In Carrie Fiore’s years living on the streets of Austin, she has bounced from encampments and motels frequently.

In the past year, she has stayed at the Rodeway Inn on Interstate 35 near Oltorf Street more than a dozen times.

The inn offers breakfast to visitors, which is a huge draw for people like her who need a place to stay and meals. While living in Houston several years ago, she said, she lived off hotel breakfasts for weeks at a time.

As Austin moves closer to purchasing the inn to convert into a housing complex for people who are homeless, city leaders have to wrestle with what to do with the people already living at the motel in a long-term capacity. Those residents will be displaced, though the city is expected to help find them similar shelter options.

The City Council will vote Thursday on an ordinance authorizing up to $320,000 to relocate 10 people identified by the city as long-term residents to other housing options. Including rental assistance, moving costs and a bit of contingency funding, the total allocates $31,926 for each person, provided they move into a lease with comparable rent.

Fiore never stayed at the inn for more than a few days, but she said even people who stay for a night or two when temperatures plunge might be disappointed to lose the option.

"It will mean a lot, because they’ve developed a rapport with the front desk worker and the owner," Fiore said. "They’ve developed a place they can go if they follow the rules. It’s a great location, (with) buses right off Oltorf. I think there will be some disappointment."

The city plans to use a federal Community Development Block Grant to fund its $8 million purchase and renovation of the hotel. Such grants require the city to offer relocation assistance to current, long-term residents.

Austin interim Real Estate Services Officer Alex Gale said while the purchase of the hotel is unique, relocation assistance is more common. He said any time the city purchases a property, for instance, in buyouts related to flood plains, it helps current residents find similar properties where they can move.

"What we do by providing this relocation assistance is help them find new permanent housing. We have to go out to the market and find a home or apartment that would be comparable," Gale said. "It helps with moving of personal property, but also going and securing a new permanent residence, whether an apartment, a room within a home, whatever they could move into."

The city still plans to close on the inn in April, then complete any needed renovations as quickly as possible before the building opens to a new pool of people transitioning from life on the streets.

Ending Community Homelessness Coalition Executive Director Matt Mollica said ECHO, which will eventually manage the motel, has not been involved with the relocation effort.

"That’s a city project," he said. "We went and talked with the current owner to try to get an understanding of who was there for an extended period of time to make sure they stayed if they wanted to stay, and leave if they wanted to leave."

Motels are among the few resources available to people experiencing intermittent homelessness who need a place to crash for a day or two. Fiore said living out of motels comes with pros and cons.

"You don’t have that privacy. You’re usually sharing with someone because it’s unaffordable alone," she said.

"You don’t want to be alone, so you take someone with you or more than one person with you that gives them a place to lay their head and protect them from the elements, both human and the weather," Fiore said. "There are a lot of people in need."

For those frequently staying at the Rodeway Inn, the immediate future might be more uncertain, and permanently losing the option will present a new challenge. Fiore, however, said there are other motels in Austin where she has stayed in the past, including another Rodeway Inn in another part of the city.

Gale said once renovations are complete, it’s possible the 10 who were displaced could move back into some of the 87 units the city plans on opening, depending upon their status or need.

Fiore said she’d like to be among them.

"I don’t want a handout," she said. "I'm at a point where I can work a little bit at least. I’m pretty easy to talk to, I relate to people, and I’d love to help out and do some sort of trade for a place to lay my own head."