I could go on all day.

I'll leave it at that.

But if we're going to invest this kind of money, which I think is not a bad investment, I think we need to make sure that we put the right guardrails around it to ensure that people are actually getting help and not just funding new jobs by Katie City.

Thanks, Mayor.

Thank you.

Councilor King.

I would like to penny back off of what Ben, Mr.

Saddler said today.

This is an opportunity for the city and all the organizations that came out against us at the last meeting regarding the camp.

There's people out here who actually has gotten housing and they've been put back out because they don't have the social skills or the information how to keep their apartments and clean and stuff.

So some people are getting in there, but they're back out here.

And we need some services to teach them how to maintain their apartment.

And I'm with then, you know, we have to see movement to come in here and may have because we closed the camp up on December 1st, but there's no other alternative because nobody is helping, you know, and we keep taking taking more people in and more people in.

We have to worry about what we have now because if we don't, we're gonna be like California where nobody can get around nowhere because there's gonna be too many people.

And at this point, we need to focus on what's out there now, what's at the Life Hub now, and get that moving forward.

We're willing to work with anyone, but we have to see that not just come here at a meeting to say we're doing the wrong thing or we're mean or non-godly, but that you're willing to move forward to help these people move forward.

And like Ben said, it's it's just a paycheck for someone to babysit.

That's not helping people.

We need to help them get back on their feet.

Now you can't help everybody, and we understand that.

But there is people out here that can get help and will maintain as seen on street moms, two people to sleep are in recovery and bought new cars.

So it is possible to get people help and get them going.

So we have to work together, and that's all I have to say.

Thank you.

Uh next on the agenda, we have the court of the city manager.

Oh, got the vice mayor.

One jury, it's okay.

We didn't already have a new chair.

Uh thank you, uh, mayor.

Um, I'm uh gonna change the subject to leaves.

I've been getting a lot of phone calls and my ward and people stopping me.

Uh the city is is going to be picking up the leaves in Woodsdale.

We don't have to worry, it'll start tomorrow and it'll go into Thursday.

So if you have any leaves that need to be picked up in Woodsville, it the truck will be there on tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday for two days.

Uh, thank you very much.

And um, you know, I the homeless issue is just one of these situations where no matter what we do, people are not gonna be happy with us.

It it's one of the it's an unfortunate um circumstance that wheeling and the rest of the country is going through.

Uh and you know, whatever we can do as a city council to alleviate the problem, we will do that.

But please remember we're city council members, we're not social workers, we're not on the ground floor.

The only thing we can do is is write basically the rules, allocate funds in ways that we think is appropriate.

Um that's all we can do.

I mean, we we're trying our best here, and we're open to any solutions that these service providers have.

We provided that exempted area with the hopes that someone would step up and manage the camp numerous times.

The city and service providers spoke about managing the camp, but for whatever reason it never happened, and now here we are.

There's a lot of blame that we could um I think go around for everyone, and I understand that, but we as we are not um the only player in this.

Uh we need to come together as a community and offer some solutions short-term and long term.

Uh but we're in this together, and I gotta say the last time we were here, it the tone was a lot better than two years ago.

So I appreciate that very much.

It's not something that I could that went on that did not go unnoticed.

Um, but you know, I think we need to do hopefully take a step forward together.

So that's all I'll say for this point.

Thank you, Vice Mayor.

Uh now we'll do the report of city manager.

Mr.

Harum, thank you, Mayor.

Um, under original propositions this evening, um, item number two uh is an ordinance for a corrosion uh repair to the uh Ogilby Park uh water tank.

We had a fill pipe that corroded and it was an emergency repair, so I would respectfully request that council consider two readings on number item number uh two under original propositions.

Also, item number four, which is a life hub salvation army temporary housing and utilizing opioid funds.

Um as you know, the uh camp is uh or the exempt area is scheduled to close on December 1st.

Uh, I know there's been a lot of discussion, and probably will be when the ordinance comes up, but it does qualify for two readings based on that deadline if council were so inclined to do that uh this evening to get that funding in place uh so that uh you know there might be an opportunity to have that uh facility open by uh December 1st.

Um also um the Clay School project uh council recall that uh a contract was awarded using U.S.

uh EPA funds for asbestos abatement in that facility or that building.

That work is completed.

It was completed on Friday of last week.

Um you also recall that we uh hired an engineering firm to engineer the demolition uh specifications for that building, which also included uh evaluating uh the back wall of the building that's holding up houses uh in the neighborhood as a retention uh retaining wall.

Uh happy report that that uh the engineering report came back that that wall will be sufficient to serve as a retaining wall uh in the event that we're able to uh develop that site.

So that's good news, and that reduces the expense of developing the site dramatically.

But we are ready to bid out the demolition now of the uh clay school.

We did receive word that uh the West Virginia DLAP program is still available to us.

They are working through their various uh you know uh funding uh sources, but we're confident that we will be awarded a uh DLAP grant for this demolition.

It is not finalized yet, but we are confident.

Um, and the uh demolition is scheduled to be bid uh the first uh of December.

So that project is moving along uh nicely.

Um the asbestos abatement did come in uh at budget, there were no change orders associated with it.

So uh that project um you know uh went very well for us.

Also wanted to comment on uh AEP and their efforts uh here the last uh couple of weeks uh in uh lighting issues in wheeling, particularly a downtown wheeling.

Uh you the uh streetscape uh project, all of the uh overhead lights have been uh taken down uh as a result of the streetscape project, new bases put in at different elevations, etc.

