City of Beckley provides funding to help keep Pine Haven Homeless Shelter open
By Autumn Shelton, RealWV
BECKLEY, W.Va. – The Pine Haven Homeless Shelter will continue to remain open, at least in the short term, thanks to financial assistance from the city of Beckley and the Raleigh County Commission.
During a special Beckley Common Council meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 18, council members voted to provide $61,000 to the Pine Haven Homeless Shelter for maintenance and payment of utilities.
According to City Attorney Bill File, the Raleigh County Commission recently authorized $41,000 to keep the shelter open until June. The city of Beckley was in a good financial standing to assist as well.
“They’re not requesting a lump sum,” File said of those who operate the shelter. “They’re requesting that we assist so much per month, and I think the dollar figure that we are looking at is around $61,000, after that sum [from the Raleigh County Commission], from now until the end of June.”
In a prior meeting of the Beckley Common Council, residents spoke of the importance of keeping the shelter open, which had lost a significant amount of state and federal funding.
In February 2024, the West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness announced that funding, usually from state and federal grants, would be cut for the shelter. The Raleigh County Community Action Association’s (RCCAA) Pine Haven Homeless Shelter was scheduled for Tier 3 funding, which only amounted to $125,000 for fiscal year 2025.
This created the fear that the shelter would need to close its doors at the end of February, prompting officials at the shelter to seek out emergency funding from the city and Raleigh County.
Prior to council’s vote, Jessica Chandler, interim city recorder/treasurer, said that funding from the city of Beckley would need to be capped at $61,000.
“We had discussed about removing part of the HUD (Housing and Urban Development) funding around in order to assist in that direction,” Chandler said. “If we would need to do that, it would require a substantial amendment to our HUD agreements. It would take a public meeting and a couple of votes for you guys in order to get that lined out. So, in the meantime, we could support [the shelter] through the general fund.”
“It is our building,” Chandler continued. “So, we’re kind of on the hook for maintenance either way.”
Chandler explained that a total of $45,000 in funding for the shelter would come out of HUD. Although this money was originally earmarked for the pavement of Ewart Avenue, the bid for that project came in lower than estimated.
“We have enough funds to support both the emergency housing center and pave Ewart Avenue,” Chandler said, with the remaining $16,000 coming from the city’s general revenue account.
Councilman At Large, Cody Reedy, said that he was in agreement of funding the shelter, as long as the amount was capped at $61,000.
“We’re not putting this as a line-item after June,” Reedy said. “Hopefully, they can get their funding back by then.”
Also, during the meeting, council voted to enter into an intergovernmental agreement between the city of Beckley, the Raleigh County Commission and the Raleigh County Solid Waste Authority to dispose of waste from demolished buildings.
According to File, this agreement has been in effect for years, but needs to be annually approved.
Lastly, council entered into executive session to discuss matters regarding a city manager personnel matter.
On Feb. 3, city manager Michael Resare resigned from his position. While no reason was given for his departure, File stated that an agreement was made that neither party will make negative comments about the other.
Following the executive session, council held no further discussion, and immediately adjourned.
