Watertown's temporary emergency shelter to stay open through holiday weekend storm, Jefferson County prepares for blizzard conditions

Alex Gault, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·3 min read

Dec. 23—WATERTOWN — The temporary shelter on Main Avenue is still open, and officials say the facility will stay operational until at least after Christmas.

In anticipation of the severe winter weather that hit Jefferson County midmorning Friday, Jefferson County Administrator Robert F. Hagemann, III said they decided to keep the emergency shelter, operating out of the former Dealmaker Automotive body shop, open until at least next week.

He said there are about 20 people using the shelter as of Thursday night, while a handful of people have taken advantage of the Salvation Army's nighttime warming center on State Street.

"At this point, we're still open 24/7 (at Main Avenue), and at some point down the road we'll phase into the next activity, which would be the warming center," Mr. Hagemann said Friday.

The temporary shelter on Main Avenue was opened quickly after the mid-November storm that dropped over 6 feet of snow in Watertown and around Jefferson County. Initially opened to house the roughly 15 people who had been sheltering at the Butler Pavilion in the J.B. Wise parking lot, the shelter quickly became a go-to place for many Jefferson County residents who needed a place to stay. Case workers, police and medical staff were directing those who had nowhere else to go to the temporary shelter, and by the end of November about 35 people were staying there.

"We brought in all sorts of local not-for-profits to work with their respective clients, and of course (the Department of Social Services) as well," Mr. Hagemann said. "The number got back down to about 20, maybe less, and now it fluctuates around 20 folks a night."

With the storm on the way, Mr. Hagemann said officials didn't want to close the temporary shelter and have a large group of people suddenly without shelter again.

"The whole exercise started to come full circle with the bad weather situation," he said. "So I think we'll get through the storm, sometime into next week and then do a more thorough evaluation on how we want to proceed."

Around Jefferson County, officials prepared for the storm in whatever way possible. The county closed its offices early, but Mr. Hagemann said all emergency services and highway department staff that normally respond to storms were in place, ready to get to work when needed.

"It's kind of unfortunate that it might happen right at Christmastime, but some of the folks I've talked to have said their celebration isn't going to be on Sunday, it's going to be Monday, so I think people are reacting in that way," he said.

Watertown Mayor Jeff Smith said the city put in a preemptive request to have the state help plow main arteries into the city so the Department of Public Works can focus on the rest of the city. The state will be plowing Washington Street to Public Square, Arsenal Street to Public Square, State Street to Public Square and LeRay Street into the city. The arena is closed for the weekend and CitiBus closed early Friday.

"Be careful," he said. "Don't be out if you don't have to be out. Have a safe and merry Christmas."

Businesses across the county closed early Friday to allow their workers to get home. The Salmon Run Mall closed its doors midmorning Friday.