MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – About 75 people came to the quarterly meeting of the Jerome Park Neighborhood Association to get more information about the proposed warming shelter to be operated at the Sabra United Methodist Church on Richwood Avenue.
A large portion of those in attendance for the warming shelter were asked to wait in the sanctuary while regular business was conducted one floor below. Outbursts resulted between members on both sides of the issue in the crowd and with organizers Jennifer Powell and Dani Ludwig until Jerome Park Neighborhood Association President Monica Andes brought the room back to order at the conclusion of regular business.
A public comment meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m.
Several came with the intention to speak, like life-long resident Eric Pryor, about a safety risk that is being introduced to the neighborhood. Pryor, the father of a 12-year-old girl, said there are too many unknowns with the warming shelter and that an officer from the Morgantown Police Department failed to attend the meeting, which was unsettling.
“We don’t know if they’re child molesters; we don’t know if they’re felons, and they’re saying the police are going to be involved, but the police didn’t even come tonight to talk about it, so how are the police going to be involved?” Pryor said.
When Pryor expressed his concerns, resident Erin Shelton said that, as a mother, she is not concerned for her children’s safety, and opening up our homes to the less fortunate is the right thing for the community to do.
“We should open our communities and homes up to care for people that are less privleged than us,” Shelton said.
The shelter would be open from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. from December 1 to March 15, 2024. At least two staff members will be at the facility during the hours of operation, and there will be up to 12 staff members to prevent overscheduling. Only donated snacks will be served at the location to discourage crowds.
The United Way of Monongalia and Preston Counties has provided about 400 bus passes to get the shelter residents in and out of the neighborhood. Also, members of local agencies will patrol the area during the day to make sure shelter residents leave the neighborhood when the shelter closes.
Ashok Pethani has operated the Richwood Mini Mart since 2016 and is very concerned about how the Warmig shelter could change the community. Pethani said since they have been open, members of the community regularly keep an eye out for them, but bringing up to 40 people into the area who don’t live there is troublesome.
“I’ll close the store, lock the door, sell, and live somewhere else,” Pethani said. “Those people will steal stuff from my store.”
Pryor expressed concerns about how it could change the neighborhood as well and said he doesn’t want the experiences he and his family have had on the rail trail system to come up the hill to Jerome Park.
“It’s so bad she won’t even ride her bike on the rails to the trails with me or her mom because of the homeless people approaching us,” Pryor said. “Move it somewhere else.”
The next step for the project is approval by Morgantown City Manager Kim Haws because it is a temporary use in a residential zone. The church is in the Fifth Ward, represented by Danielle Trumble, who asks residents to forward comments to Haws as he prepares to make the decision.
“People who have strong thoughts one way or another, whether they are for the shelter or against the shelter, or even people who have questions or concerns or want to see more restrictions put on, should relay that information to City Manager Kim Haws,” Trumble said.