Ramsey County is considering keeping its temporary downtown homeless shelter — typically only tapped in the frigid winter months — open year-round.

The county’s administration is putting the proposal, which calls for a nearly $600,000 contract with a St. Paul non-profit, before the board of commissioners next week.

The proposal would allow the “Winter Safe Space” overnight shelter at 160 E. Kellogg Boulevard to stay open all year.

The space, which opened in 2017 but was only utilized in the winter months, began as an emergency response to a particularly frigid season. Last year, the space expanded to 64 beds, and hours were lengthened.

Board chair Jim McDonough said he hasn’t heard any opposition to the proposal. The topic of homelessness, in recent board meetings and workshops, has been broached multiple times as the county prepares for the winter months.

“People have been waiting for us to get this done,” McDonough said. “When we first opened two years ago, our hope was it would be a one-year bridge to a better solution. After that it became very obvious that we’ll need this for a year-round (shelter) … until we find a better solution.”

According to a recent study by the Minnesota Housing Partnership, Ramsey County’s homeless population grew by 14 percent from 2012 to 2015 — more than any surrounding county. Statewide, homelessness actually decreased by 9 percent in that time frame.

Advocates for the homeless and affordable housing have been sounding the alarm in recent years as metro-area rents increased and vacancy rates dropped. A new St. Paul city policy of shutting enclosed skyways at night also went into effect in 2017.

Previously run by Catholic Charities, the “safe space” would instead be run by Model Cities, a St. Paul-based social service non-profit, according to the county proposal.

The proposal calls for a two-year contract, paying Model Cities $590,000 per year. It calls for the space to be open from 10 p.m. to 9 a.m. every night.

Though Model Cities has some experience in supportive housing services, this would be their first overnight homeless shelter.

In the past, the county-run space was different in some ways than Catholic Charities’ other downtown overnight facilities: The county space let campers bring their shopping carts in, within reason, and had a mixed-gender community area.

Model Cities’ executive director Kizzy Downie said her staff has yet to iron out what the shelter’s final policies will be. If approved, the contract calls for the shelter to be open by Nov. 12.

“At this point, our goal is work with Catholic Charities and the other partners (already working with the homeless) to talk about what worked. How do we make sure that we’re being inclusive of what their needs are?” Downie said.

Regardless, Max Holdhusen, the county’s housing stability manager, said Model Cities is required in the contract to keep the shelter “low-barrier,” with less-stringent entrance requirements.

For one, “The other shelters you have to be sober to enter. This one you don’t. … The focus is really on getting folks who are outside, inside,” Holdhusen said.

The shelter has always been “referral-based,” meaning homeless people are discouraged from lining up at the door, and would likely not get in if they did.

Instead, entrance vouchers are distributed to such agencies as the Metro Transit and St. Paul police departments; local social service organizations, and hospitals. Those entities then give the vouchers to those they believe need them most.