Burlington County not ready to talk homeless shelter, but documents reveal likely location

WESTAMPTON − Burlington County officials have been talking about a new homeless shelter all year, but have resisted publicly confirming where it might go.

However, documents made available through Open Public Records Act requests reveal the county is likely to build the shelter behind its Human Services facility on Woodlane Road.

Yet, county officials — including the county spokesman — still won't discuss the plans or the documents.

"All documents are preliminary and are subject to change," spokesman David Levinsky said. "It's too early to address anything before applications to regulatory agencies. We are not addressing anything except to say that we are planning for an emergency shelter. It's a process and we are going carefully and methodically."

In late January, the county Commission awarded a professional contract not to exceed $1.7 million to Netta Architects of Mountainside for engineering and architectural services for an emergency homeless shelter.

“Burlington County needs a permanent shelter where individuals can receive a warm bed, food and support – not just during the frigid cold but throughout the year. This is decades overdue,” county commission director Felicia Hopson had said at the county government reorganization in January.

What documents reveal about a county homeless shelter

Public documents show the county has withdrawn about $98,000 from its housing trust fund to cover initial payments to Netta for developing shelter drawings and preparing an engineering cost estimate for shelter planning and construction.

Netta's architectural schematic is of a two-story shelter with dozens of rooms to house the homeless on a rear parking lot of the human services building with an existing access to and from Route 541 serving as the shelter's main entrance and exit.

Netta estimated the shelter cost at $21 million, which would include site work, building furnishings, permit costs,, architectural and other fees and construction.

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Meanwhile, the new fiscal 2023 federal budget contains a funded $3 million congressional earmark requested by and sponsored in the House by Rep. Andy Kim, D-Burlington, for construction of a Burlington County shelter to benefit low- and moderate-income families to aid the county project. U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., sponsored the earmark in the Senate.

Will there be a homeless shelter meeting in Westampton?

Westampton Mayor Sandy Henley and Committeewoman Nancy Burkley have separately contacted Hopson for more information.

In July, Burkley asked for clarification on the county's plans in order to dispel rumors and misinformation circulating online. Local residents opposed to a shelter have posted Facebook comments, including that shelter construction already has begun.

In an email response to her, Hopson said a shelter in Westampton is still in the planning phase.

"I have heard from your mayor and we plan to meet with Westampton elected officials and residents to address all concerns. We have not confirmed a meeting date yet," Hopson wrote Burkley.

Henley said he is reserving his opinion on a shelter until hearing from the county and Westampton residents at the future meeting.

"That said, Westampton as well as Burlington County have homeless issues and everyone who is homeless deserves a warm bed."

Burkley said a major concern would be greater demand on the township police department, which already provides law enforcement for more than a half-dozen county government buildings along Woodlane Road between Irick Road and Route 541. She suggested the county offer assistance, possibly from the Sheriff's department.

The county has made no shelter presentation or sought advice from its federally-mandated, homeless advisory consortium known as the county Continuum of Care, according to Continuum chairman Madelyn Mears-Sutton. Its meetings are regularly attended by nonprofit agencies with wide experience in homeless housing and feeding programs.

Kent Pipes, a long-time advocate of a county-based shelter, regularly attends Continuum meetings as president of the umbrella Affordable Housing Group, which has provided transitional and affordable housing for thousands of homeless.

He expressed disappointment with the county commission's behind-closed-doors approach to shelter planning rather than approaching "constituent agencies to discuss the problem and possible solutions in an open, give-and-take process."

Carol Comegno loves telling stories about South Jersey life, history and military veterans for the Courier Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.  Have a story to share? Call 856-486-2473 or email  ccomegno@gannettnj.com. Support local journalism with a subscription.

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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Westampton likely place for Burlington County homeless shelter