State officials are considering sheltering homeless people at the Monterey County Fairgrounds, officially known as the Monterey County Fair and Event Center, during the coronavirus crisis, according to Monterey City Manager Hans Uslar.
“The state has reached out to Monterey County Fairgrounds,” he said in a press briefing on March 23. “It’s our understanding that a solution will be forthcoming shortly from the [Gov Gavin Newsom’s] office.”
The California Department of Food and Agriculture contacted the fairgrounds last week and said the state Office of Emergency Services would follow up about a possible shelter. The OES has yet to call, according to fairgrounds CEO Kelly Violini.
Newsom announced over the weekend that the state is making plans to use hotels, motels and other facilities for sheltering people who have no roof over their heads. Uslar had previously shared with local media that local hotels and motels are being contacted.
Uslar added that the city does not have authority over the decision on setting up a shelter at the fairgrounds.
Occupying 22 acres in Monterey, the fairgrounds are owned by the state. The venue has been used to host various annual music shows. In addition to stages, the fairgrounds features kitchens, seven halls and an RV park.
(1) comment
To be noted there is a CAMPGROUND there with hookups and people can walk to stores and pharmacies from there. It would be great if the County would do the same at the Laguna Seca campgrounds on a regular basis...although more remote, there are literally over a hundred sites up there (not all with hookups) that usually sit empty between events...which are being cancelled. I've suggested this in meetings where it matters, and I'm glad to see some movement on this at last.
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.