A lot to like in the result, a lot less in the process

Celebrated English playwright William Shakespeare coined the oft-quoted phrase, “All’s well that ends well,” to serve as the name of a play he wrote and produced in 1623. And even then, more than four centuries ago, thoughtful observers entertained doubts about how well he’d made his case.

So it is that we react cautiously, if not skeptically, to a Monday news story proclaiming, “YCAP, city happy with Nav Center ending.” Greatly relieved perhaps, but happy seems a stretch.

We are referring, of course, to McMinnville’s long-delayed and badly over-budget navigation center. It finally opened its doors to the local homeless community last January, but left a rift between the city and agency unsettled until late last month.

The new AnyDoor Center provides 36 beds of transitional housing with a menu of wraparound services designed to facilitate placement in permanent affordable housing. Those services include medical and hygienic support, tech access, case management and vocational and rental assistance, which simply aren’t available on the street.

To recap:

The impetus came via passage in the 2021 session of House Bill 4006, sponsored by then-Rep. Ron Noble of McMinnville and championed by then-House Speaker Tina Kotek of Portland. It provided funding for navigation centers in Bend, Medford and McMinnville as a pilot project that could be more widely adopted over time.

The original plan, back in April of 2021, was to connect and rehab a pair of houses at 327 and 329 SW Adams St. for $1.6 million and open the doors by June 30, 2022. The project was launched as a partnership between the city, which would oversee construction, and YCAP, which would manage operation.

But the two existing structures were built in different styles on different grades, resulting in some significant technical challenges. And the project still remained stalled when the city announced in the spring of 2023, nearly a year past its initial completion target, that the projected cost had risen to $2.8 million.

Eventually, the city secured enough additional funding to proceed, and hired Fackler Construction to see it through.

By then, Newberg was nearing completion of a 24-bed AnyDoor navigation facility of its own, also in partnership with YCAP, also based on rehab of existing construction. It opened in January 2024, a full year ahead of its larger McMinnville counterpart.

Delays and cost-overruns are more the exception than the rule these days, and not just when it comes to public sector projects. They commonly bedevil private sector projects as well.

But the McMinnville project next ran headlong into something unforeseen — collapse of Fackler into a tangled web of federal bankruptcy proceedings, with company woes contributing to a litany of construction shortcomings along the way.

The initial plan called for 40 beds, but a wrong roof slope cut that figure to 36.

The city compounded the situation by misdirecting $180,000 to Fackler, and investing significant time and expense in getting it back. The money was intended for unpaid subcontractors.

YCAP sought damages from both Fackler and the city afterward. It settled with the city last month for $98,000, but remains in litigation with Fackler, alleging shoddy construction.

How much of this mess could have been avoided is hard to tell. However, we think this sad tale does make the case for:

n Being as cautious and realistic as possible on the front end, and providing a meaningful contingency cushion.

n Exercising the highest possible order of due diligence before entering into contracts and partnerships, in case things are not entirely as they might seem.

n Providing vigorous, on-the-ground oversight every step of the way.

n Taking swift and decisive action if and when red flags arise.

In one respect, we can agree with Shakespeare’s assertion that all’s well that ends well. Transitional housing facilities play a crucial role in moving members of the homeless community into safe, secure and affordable housing, and now both McMinnville and Newberg have such facilities in operation.

However, we rue the delays, shortfalls, overruns, turmoil, litigation and acrimony, not to mentioned the damage inflicted on the reputations of both the city and YCAP. It suggests a different admonition to us: All’s better that goes smoothly.