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Council resolution authorizes intent to purchase old shelter
Homeless people of Putnam County got a long-awaited and much-needed dose of good news Tuesday night.
The return of a local homeless shelter is on the horizon and could occur as soon as this April, according to a Beyond Homeless Inc. operational plan timetable shared with the Greencastle City Council Tuesday night.
But that's not all the news involving the homeless shelter.
In the final matter on the evening's agenda, the City Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2013-4, declaring the city's official intent to purchase the former A-Way Home shelter property at 309 E. Franklin St. for the creation of a new homeless shelter.
"There is a need in the City of Greencastle to provide temporary housing for individuals and families that are homeless and need shelter," the resolution states.
"The city has determined," the resolution goes on to note, "that the location of the former homeless shelter is appropriate and available."
It also mentions that two appraisals have been completed on the former grocery store (IGA and later Red & White) property.
The structure at the northwest corner of Locust and Franklin streets formerly housed the A-Way Home shelter, which opened in July 1996 and closed Sept. 10, 2011 after serving more than 2,500 homeless people over 15 years.
The community has gone without such a shelter since the September 2011 closing.
Through passage of the resolution following a motion by Council President Adam Cohen, the Council declared its official intent to purchase the property and delegated authority to negotiate terms of such an acquisition to Mayor Sue Murray and City Attorney Laurie Hardwick.
"There have been no terms that have been agreed to at this time," Mayor Murray told the Banner Graphic, "but the intention would be for the Beyond Homeless organization to become owners of the building."
During the discussion Tuesday night, the mayor stressed, "It never has been nor will it be the desire of the city to run the shelter."
Source of the funds to enable the purchase is still yet to be decided. The possibilities, the mayor said, would be through Riverboat or Rainy Day funds allocated to the city from the state.
The building has been appraised at more than $200,000 in the past. How valid that appraisal is under the current economic climate remains to be seen. The city would be bound to pay no more than the average of two current appraisals.
The City Council will discuss the potential real estate purchase during an executive session at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20 at City Hall. The closed-door session will be followed by a 7:30 p.m. public meeting to discuss priorities within city departments.
Beyond Homeless Inc. consultant Joel Rekas said the group's goal is to get the new shelter "open as soon as humanly possible."
One of the initial challenges will be furnishing the facility, which Rekas hopes can be done through local donations as much as possible.
Sustainability remains the big question for the organization, the community and the City Council.
That's why Rekas termed it "imperative" that the 2014 shelter budget include funding to hire a development director. He called raising money "a fulltime job."
Other units of local government will need to be involved for it to be an ongoing fulltime effort, Rekas said and Council President Cohen added his agreement.
As proof of that, Rekas Tuesday night announced a $7,000 commitment from Greencastle Township for 2013, and said he plans to attend an upcoming township trustees' meeting to talk to other Putnam County township officials.
The A-Way Home shelter was never backed by county funds. That will need to change to make the effort sustainable, city officials noted.
"We can't do this alone as just Greencastle," Cohen said.