By Emma Delk, The Intelligencer
WHEELING, W.Va. – The homeless shelter located across from the Catholic Charities Neighborhood Center will be closed March 15 following the West Virginia Division of Highways terminating the Ohio County Commission’s lease on the property.
The closure of that camp leaves the future of those using it in limbo. With a city ordinance in place banning camping on public property – and allowing for a managed camp within city limits – city officials and homeless advocates are still working to find a suitable spot for that managed camp.
Ohio County Commissioner Randy Wharton explained the commission received a letter from the WVDOH “about a week or so ago” that informed the commission they had a lease to use the 18th Street space for parking in conjunction with another agency.
The WVDOH informed the county commission the lease would be terminated on March 15 because the commission was not abiding by the terms of the lease since they were not using the space for parking, according to Wharton.
“The lease goes back to around 2006 and was renewed several years ago,” recalled Wharton, who noted the commission helped the agency with the lease because a person could not privately lease the space.
“I don’t remember a lot about our lease on the space for parking, all I know is that the commission does not use it for parking now,” he continued. “I think we were involved at the time to help another agency that was not Catholic Charities or another social service agency use the space for parking.”
The space had not been used for parking by the Ohio County Commission or their partnering agency for “a while,” according to Wharton, who added that, “for some reason the lease was still in place.”