WINONA, Minn. — The Winona City Council rejected a plan to relocate the city’s only overnight warming shelter for homeless people to the old and little-used St. Casimir Catholic Church on the West End. The proposal received a 4-3 favorable vote but a 5-2 super majority was necessary. Catholic Charities, which operates the current warming shelter, earlier won support from the city Planning Commission to move to St. Casimir. About the plan being dead-ended by the City Council, the local director of Catholic Charities, John Meyers expressed disappointment. For several years the overnight shelter was in The Edge church basement downtown, but The Edge was needful of the space for its own activities and canceled the deal for this winter. Temporarily the shelter is housed at Wesley United Methodist Church near downtown. Meyers had seen St. Casimir’s as a place to Catholic Charities’ overnight warming shelter and a day center. Except for exercise classes, St. Casimir has been abandoned as a church since May. The building could have been updated easily to accommodate people needing shelter, Meyers said.
St. Casimir. At 626 West Broadway Street. Built in 1915. Closed as a church in May because of declining worship attendance and a shortage of priests. Image: Steve Lunde
How they voted
The 4-3 majority fell short of a necessary super majority.
To facilitate rezoning
> Scott Sherman (mayor)
> Jason Dicus (at-large)
> Sam Zierden Shortridge (3rd Ward, downtown)
> Jerome Christenson (at-large)
Against
> Steve Young (1st Ward, West End)
> Jeff Hyma (2nd Ward, West Side)
> George Borzyskowski (4th Ward, East End)