COVINGTON, Ga. — With freezing temperatures expected in the coming weeks, the city of Covington has entered into a partnership with two local entities to open a warming shelter.
Bailey Dickinson, who is a ICMA Management Fellow for Covington and led the initiative, said the city’s warming shelter project had been in the works for several months. After many hours of discussion, the city entered into a public-private partnership with Willing Helpers Medical Clinic and Grace United Methodist Church to operate the shelter.
The shelter, to be located at Grace United Methodist Church’s fellowship hall, will be open from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. each day for the area’s homeless population, Dickinson said. The anticipated start date is Monday, Jan. 10. The shelter is anticipated to end its operation for the winter March 31.
“The city is doing this after months of discussions with faith leaders in the community about homelessness,” Dickinson said. “This is an issue that is important to our community, and the city council wants to do its part towards assisting in the issue.”
Dickinson’s comment alluded to the Covington City Council’s decision Wednesday, Dec. 29, to approve an $100,000 budget amendment to the city’s homeless outreach budget to increase the amount from $25,000 to $125,000. Funds for the project were being pulled from leftover funds across the city budget, Dickinson said.
The shelter would be secured with two private security guards hired to be on site at all times, Dickinson said. Covington police will stop by every two hours to assist in security. A city staff member will be on-call at all times to respond to situations should it be needed, he said.
The budget increase was to account for the cost for security, which amounted to upwards of $80,000, Dickinson told the city council during a special-called meeting.
City Manager Scott Andrews said the issue was a delicate one because, while the desire to help others was great, being fiscally responsible with taxpayer monies was a chief priority.
Councilman Kenneth Morgan believed the shelter was “not a waste of taxpayer money,” and that the council should approve the budget amendment and move forward with the plans for a warming shelter.
Councilman Anthony Henderson said he simply wanted “a place for people to go” while also doing what was financially best for the city.
Councilman Don Floyd said he was more in favor of seeking alternative funding options to provide some relief. Councilwoman Susie Keck suggested looking at using ARPA funds.
“We’ve got millions of dollars that the feds have given to us to use for COVID relief,” she said. “We should be able to use it to make this happen.”
In the event ARPA funds might not be eligible to use for such a project, a motion was made to approve 5-0 the budget amendment and deem the shelter be funded through the city’s contingency fund, but later replaced if funding was found elsewhere.
A few days later, during its Jan. 3 meeting, the council voted 5-0 to approve a formal contract agreement with Willing Helpers Medical Clinic to operate the shelter at a cost of $125,000.
Councilwoman Fleeta Baggett was absent from both meetings on medical leave, Mayor Steve Horton said.
