News Photo by Mike Gonzalez Vicki Rouleau, left, and Giselle Schreier serve guests at the St. Bernard Friendship Room on Thursday. The Friendship Room is a volunteer-staffed kitchen that provides free meals six days a week to anyone needing a warm meal.

ALPENA — All Saints Catholic Parish intends to utilize a nearly $140,000 Michigan Health Endowment Fund grant it received to open a warming shelter at St. Bernard Catholic Church, but zoning in Alpena has delayed the project.

Christina Kihn, director of the planned warming shelter, said officials are working with city officials to acquire a zoning variance that would allow the shelter to operate, but, so far, the process has been slow.

Kihn said officials hoped the new shelter could open in the middle of October, when Alpena County closed its campgrounds for the winter and forced some homeless people camping there to move.

She said the new shelter would provide a place for people to do laundry, use a computer to seek work or housing, meet with social services case managers, charge electronic devices, and enjoy a cup of coffee and a meal at the adjacent Friendship Room.

Kihn said she is working with the city to try to get a special meeting of the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals scheduled to have the variance request considered.

She said City Manager Rachel Smolinski and Planning, Development and Zoning Director Montiel Birmingham have been understanding and trying to be proactive to help get the shelter open.

“We really hate that there is so much red tape, especially since there is such a great need,” Kihn said. “We appreciate Montiel and Rachel and all the help they have provided to us. We understand this variance is a tedious process, and we appreciate their support and that of the city and the community has given us.”

Birmingham said a residential human care facility like the warming shelter needs special approval because of any potential impact — good or bad — the shelter could have on the surrounding neighborhood.

Birmingham said the same process was used for marijuana shops that opened in Alpena. She said residents who live within 300 feet will be notified of the requested variance, and they have the right to speak for or against the project at any upcoming city meetings.

Birmingham said a special meeting of the city Planning Commission will be held later this month so that meeting happens closer to the zoning board’s meeting and action on the issue can be taken quicker.

Once All Saints’ request clears the zoning board, action is not needed by the Alpena Municipal Council.

Another zoning issue the project faces is that city rules forbid two similar service facilities from operating within 2,000 feet of each other without a special use permit. Currently, the Sunrise Mission is within that distance of St. Bernard, so the planning and zoning boards need to give special permission for the St. Bernard shelter to run.

Birmingham said there are several zoning ordinances that could be reviewed in the future and the current ones applied to the warming shelter project will be included in that review.

“That language exists today, whether we like it or not, so we have to follow that ordinance requirement for a variance,” she said. “There are also some restrictions about how many occupants the facility can have, but we’re looking to review these, because it really should be based on the need in the community, I think. The more options we have for the community to give them a helping hand, the better.”

As the days get colder and shorter, local organizations worry that people who are homeless don’t have a warm place to sleep.

Officials at the Alpena Police Department, Alpena Salvation Army, and Sunrise Mission said the city has a homeless population and some worry this winter will be difficult on those people.

Barbara O’Leary, executive director at Sunrise Mission, said the organization has 28 beds for the people in need, but during the wintertime, those beds get filled up quickly.

Sunrise Mission is an 80-day, short-term shelter that provides a safe place for men, women, and families who need a space to sleep.

“This winter, I’m frightened, because we don’t have anywhere to send people,” O’Leary said. “We don’t. And, you know, honestly, it is a conundrum for me.”

O’Leary said Sunrise Mission and the Northeast Michigan Community Service Agency partner to care for the homeless population. She said NEMCSA used to have a partnership with a local hotel that allowed people to spend one night there with a voucher from the agency.

She said the hotel backed out of the agreement at some point and, at the moment, Sunrise Mission is the only organization that provides shelter for the homeless.

That means any additional resources that can be made available to help the homeless is welcome.

“We’re doing everything we can do to get this place open, as soon as possible,” Kihn said.