Democratic Party of Santa Fe County Resolution on the Operation of Pete’s Place Homeless Shelter May 31, 2025
Whereas City Council is now considering a proposal to cancel the current lease at Pete’s Place held by Interfaith Community Shelter, as of July 31, 2025, and award a one-year contract to run the Pete’s Place facility to Urban Alchemy, a California non-profit; and
Whereas this proposal was only publicly disclosed on Friday, May 30, and is to have a final decision by City Council 4 days later, on Tuesday, June 3; and
Whereas this proposal is being considered as an “emergency” with no consideration by committees, no public comment before any committee, and only 4 days notice; and
Whereas the value of the new one-year contract is $1.5 million, many times the $158 thousand the city currently pays Interfaith Community Shelter and the $80 thousand previously budgeted for next year; and
Whereas this contract is being awarded without the normal due process; and Whereas the operator of Pete’s Place has no control of the public area outside its property; and
Whereas there are no credible allegations of mismanagement of the Pete’s Place facility itself [1]; and
Whereas Pete’s Place as operators of the shelter have significant experience and volunteer community support; and
Whereas the Democratic Party of Santa Fe County’s Community Service Program volunteers have been serving meals at Pete’s Place for over three years, have never observed any untoward behavior, and have had only the best interactions with Interfaith Community Shelter’s personnel; and
Whereas Urban Alchemy is the subject of multiple lawsuits [2], while to our knowledge Interfaith Community Shelter has never had any such allegation; and
Whereas the city has not proposed any other measures for dealing with an emergency; and Whereas we have long supported the need to address public safety in the area, and
Whereas there is an existing plan by Interfaith Community Shelter to build a new, larger facility in a non-residential area, a project known as the Resource Opportunity Shelter, or the ROCk.
Therefore Be It Resolved that the Democratic Party of Santa Fe County deplores the lack of transparency, community inclusion, and a proper bidding process for this proposal, since this contradicts democratic values; and
Be it Further Resolved that the Democratic Party of Santa Fe County calls on the City’s Governing Body to abandon the effort to proceed under dubious emergency rules, and follow a normal legislative process that includes full public input; and
Be it Further Resolved that the Democratic Party of Santa Fe County opposes the change in operators, since it is not only very costly and replaces a known and respected local non-profit with an out-of-state entity unproven here in NM, but is very unlikely to actually address the real problems.
[1] The May 31, 2025 Santa Fe New Mexican article mentions an allegation of criminal activity on the Pete’s Place property, but also states that the police investigation apparently only found that there were crimes committed in the vicinity.
[2] The same May 31, 2025 New Mexican article mentions multiple allegations of drug dealing, sexual assault, and sexual harassment at Urban Alchemy facilities in California. The allegations are denied by Urban Alchemy.