LEWISTON — The city is at risk of losing $2.5 million in state funding toward the development of a 24-hour homeless shelter if it cannot find additional operational funds before an Aug. 1 deadline set by MaineHousing.

The recent requirement issued by MaineHousing was shared at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, and comes after the city and its shelter partner, Kaydenz Kitchen, have not yet secured a building for hosting the shelter.

MaineHousing told Kaydenz Kitchen operators they must show proof of having two years’ worth of operational funding in place before the agency will release the $2.5 million awarded to the nonprofit last year. So far, Kaydenz Kitchen has roughly $1.2 million committed toward operational costs. The initial two-year budget is roughly $3 million.

A recent letter to Kevin Boilard, executive director of Kaydenz Kitchen, from Lauren Bustard, senior director of homeless initiatives for MaineHousing, said the funding award stipulated that the project “must be ready to serve people experiencing homelessness in time for winter 2025-26.”

Bustard said if funding for years one and two is not committed by Aug. 1, “MaineHousing will need to rescind the funding award and reallocate the monies elsewhere.”

The $2.5 million in state funding is primarily for acquisition and construction costs for getting a shelter up and running, but Lewiston officials have so far been unsuccessful in securing additional sources of funding to put toward operational costs, and approved only $400,000 in next year’s budget.

Boilard was visibly frustrated in front of councilors Tuesday, stating the process has not felt like the partnership it was intended to be between the city and his organization.

“Kaydenz Kitchen has sacrificed everything to get to this point,” he said. “So it’s very frustrating when I’m sitting in front of the powers that be and they’re all scratching their heads, looking at me with dismay. Everything has fallen on Kaydenz Kitchen. Kaydenz Kitchen is responsible for getting the building, Kaydenz Kitchen is now responsible for finding the other funding. That was not part of the RFP process that we signed up for.”

Boilard said now Lewiston faces a deadline where it could lose a vital resource.

“You want to clean up that park?” he said, referring to the city’s recent efforts in Kennedy Park. “You’re not cleaning up that park until you get a place for these individuals to go 24 hours a day.”

Last month, Boilard told the Sun Journal that Kaydenz Kitchen, which operated a warming shelter out of the former Schemengee’s Bar & Grille on Lincoln Street this past winter, is looking at alternative locations for the shelter after negotiations to purchase the Lincoln Street property have taken longer than anticipated.

An update to the council from the shelter committee Tuesday said Kaydenz Kitchen will likely have a building under contract within the next two to six weeks, but will be counting on the MaineHousing funding to make that happen.

Some potential funding sources, however, want to see a site secured before entertaining requests.

According to the shelter committee update, a request for congressionally directed spending through U.S. Sen. Susan Collins’ office will only be seriously considered once a building location in finalized.

Councilors said those involved should ask MaineHousing to extend the Aug. 1 deadline while they scramble to find additional funding.

Boilard said MaineHousing officials were surprised to learn that Lewiston had not committed at least two years’ worth of funding to the project, and initially wanted to see proof of operational costs stretching between five and 10 years.

“They’re not going to release money to purchase a building if next year (the shelter) is not going to have money,” said Deputy City Administrator Brian O’Malley.

Auburn set aside $200,000 in next year’s budget that could be put toward the effort, Boilard said.

O’Malley said the city’s RFP for a shelter operator came “without any money attached to it,” which is unusual. He said while the shelter committee has since suggested and pursued possible funding sources, many have fallen through.

During this year’s budget process, some councilors opposed giving the effort funding and the council ultimately settled on $400,000 based on Boilard’s request.

“I can’t sit here and say we’re going to give him more money; that’s not a decision we can make right now,” O’Malley said.

Boilard said Kaydenz Kitchen would consider waiving administrative fees in the budget that amount to $400,000, potentially making the funding gap smaller, but it still leaves a $1.4 million hole.