Dutchess County is pursuing the possibility of relocating its plans for a high-capacity shelter outside the city of Poughkeepsie even as the contentious Oakley Street location was approved for $13 million in state funding.
New York State's Homeless Housing and Assistance Corporation Board approved the grant funding during its April 3 meeting.
The funding is specifically for the rehabilitation of 26 Oakley St. into a 99-bed emergency housing facility with wrap-around services and is conditional on the county working with the state on shelter oversight and certification.
"The awarded funding is specific to the Oakley Street location and cannot be transferred to an alternate location," said Dutchess County Spokesperson Colleen Pillus. However, she added that the county executive has reached out to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's office to see if there is flexibility regarding alternative locations and "if there is an opportunity to work with the State to consider state-owned property as an alternative. The Governor’s office is facilitating meetings to discuss."
The county did not name the location, but said, "We look forward to discussing all opportunities on that expansive state-owned former hospital campus/property" in reference to the town of Poughkeepsie property where Hudson River Housing's Hillcrest building is located.
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The county is also not moving forward on its plans to renovate the former jail facility on North Hamilton Street in the city into a temporary shelter.
The location of the shelter at 26 Oakley St. has been contested by city officials, residents, business owners and Democrats within the county legislature since the start of 2022. The county was accused of not seeking input from those living or working in the Fifth Ward neighborhood, or its elected representatives, when making its decision.
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"26 Oakley Street is not the best location for a permanent shelter due to the existing challenges we are facing in that area. I know the majority of Common Council members are also against that site, along with many community members. We have fought against this location for about two years with prior county administrations" said Flowers, who was the former council representative for the ward where the shelter is to be located.
Flowers said she has had conversations, prior to the announcement of the grant money, with Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino about moving the shelter back to its original location at Hillcrest, which is a state-owned property in the town of Poughkeepsie, where the shelter had been for more than 20 years before relocating to the PODs during the pandemic.
"I hope to continue a dialogue regarding this matter to avoid any type of litigation. It’s my utmost responsibility to protect the interests of the City of Poughkeepsie,” said Flowers.
Hudson River Housing, the county's main emergency housing provider, has also spoken out against the Oakley Street location of the shelter. The agency called for the county "to work with municipalities throughout the County to establish emergency shelter and housing services, beyond the north side of the City of Poughkeepsie."
“We recognize there are many in our community who have questions and concerns about the project and we have been exploring a range of options to help address the concerns raised," Serino said. "We look forward to working with the City on our next steps to get to a final project that we are all proud of and that can be a model for communities across New York State in helping create positive change in people’s lives."
What we know about the temporary shelter
Last year, the county announced plans to redevelop the jail on North Hamilton Street into a temporary shelter as it waited to move forward with plans for a permanent facility project. The sheriff's office has recently moved all inmates from the old jail facility to the newly built Dutchess County Justice and Transition Center.
The county had intended to move the population staying at the PODs into the former jail while working on the permanent facility. However, that is no longer the case.
"The plan to utilize the former jail facility as a temporary location to move people from the PODS is not going forward for a variety of reasons, including awaiting determinations on use of the HHAP grant funding," according to the county's spokesperson.
Staffing the new emergency facility in Dutchess County
The county, with the help of the stakeholders group, has already decided on a director for its emergency housing facility and is the process of selecting an operator.
The county is deciding between Community Housing Innovations (CHI) and HONOR as operators for the facility. CHI already operates three emergency housing facilities in Dutchess County. HONOR is a supportive housing provider in Orange County.
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Howard Charton was hired in December as the facility's director. The county said Charton has "extensive experience" working with emergency and transitional housing programs, including a 96-bed transitional housing program for homeless veterans. He was the senior director of quality assurance and compliance at Breaking Ground, which operates supportive housing in New York City, upstate New York and Connecticut.
The director's responsibilities include providing those who are without housing a place to stay and services "to ensure their independence and secure housing stability," according to the county's job posting. Charton will be supervising the shelter's staff, maintaining standards of service, coordinating service providers and acting as a liaison between the shelter and the outside community.
Charton's team will consist of four case managers, a case manager aide and a program assistant. He has been working with Hudson River Housing which helps to manage the PODs.
Stakeholders group about to expire
The county legislature created a stakeholders group — a collective of residents, business owners and elected officials — to provide "meaningful community input" into the operations and developments of the shelter in June 2022. The group of 11 people first convened about a year later in 2023.
According to the resolution, the committee was tasked with working with the county on the solicitation of the facility operator and hiring of the facility director and "other necessary community input related to the operation of the facility."
The group provided input into the job description for the facility director and the request for proposals for the operator, completing both those tasks. Since then, Jamar Cummings, who chairs the group, has moved the meeting toward hearing from the public and being a conduit for their concerns to the county. He believes the group is still viable and has repeatedly asked the county to fill in vacant positions, which are appointed.
The stakeholders group was initially authorized to work for 24 months after the passing of the resolution. County legislators will have to decide in June whether to disband the group.
"In that time, the committee worked hard and met its mission," said Will Truitt, who chairs the county legislature. "Many of the issues that this committee was narrowly tailored to address have been resolved. At this juncture, the legislature must take a hard look to see whether there is more work to be done or if the committee has achieved its objective."
Legislators have said they are going to hold off on appointing individuals to fill the vacancies until the future of the group has been decided.
Saba Ali: Sali1@poughkeepsiejournal.com: 845-451-4518
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