LEWISTON — The City Council has extended the timeframe for the ad hoc shelter committee for another year as it works to develop a permanent shelter.

The unanimous council vote came on the same night that officials approved a new licensing framework for homeless shelters that was developed by the shelter committee, which was established in order to get the city’s first low-barrier public shelter off the ground.

When asked why the committee work is needed for another year, committee chairperson Craig Saddlemire said the effort to stand up a permanent shelter is entering its most difficult stretch.

He said the committee is still working toward a Sept. 1, 2025, start date for the shelter, and that in the coming months the group will need to be on top of securing funding from several sources.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done to support the effort,” he said.

Councilor Michael Roy, who serves on the committee, said its members have legacy knowledge and that they “want to see this through” until the shelter is up and running.

Councilor Josh Nagine questioned whether the scope of the committee should be broadened, or should be made a permanent committee on homelessness.

Nagine said it’s currently a “singular focus” on a shelter, but that the city should also be focusing on building up resources to combat homelessness in other ways.

The city’s Housing Committee has spent considerable time on homelessness, but has also given the council several recommendations related to housing affordability. A report from the committee in June said there should be a City Hall position dedicated to housing issues due to continuing negative trends in the local market, and the amount of work it will take to tackle them.

On Tuesday, Saddlemire said that while the issue of housing and homelessness intersect in many ways, the amount of work left to be done on the permanent shelter is “such a heavy lift” that he doesn’t think its appropriate to expand the scope of the shelter committee’s work at this time.

He said if a committee tasked with taking on other aspects of homelessness is formed, it should have its own fresh start and members.

Resident Matt Agren said that once the shelter is up and running, the city is still going to need a committee related to the effort, and that “moving this to an official committee would be beneficial to everyone.”

Nagine said that while he supported extending the shelter committee for another year, the city should consider a subcommittee that can focus on other resources “to address the (homelessness) crisis on a larger scale.

“There’s pieces that I think we’re just not working on at all,” he said.