Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The Rochester City Council is being asked to consider an alternate site for an interim warming center to shelter homeless people during periods of extreme cold.

The City Council this week includes a review of a plan approved by the Rochester Park Board last to locate the facility at the former Silver Lake Fire Station. Olmsted County Health, Housing, and Human Services officials this afternoon announced they will bring to the City Council and Olmsted County Board an alternate plan to use a small strip mall located along 4th Street Southeast just south of the Government Center as a warming center for the next couple winters.

Olmsted County Housing and Redevelopment Authority Director Dave Dunn says it has room for about 30 people and has the advantage of being located only a block from the central downtown area and near the skyways. Dunn noted that Catholic Charities of Southern Minnesota, which is currently the service provider of Winona’s warming center, would oversee day-to-day operations of the proposed Rochester facility.

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