday, Oct. 19, as a Committee of the Whole at 5 p.m. and in regular session at 7 p.m. in City Hall, 241 W. South St.

Sources:
Govly, “October 5, 2026 Regular Business Meeting - City of Kalamazoo,” https://app.govly.com/public/meetings/98164
City of Kalamazoo, “City Commission,” https://www.kalamazoocity.org/Government/Boards-Commissions/City-Commission
Public Media Network, “Kalamazoo City Commission - October 5, 2026 Business Meeting” (video), https://videoplayer.telvue.com/player/2bm0gzQWeVRzdCgvjXziXKwO3icSKh05/series/3444/media/1049638
Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, “The Art Deco-style city hall, completed in 1930 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, Public domain, cropped, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Art_Deco-style_city_hall,_completed_in_1930_in_Kalamazoo,_Michigan.jpg

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