Latest news with #MorgantownCommunications
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Grace Shelter capacity cut as camping ban approaches
May 1—MORGANTOWN — Jessica Thompson, shelter director for Catholic Charities' Grace Shelter in Hazel's House of Hope, has confirmed that the shelter's capacity has recently been reduced from 28 beds to 19 beds. The issue comes down to fire code. "During our evaluation and the measurement of the facility, fire marshals determined that the shelter was operating over capacity, " Morgantown Communications Director Brade Riffee said. "It's important to note that our fire marshals are working closely with the shelter administration to evaluate alternative solutions and options that might be available." It's believed that one of the alternatives under consideration is full-time use of the first floor space that originally served as the Hope Hill Sobering Center, but more recently served as the temporary winter warming shelter—also operated by Catholic Charities. The city didn't address how the shelter was permitted to operate at a 28-bed capacity since Bartlett House first opened it in 2021. In addition to the loss of nine beds at Grace Shelter, Project Rainbow Coordinator Erin Shelton said The Rainbow House has also had to reduce capacity in order to meet best practices surrounding space per client. That shelter, which prioritizes individuals in the LGBTQ + community, now has 22 beds. Both shelters are full—just as they were prior to the reductions. "We are full on a nightly basis and we currently have over 20 people on our waiting list, " Shelton said. "As soon as we move someone into housing, we typically have someone from the waitlist move in on the same day or the following day. We haven't had any significant length of time where we weren't at full capacity since our first month of operations, which was July 2024." While there's never a good time to lose community resources, this seems to be a particularly brutal twist of timing. The citywide camping ban—passed in September but barred from taking effect due to a successful repeal petition—will be implemented after receiving the support of a small majority of the city's voters participating in Tuesday's municipal election. According to the city, the ordinance will take effect 30 days after the election results are certified. Election canvassing is Monday, meaning the law could be enforced starting June 4. The ban defines camp /camping to mean "pitch, erect or occupy camp facilities (tents, temporary structures, etc.) or to use camp paraphernalia (blankets, sleeping bags, tarps, etc.) or both for the purposes of habitation, as evidenced by the use of camp paraphernalia, " and bans it on all public property. Penalties include a warning on first offense ; a fine of up to $200 for a second offense, and a fine of up to $500 and /or up to 30 days in jail for a third offense within one year. Someone subject to a fine or jail under the law can receive alternative sentencing by agreeing to case management to return to stable housing, and /or treatment for substance abuse and /or mental health. The question going forward is how, and how often, the law will actually be enforced, given the perpetually overwhelmed status of the local shelters. According to the law, no citation will be issued or penalty imposed unless the person in violation has been offered "alternative shelter " and refused the offer. An offer of shelter means an alternate location, which may include "emergency shelter or any alternate indoor or outdoor location where the person may sleep overnight." While pinning down the exact number of unhoused individuals in and around Morgantown at any one time is difficult, it's believed to be north of 100. Milan Puskar Health Right Executive Director Laura Jones estimated 130 in August. Health Right was among the organizations that believed the lack of available beds should have made the camping ban a nonstarter. Project Rainbow was another. "Project Rainbow is deeply disappointed by the passage of Morgantown's camping ban, especially considering the dire situation I'm describing here with limited availability of shelter beds, " Shelton said. "This ordinance criminalizes the mere act of survival for people who have nowhere else to go."
