The Grants Pass City Council re-awarded the grant to address homelessness after rescinding it from a nonprofit that received the funding two weeks ago.
The grant is intended to help shelter 150 homeless people.
The original recipient, Pathways to Stability, failed to secure county-owned land for its proposed site.
On Monday, councilors voted 5-3 to give the grant to the second-highest-scoring applicant, Elk Island Trading Group of Roseburg, which runs three homeless camps there.
Councilor Rick Riker voted to give Elk Island the grant, saying the council just needs to decide.
"My biggest wish would be for all the organizations to get together and work together," he said. "It would be a great healing process for the community as well."
Councilors clashed over how to proceed and at times accused one another of bias in scoring applications.
Councilor Victoria Marshall voted against giving Elk Island the grant because she thought they would have the same issue securing land as Pathways did.
"It’s the wrong thing to do. It’s the wrong thing for our community," she said. "There will be, in my opinion, the same problems with the property on this applicant."
She also expressed concern that Elk Island's Operations Manager Bernie Woodard, who presented the proposal, lives outside Grants Pass.
Within the next week, Elk Island still must secure an agreement to buy the property for its program. The group identified a half-acre parcel at 210 Redwood Highway, owned by Bi-Mart. The property is zoned commercial and has a real market value of more than $280,000, according to the county assessor.
The lot is next to the homeless services nonprofit MINT, which Elk Island plans to partner with. Its proposal calls for small homes made from converted shipping containers and partnerships with area nonprofits to provide services.
Councilor Erich Schloegl moved to invite all applicants to submit their best, final proposal and rescore the applicants. The motion failed on a 5-3 vote.
If Elk Island secures the property, the site is expected to open by June 1.
Grants Pass has faced an increasingly visible problem with homelessness in recent years. It was sued twice over its treatment of homeless residents. The most recent lawsuit was dismissed in August after the city agreed to provide space for 150 people within its urban growth boundary for one year. It must also be low-barrier and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The city currently has several unmanaged homeless camps on city property within two blocks of downtown. Opening a new program would allow the city to close those sites.
