BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – In Tuesday morning’s regular session, the Raleigh County Commission addressed several community issues, perhaps the most significant of which had not been initially included as an item on the meeting agenda.
Following discussion of eleven agenda items pertaining to new business, the commission floor was opened to public participation, at which point WV Delegate Brandon Steele, R-Raleigh, 29, addressed the commission regarding a recent application from the Raleigh County Community Action Association which would see their Raleigh County Emergency House Center location transferred to the current Beckley Conference Freewill Baptist Churches location in Mount Tabor.
Last week’s submission of the application proved to be a polarizing development among Raleigh County residents, many of whom were prepared to share their thoughts at a public hearing before the Raleigh County Board of Zoning Appeals scheduled for Tuesday evening. The hearing would not come to pass, however, as the RCAA withdrew the application Monday morning.
According to RCAA Marketing and Development Specialist Leah Deitz-Jackson, the application process was brought to a halt due to incongruencies in appraisal and contract pricing regarding the Mount Tabor location.
Steele – a resident of Mabscott, near Mt. Tabor Road – says he felt compelled to look into the situation upon hearing concerns from friends and neighbors regarding the potential establishment of a shelter location in the residential area.
Among the topics addressed were apparent issues with the current facility – formerly known as the Pine Haven Homeless Shelter – which have served as the primary incentive in the search for a new location. These include a number of utility issues incurred by the facility, including an apparent busted water pipe which has “caused considerable damage and has made it somewhat uninhabitable,” according to Steele.
Steele affirmed that he had received personal assurance from DHHR Secretary Bill Crouch of the department’s commitment to conducting the necessary repairs to render the current emergency shelter location functional.
Specifically, it was revealed that the DHHR is committed to funding the necessary immediate repairs for the facility, which are said to amount to $355,000. Further repairs will purportedly require $1.2 million in funding, the affording of which Secretary Crouch and the DHHR are reportedly in the process of exploring.
Steele asserts that the current location of the emergency shelter facility is conducive to the livelihood of its residents due to the wide range of resources to which it provides access.
“I’m concerned about it because, if you look at where the shelter is right now, there’s great
access to services,” Steele said on Tuesday. “Job placement – whether it’s mental health or substance abuse treatment, which is right there at FMRS – public transportation, social services through DHHR and the Social Security office, none of that exists over on Mt. Tabor Road, and the residents know that. We’re setting the residents of the shelter up for failure by not having access to those resources.”
In concluding his remarks, Steele pointed to his own hope to provide “some reassurance from the state that we’re going to take care of this problem.”
“I can tell you right now, you’ve made hundreds of people happy,” proclaimed a jovial Commission President Dave Tolliver. “As far as a delegate for Raleigh County…you have made a lot of people happy, especially the commission and code enforcement. All we can say is ‘thank you’ for a job well done.”
“It’s not often that you can quickly do something positive in government, but it certainly happened yesterday,” said Steele in reference to the expeditious nature in which this hot-button issue was addressed, with an efficiency seldom seen in government entities on any level, be they state, local, or federal.
Lootpress will continue to follow this story as it develops, and prior coverage can be found here. To learn more about Delegate Brandon Steele, including committee involvement and sponsored legislation, visit the West Virginia Legislature website here.
Delegate Steele offers reassurance regarding emergency shelter in commission appearance
