Oshtemo Township trustees decided not to commit funding this week to a county-wide winter shelter partnership, citing a need for more information.
The request
Willa DiTaranto, deputy director of the Kalamazoo Housing Department, asked the township to join Kalamazoo County, the City of Kalamazoo, and the Continuum of Care housed at the United Way of South Central Michigan in funding coordinated winter shelter services for the unhoused population. The partnership began last winter as its first coordinated year. DiTaranto told the board a 2022 housing study, updated in 2025, found the county needs about 8,000 additional housing units by 2030, up from an earlier estimate of roughly 7,500.
Board concerns
Trustee Michael Chapman said he supports helping unhoused residents but wants the township’s existing housing millage, which raises about $9 million a year countywide, prioritized toward immediate community needs before committing an estimated $25,000 in additional funding to this partnership. He also referenced a previous, unaffiliated shelter effort at a hotel near 11th Street that had drawn law enforcement responses. DiTaranto clarified that earlier effort was privately funded and separate from this coordinated program, which includes vetting, oversight, and compliance monitoring of service providers.
Other board members raised questions about how millage funds are allocated between housing development and support services, and whether local developers have had adequate access to those dollars. DiTaranto said the request for proposals for this year’s shelter services closed recently, with responses expected within the week, and that participating communities would need to identify an oversight representative soon to keep operations on track for a November 1 start.
What happens next
After discussion, board members agreed to hold off on committing funding at this time, saying they preferred to wait for more information and, in some cases, a full board present for the vote. No formal motion was made. The Township Supervisor or Clerk retain the option to bring the request back to the board at a future meeting.
No specific date has been set for the item to return to the Oshtemo Township board.
