Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1491911
8 UCW FEBRUARY 8 - 14, 2023 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM PARENTS! Give them the Gift That Keeps on Giving! Kidsville News! Kidsville News! is online! Help your kids to develop reading skills by playing games, reading stories and more! For tons of fun VISIT www.kidsvillenews.com Cumberland County officials on ursday, Feb. 2 met to discuss plans to move forward with plans for a new homeless shelter. e Board of Commissioners' Homeless Ad- visory Committee met to discuss plans for the shelter. County board Chairwoman Toni Stewart also chairs the advisory committee. Other committee members include Commissioners Veronica Jones and Michael Boose. Boose did not attend urs- day's meeting. After a brief update by county Engineering Director Jermaine Walker on the status of the project, interim County Manager Renee Pas- chal suggested that commissioners and county administrators determine "what we want to see" in a homeless shelter before asking architects to submit design plans. Stewart suggested the county engage Fayetteville Technical Community College on ways the school can advance the project. Last year, the county gave FTCC $2 million in federal American Rescue Plan money to move toward an adult learner program, Hope, Op- portunity and Prosperity through Education. e program provides accelerated training to Cumberland County residents who do not have a college degree or sought-after work skills. "So, the first order of business is to sit down with FTCC?" Paschal asked. Commissioner Jones suggested the county develop its own action plan for dealing with the homeless issue in Cumberland County. However, Paschal steered the discussion back to a more focused and time-sensitive plan to build a homeless shelter and determine "what we can afford and what the building will look like," she said. She recommended setting qualifications for both a design and a feasibility study that would address what services the shelter would provide. Paschal said the county does not yet have a budget for the shelter. "at is the main reason for moving ahead with a feasibility study to determine the size and prob- able cost," she told CityView after the meeting. e county received $1 million in state funding for the project, she said. Ensuing discussion centered around whether the county should come up a plan for what the homeless shelter should look like or use outside services. Walker suggested that the county could hire an architect to develop a plan for what the shelter would look like and what services it would pro- vide to the community. Jones recommended that county staffers look at other "sizable" cities, including Baltimore, with homeless shelters in place. County administrators will forward recommen- dations of the Homeless Advisory Committee to the full Board of Commissioners so that other commissioners can have input on the commit- tee's proposals. NEWS Cumberland County officials iron out plans for new homeless shelter by JASON BRADY, CityView Today JASON BRADY, CityView Today. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcom- ingweekly.com. 910-484-6200.