After being asked by court officials to fund more jail space for juveniles, a group of Hamilton County commissioners is pushing for the county to pull out of a verbal agreement to donate land for a homeless shelter expansion.
Former Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger had agreed to give the land downtown — formerly occupied by the now-demolished Humane Society building — to Chattanooga Room in the Inn, the only homeless shelter in the county serving women and children. The nonprofit, one of four shelters in the county, wants to offer more rooms for women and children in crisis.
The county commission has never passed a resolution making the agreement formal. The county’s juvenile court and detention facility on Third Street is one block from the county parcel that was going to be donated to Chattanooga Room in the Inn, which owns land next to the property Coppinger informally agreed to gift to the nonprofit.
Longtime Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Robert Philyaw and others have told commissioners (some of whom were given a tour of the county’s child support building Wednesday morning before a commission meeting) that county officials should rethink that choice, Commissioner Lee Helton, R-East Brainerd, told facility committee members after the tour.
A meeting earlier this month between commissioners and Chattanooga Room in the Inn leaders was canceled.
“We discussed the future needs of juvenile court, the lack of parcels of that size. The county keeps what is there and let Room in the Inn make other plans for their growth plan,” Helton told the committee members gathered. “I don’t think it’s a terrible idea.”
Helton said the county can help Chattanooga Room in the Inn find another location for expansion and maybe even help with some funding, but the needs of juvenile court will remain and only grow more costly if the county donates land that could be developed. The juvenile detention facility, with 27 beds, is dated and dilapidated, and more space is needed to house violent, young offenders, he told the facilities committee.
“We all believe in what Room in the Inn is doing. We all believe and support their mission,” Helton said by phone Wednesday, adding that the county’s child support court facility, at the intersection of Central Avenue and Main Street, was also in a “miserable condition.”
“I think we need to hold that piece of property and not just pay lip service, really help them find another avenue to expand their operations without costing the taxpayers more money,” he continued. “I don’t want to yank the rug out from under anyone.”
In the meeting, Commissioner Gene-o Shipley, R-Soddy Daisy, and Commissioner Greg Beck, D-North Brainerd, supported the suggestion made by Helton, who chairs the facilities committee.
Commissioner David Sharpe, D-Red Bank — who told commissioners he hadn’t known about the early-morning tour with court officials — said he feared changing course would require Chattanooga Room in the Inn to find land somewhere else and go through a contentious rezoning process that could put a needed expansion at risk.
(READ MORE: Hamilton County sees modest decline in unsheltered homelessness)
Sharpe asked fellow committee members why juvenile court can’t use the abandoned jail facility.
“It seems to me that we haven’t explored all our options,” Sharpe said at the meeting. “I think they (Chattanooga Room in the Inn) provide an incredibly meaningful service for this community and, frankly, would help reduce the need for beds at the juvenile detention center.”
Helton said he would lead commissioners in forming a working group to begin studying the issue.
Claire McVay, the county mayor’s chief of staff, said during the meeting that she knew about the tour and that Sharpe had been informed. But she didn’t weigh into the land donation discussion on behalf of the administration.
“Our office is working closely with Chairman Helton and other commissioners to develop the best long-term solution for this project that balances the needs of the community and those of the court system,” McVay said in a statement, when asked about County Mayor Weston Wamp’s stance Wednesday.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga faces questions, skepticism about location for low-barrier homeless shelter)
A call to Chattanooga Room in the Inn for comment wasn’t immediately returned.
Investment in expanding permanent supportive housing projects and increasing shelter bed numbers will lead to more housing stability for Chattanooga’s most vulnerable, Mackenzie Kelly, executive direction of the Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition, said in a statement.
“We know how important it is to continue to expand these resources to be able to continue to effectively meet local need,” Kelly wrote.
Contact Joan McClane at jmcclane@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6601.