The Duluth City Council voted on a resolution to fund the Damiano and Chum Center on Tuesday, November 12. The resolution was to modify the request for the allocation of $500,000 in funds from the sale of the Cirrus incubator building.

This would also be added to another request for up to $500,000 in funding from the Duluth Economic Development Authority for the construction of a 120-bed temporary shelter at the Damiano center.

Housing development and financing have been a frequent topic at Duluth City Council meetings.

“I think three months ago we were talking about where we could put people in outdoor camps,” said Terese Tomanek, vice president of the Duluth City Council. “And now, just three months later, we’re talking about a safe place for people, a warm place for people and a safe place as Chum builds its expansion.”

One concern for councilors was future funding after COVID-era funds ran out.

“We had very different budget discussions before we started seeing this influx of federal funding coming from the COVID response,” said Duluth City Councilman Arik Forsman. “So it will be a different day. “I don’t think we can abdicate our responsibility to partner on these types of issues, but we may not be the funders.”

The resolution passed unanimously and will be discussed again on Nov. 25 after response from the Duluth Economic Development Authority.