Property transfer will pave way for shelter upgrades
Feb. 27—Renovations and upgrades as well as plans for expansion will be a possibility for the Raleigh County Emergency Housing Center in the near future once a change in the property's owner is approved.
During a Beckley Common Council meeting Tuesday, Feb. 14, council members heard the first reading of an ordinance to transfer ownership of roughly 2.2 acres located on South Eisenhower Drive in Beckley from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources to the city of Beckley.
The 2.2 acres includes the Raleigh County Emergency Housing Center, a homeless shelter with a capacity to serve 150 people.
The ordinance states that the "transfer of ownership shall make this property eligible for grants to improve its condition and increase its usage."
As one of the requirements of the ordinance, if the city decides to no longer use the property for "public use," the property may revert to the state.
Council members will vote on whether to approve the ordinance when it comes before them for a second reading on March 14.
If approved, Raleigh County Community Action Association (RCCAA) Board President Danielle Stewart said the plan is for the city to establish a long-term lease for the property with the RCCAA so it can continue to operate the shelter.
With a long-term lease in place, Stewart said RCCAA will be able to pursue other funding sources, including federal grants, to fund upgrades and expansions.
"This has been a 20-year problem, 30-year problem," Stewart said.
"We needed to make upgrades and we could find funding for it, but nobody in the end would give us the money because we didn't own the facility," . So finally, the state has decided to transfer the facility to someone, which turned out had to be a government entity."
When asked why WV DHHR wanted to transfer the property to a local government body instead of making a long-term lease with RCCAA or deeding the property to RCCAA, Stewart said it was her understanding that this was a simpler option.
"The way I understand it, the process for them to do that was too hard, because basically, it would have to go to the Legislature to be voted on," she said. "And by doing it this way, they can avoid all of that."
Stewart said RCCAA has long discussed the possibility of expanding the facility but was unable to do so while operating under monthly or yearly leases with the DHHR.
"This will give us the opportunity to build other facilities (on the property) in the future if the opportunity presents itself," she said.
"We've talked about putting up a structure to serve as the warming center in the future so that it is no longer in the downtown (Beckley) area. And we've also talked about putting in a dog kennel because a lot of our clients have dogs."
Prior to the creation of the ordinance, Stewart said RCCAA has been looking to relocate the shelter to elsewhere in the county.
In the spring of 2022, RCCAA was looking at a site in Mount Tabor as a possible new location.
That idea was met with a push-back from the Mount Tabor community and eventually those concerns reached the ears of Del. Brandon Steele, R-Raleigh, who lives in Mount Tabor.
As a way to avoid the relocation of the shelter, Steele announced at a Raleigh County Commission meeting in May that he would work with the state to fund the shelter's needed repairs.
Those repairs, which were estimated to cost over $1 million, included a new boiler, a new roof and windows and adding a sprinkler system.
Stewart told The Register-Herald Monday that RCCAA did receive more than $1 million from the state over the past year for the repairs which are underway.
Email: jmoore@register-herald.com
