Plans are in the works to house unsheltered homeless people in an 182-room Augusta hotel during the coronavirus pandemic.

Augusta Housing and Community Development said the agreement is with the Doubletree by Hilton on Perimeter Parkway, while four other Hilton properties also are available.

“Providing shelter for our homeless population is essential, and the right thing to do, right now. Time is of the essence,” Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis said.

“Giving shelter to our homeless population will allow compliance with the shelter-in-place order during this crisis, and our goal is to help as many individuals and families as possible,” Davis said.

Augusta’s 2020 point in time count revealed 287 unsheltered homeless people, with likely nearly to as many staying in shelters or other facilities, said Daniel Evans, community development manager for the department.

The results are not finalized because U.S. Housing and Urban Development delayed the process due to the pandemic, Evans said.

Among the area’s unsheltered, James Taylor, 59, was parked at a city park Thursday. He and his dog, Rebel, were living out of his loaded pickup truck.

Taylor said he’d welcome a hotel room but was afraid to leave his truck and belongings behind.

Augusta Commissioner Ben Hasan said he supports the housing plan because the federal government has allocated around $500,000 for Augusta to shelter its homeless.

He’s heard from constituents who lost their jobs and were about to lose their homes.

“The federal government is allocating about half a million dollars for the coronavirus and we need to take full advantage of it,” he said.

The CARES Act allocated $400 billion in Emergency Solutions Grants and Community Development Block Grants for emergency housing. The funds no longer require matching funds and will soon be distributed in waves.

Augusta commissioners had many questions about the plan and some said they were initially led to believe the hotel would shelter homeless who were positive for the novel coronavirus.

Commissioner Marion Williams asked who would pay for any damages the hotel incurs, housekeeping and other cleanup and how residents will be kept separate from one another.

Those being housed will be instructed “to behave responsibly and at a certain point, we must trust that they can police themselves,” said Hawthorne Welcher, director of the city housing department.

Hilton is waiving the cost of any damages and is responsible for housekeeping and cleanliness, Welcher said.

Hilton also will supply residents with the toiletries found in each room and a free breakfast, he said in correspondence obtained by The Augusta Chronicle.

Homeless in need will go through the Marion Barnes Resource Center for the Homeless on East Boundary.

Since March 16, the center has processed 100 requests for information and referred 38 to accommodations, and the city has identified around 20 families ready to move in, Welcher said.

If needed, transportation to the hotel will be provided by Hilton while transport away will likely be restricted.

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Williams also was concerned about the health of residents. The homeless are susceptible to diseases due to living conditions and tend to have poorer outcomes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Who’s going to screen these people who haven’t been to the doctor in years?” Williams said.

The funds won’t cover COVID-19 testing, health mitigation or treatment. The city won’t check a person’s status or test result, Welcher said.

Commissioner Dennis Williams said he is seeking more information before the commission votes on the plan on April 21.

Williams said he thinks the residents will be screened carefully.

“The resource center will determine if they go or not. As I understand it we’re not just picking people off the street,” he said.

Commissioner John Clarke said as with other commission decisions during the pandemic, the body is asked to approve costly programs without complete information.

“When you’re trying to make an intelligent vote, you can only vote on the facts and the figures that are presented to you,” he said.

Housing and Community Development has other relief on the horizon. At the end of April the city expects to get HUD notification about launching small business, lost wages, homeowner and other relief programs, according to Welcher.

COVID-19 hit the hotel and motel industry hard, with eight out of 10 rooms empty and 70 percent of staff laid off or furloughed, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association.

In Augusta, hoteliers this week are losing their busiest revenue bump of the year when the Masters Tournament was postponed to November.

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