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Morgantown to consider municipal identification program
Mar. 26—MORGANTOWN — Morgantown Communications Director Brad Riffee stood before Morgantown City Council Tuesday evening and laid out the concept behind what he believes would be the first municipal identification program in the state of West Virginia. Based on the initial reaction, it appears council is interested in taking a closer look. While no details have been finalized, potential perks of the ID could include easier access and interactions with city services and personnel, access to bus and library services, discounts at participating city businesses, and even access to checking and savings accounts. Initial thoughts are the cards could be offered to residents starting at 14 years of age and include information like veteran status, donor status and allergies. Riffee said receiving an ID card would require a fee as well as multiple points of proof establishing both the individual's identification and residency in the city. However, the city could set up a mechanism through which the fee could be waived. Further, the list of identification accepted would be expanded beyond state and federal requirements to include things like registry in the Homeless Management Information System, or HMIS. "We've made it to where ; while we acknowledge that we need a process and we need to make sure we're collecting the right documents, we also don't want to create any more barriers, " Riffee said. "So, we've included pieces of information that we could use and verify as a municipality to help individuals who are in an unhoused situation." "Barrier " is a word that came up more than once during the discussion. While Riffee reiterated his belief that the program would ultimately be beneficial to all city residents, it was noted that its origin dates back to a program pitched by Councilor Brian Butcher to help unhoused individuals get established. Butcher said this program won't be a magic bullet in those instances, but it would be a step in the right direction. "There's still going to be difficulty with certain people in terms of proving residency and stuff like that, but it's to try to lower the barriers a little bit, " Butcher said. "Some municipalities have used these sorts of systems as a low-level bank as well. That's something that obviously would require a lot more infrastructure, maybe many years down the road, but up to $200 in a bank card that somebody could have, and that could be really useful for people. I think even just having it as a bus pass or library card to get into any number of our municipal facilities would be great as well." Obviously, the cards could not be used as a driver's license or any other form of federal identification. Riffee said he pulled aspects of the proposal from various municipalities across the country and spoke to representatives from cities ranging in size from Madison, New Jersey, with a population of 17, 000 to Detroit, Michigan, with a residency north of 630, 000. He said the program could likely be launched for approximately $2, 000. Each photo identification card would cost the city approximately 33 cents to produce and could include watermarks and a holographic component similar to state IDs. Among the major questions to be answered is who on the city's end would be responsible for vetting identification sources and running the program. "I'd like to emphasize that the Morgantown Municipal ID benefits all residents, regardless of age. Whether someone is a longstanding citizen or a newcomer, this program is designed to enhance accessibility, " Riffee concluded.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Funding in place, work begins on Morgantown Public Works garage
Feb. 20—MORGANTOWN — In 2022, Morgantown City Council voted unanimously to convey ownership of city hall, the public works garage and Norwood fire station to the Morgantown Building Commission in exchange for the issuance of up to $7 million in lease revenue bonds. As was their stated purpose, those bonds have been used to finance a number of improvements to aging, and just plain old, city facilities. Most notably, the city cut ribbons in 2024 celebrating a $3.5 million overhaul of the 100-year-old city hall building as well as a $1.7 million expansion and renovation of the 76-year-old Morgantown Fire Department Station 2, in Norwood. Now the last of those dollars are ready to move. During its most recent regular meeting, council approved a budget amendment moving the remaining $1, 287, 733 from the building commission into the city's capital escrow account to be utilized for a long-overdue project addressing the city garage, located near the intersection of Green Bag Road and Mississippi Street That project will include the addition of a 774 square-foot office space as well as a new roof and siding. The upgrades will also address stormwater management systems, a new HVAC system and numerous electrical, mechanical and plumbing enhancements. "We've started the interior demo of the bathroom and office space. Also, they poured the foundation for the addition and started electrical upgrades, " Morgantown Communications Director Brad Riffee said. Back in February 2022, internal estimates put the cost of the work at about $1.6 million. Both that number and the scope of the project have grown over time. When the project was initially bid, the city was looking to spend between $2 million and $2.5 million, but after three separate rounds of bidding, $3, 249, 277 was the best offer. Last November, the city entered into a contract with Veritas Contracting for that amount. In addition to the $1, 287, 733 in remaining bond revenue, the project will be funded utilizing $1 million from the city's capital escrow fund, $554, 868 in American Rescue Plan Act dollars, $310, 675 from the city's contingency fund and $96, 000 coming through a reimbursement for stormwater work from the Morgantown Utility Board. Riffee said substantial completion of the construction project is expected in nine months. The forthcoming West Virginia Division of Highways project to construct roundabouts on Green Bag Road — including at the intersection with Mississippi Street — is not expected to impact the project.
