With the St. Paul mayor’s office poised to begin clearing the city’s largest homeless encampments on Aug. 5, Ramsey County officials voted Tuesday to accept more than $1 million from the city to begin contracting additional emergency shelter beds.

No one expects that increasing shelter capacity alone will house all of the city’s chronic homeless residents, many of whom have been resistant to being separated from “pets, property, partners,” or in some cases illicit substances, or the freedom and community of the camps. Shelter beds are generally offered on a first-come, first-served basis, and not reserved.

Meanwhile, for those residents ready and willing to transition, Ramsey County’s waitlist for permanent supportive housing — generally studio residences in apartment buildings managed by nonprofits that offer counseling services — runs 1,400 people deep, according to county housing officials.

“Emergency shelter is a really essential part of the overall continuum of care, but it’s only one component,” said County Manager Ling Becker, addressing the county board on Tuesday. “Homelessness cannot be addressed by one jurisdiction alone.”

On Tuesday, with all of those caveats in mind, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners voted to accept $1.08 million from the city of St. Paul to back a joint powers agreement around emergency shelter services — a “coordinated partnership” that runs through Dec. 31, 2028. To fund the transfer, the city tapped into its Local Affordable Housing Aid, housing dollars derived from a metro-wide sales tax that took effect in October 2023.

The partnership, which runs through December 2028, includes $200,000 to open up 49 additional emergency shelter beds at Catholic Charities’ Higher Ground facility in downtown St. Paul. The full cost of the beds and added services like laundry and security is $969,500, but the county will tap existing funding to cover the difference.

Another $880,000 will allow Ramsey County to solicit additional emergency shelter beds elsewhere on the city’s behalf, a solicitation that was expected to roll out Tuesday. Separately, the county also plans to add more case managers.

Mayor Kaohly Her’s office announced this month that the camps will be cleared on a rolling basis, beginning with the Pig’s Eye Regional Park site on Aug. 5.

Whether shelter services will be ready for the influx of new residents remains to be seen.

St. Paul officials have estimated that 140 homeless residents camp at Pig’s Eye Regional Park off Fish Hatchery Road on the city’s East Side, and another 80 or so live in two other encampments near L’Orient Street/Maryland Avenue and Shepard Road. Some advocates for the homeless say actual numbers could be twice as high.

Situated across the street from Grand Casino Arena, Catholic Charities Higher Ground St. Paul emergency shelter maintains 60 beds for women and 172 beds for men. “We are consistently at or above capacity each night,” said Therese Gales, a spokesperson for Catholic Charities, in an email.

The Union Gospel Mission, which recently expanded its men’s campus on University Avenue in downtown St. Paul, maintains 160 shelter beds, as well as 42 pay-for-stay beds. Again, most are occupied come nightfall.

Becker said 16 extra men’s beds and 13 women’s beds were available the other night in St. Paul shelters. “That’s a little high compared to what I’ve been seeing,” said Becker, noting extra beds often number in only the single digits, “but there is current emergency shelter capacity, generally.”

Ramsey County Commissioner Rena Moran, chair of the Heading Home Ramsey homelessness initiative, noted the transfer of St. Paul’s LAHA funds would be reflected in the 2026, 2027 and 2028 Housing Stability Budget and not impact the county’s overall tax levy.

Still, as needs have grown, the county has absorbed demand for emergency services from homeless residents, many of whom previously lived in other parts of the state. That’s placed an undue burden on Ramsey County to respond to a statewide housing crisis.

“We never turn anyone away,” said Moran, predicting tough budget choices in the months to come. “The burden is falling on Ramsey County residents… It’s really having an impact on the tax base in Ramsey County.”

Jaime Wilkins, housing stability director for Ramsey County, told the county board on Tuesday that the county maintains a lengthy wait list for placement into permanent supportive housing administered by nonprofit partners.

The “coordinated entry” wait list aims to situate homeless residents in state- and federally-backed residences like Beacon Interfaith’s Kimball Court or Higher Ground’s studio apartments, which provide counseling and other services intended to keep residents from becoming unhoused again.

“Right now there’s approximately 1,400 people on that list,” said Wilkins, who acknowledged that the list needs “sweeping” for residents who have found housing on their own, died, left the area or cannot otherwise be reached.

Even a thorough update would undoubtedly show “there’s not enough permanent supportive housing for folks who are on the coordinated entry list,” Wilkins said.

She noted some priority is given to military veterans, the disabled, residents who have been unhoused for more than a year and other high-priority placements. Moran, a former state representative, said she was in touch with members of the city’s legislative delegation, who have asked for an in-person meeting with the county over next steps.

State Rep. Leigh Finke met with the mayor Monday morning to object to the camp closures.

“Homelessness policy is complicated, and there are many approaches on how best to manage encampments,” said Finke, who shared her concerns on social media. “While I made it clear that I oppose closing encampments as a public safety policy, the mayor and I agreed that our neighbors experiencing homelessness deserve the same respect and opportunity any of our city’s residents deserve.”

Multiple forums are planned for residents to offer input on the city’s decision to clear the camps.

The West Seventh/Fort Road Federation, Open Hands Midway, the Southeast Community Organization and other community partners held a community listening session at the North Garden Theater from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“These are human lives to be so nonchalant with human lives, you should be ashamed,” said Kyle Wecker, an attendee, addressing representatives of the county board and the mayor’s office. “I don’t know how you fall asleep at night with this short timeline you’ve established.”

“Just keep in mind, me and my neighbors, we fought ICE this winter, and we can fight the city,” Wecker said.

Later in the forum, an attendee said that blood would be on the city’s hands.

“When you talk about blood will be on our hands, I will also highlight that right now, people are dying in the camps,” said Cedrick Baker, an assistant mayor, in response.

Protesters plan a “Stop the Sweeps” rally outside City Hall at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. The St. Paul City Council, which held a public hearing on the camp closures last Wednesday, will continue the discussion with another hearing at noon on Aug. 4. The city plans to begin clearing the camps the next morning.

Anya Armentrout and Mara H. Gottfried contributed to this report.