And as you know, Main Street was pretty much done uh at the end of uh spring of this year.

Uh Market Street has continued, and AEP has worked very diligently to get all of the uh overhead lights uh on Market Street up in advance of the uh Christmas parade, uh and they are all done.

Uh they're all they are all LED lights throughout the downtown.

Uh they look great, uh it is well lit at night.

Uh, they also uh replaced the uh all the um uh decorative lights in market plaza uh market plaza with LED lights, it looks great.

They're also uh Mr.

Seidler has uh brought to my attention a couple of times some issues on the freeway with their overhead uh high uh overhead lights.

They're working on those.

Uh there were three major lights that were out.

I know that at least one of those is back on and possibly two.

Uh and they're also uh working on the uh their DIO DOH is working on the uh lights that illuminate the exit uh sign I 70.

So we're pleased with those efforts.

Excuse me.

Also, uh tonight at your spot, uh there's an official statement for our water and sewer bond sale, which occurred uh last uh week before last.

Uh it's a 61.7 million dollar bond sale.

Uh we received 560 million dollars worth of orders uh on the open market as a result of that.

Uh the interest uh expense over the life of these bonds was reduced by a million dollars.

So very pleased with the efforts there.

Excuse me.

And then finally, before I lose my voice, um, I did want to uh introduce uh our new uh one of our new deputy uh police chiefs, um, which was appointed uh or started at his uh job yesterday and was uh sworn in today, and that's Terry Walls.

Terry's in the back of the room there.

Um he is the uh deputy police chief for us, he's a West Virginia native, but he comes to us from Virginia, has a long and distinguished uh career in a law enforcement.

So we're very pleased to have him within the police department is in charge of the patrol division.

So welcome, Jerry.

Thank you.

That's my report.

Thank you, Mr.

Heron.

There's very questions of the city manager.

Uh you want to remind the people about the December 2nd closing of Washington Avenue Bridge.

Yes.

Um, so uh work has begun on the uh Washington Avenue Bridge.

Um AEP uh has uh line relocation, which began yesterday, they were out there working today.

So there's gonna be some work between now and December 2nd that will require some type of traffic control.

Uh flaggers were out there yesterday, there were not any there today.

There wasn't there wasn't a need for them.

Um but on December 2nd, the city's um uh sewer contractor will place a manhole in front of the bridge, uh and then after that the construction of the bridge will begin.

Um, and we do anticipate that the bridge will be closed until October of 2026.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Any further questions?

Thank you, Mr.

Heron.

Uh with that then, we'll move down the agenda to the report of other officers.

We do have uh before us the traffic commission minutes from September 11, 2025.

Is there a motion to hold those over?

So second.

Any discussion?

If not, all those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Those opposed, that motion's approved.

Moving on down the agenda, we have petitions of redress or grievance.

There are none.

Petitions of all other kinds.

There are none.

Original propositions.

An ordinance of the council of the city of Wheeling, creating a 30-minute parking zone in front of 2518 Chaplin Street, Monday to Friday, 6 a.m.

to 1 p.m.

An ordinance authorizing the city manager to expend funds and the amount of 93,943 with Southern Corrosion Engineer Tank Care of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina for repairs to Oakleby Park water tank to be charged to the water department.

I would move for a second reading.

I'll second any discussion or questions?

If not, I'd ask you to please record your votes.

We just need to vote on the motion for the second read first, and then we'll do our votes.

Sorry.

Okay, we have a motion before us uh for second reading.

Is there any discussion?

If not, all those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye, those opposed.

And we will have the second reading.

And ordinance authorizing the city manager to expend funds in the amount of 93,943 with Southern Croatian Engineer Tank Care of Rhode Rapids, North Carolina for repairs to Oakleby Park water tank to be charged to the water department.

I'll move to adopt the ordinance.

I'll see.

Is there any discussion?

Now I can ask you, please record your votes.

Looks like we may need to voice vote again.

Apologies.

Yeah, we'll have another voice vote for that.

All those in favor, aye.

Those opposed.

That motion is approved unanimously.

An ordinance authorizing the city manager to expend funds in the amount of 473,149 dollars with Caston Baker of Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania for roadbreak trailhead project phase one, earthwork earthwork and planting to be charged as follows.

250,000 to EPA grant and 223,149 to the project funds.

An ordinance of the council of the city of Wheeling, West Virginia authorizing the city manager to allocate a portion of the West Virginia opioid settlement funds to assist the Life Hub and Salvation Army in Wheeling, West Virginia for temporary housing to the unsheltered community and providing opioid-related abatement.

I'd like to amend the uh motion uh to fund the life hub and the salvation army for eight weeks with the provisions counselor's idler discussion.

Is there a second to that amendment?

I second.

All those in favor?

Aye.

Aye, those opposed, and I would defer.

I would ask to say, so we're okay with that.

Yes, sir.

Thank you very much.

Okay.

Uh I see we have a request here for a second reading of that motion.

Uh, can we have a motion of a second for that?

I'll make the motion.

Second.

Is there any discussion?

Yes.

Uh what are the benchmarks?

I I so there's a motion to modify the ordinance.

What actually would be changing?

Like what do you benchmarks that I outlined?

How are we police it?

How do you?

I mean, you said half people need to get IDs and how are we?

I don't understand.

I mean look, I I understand and I appreciate um I just don't know how we can memorialize all that.

What does that mean?

I mean, we need to I I just don't understand what we're going here is we want to fund it to eight weeks, so we can sit here and come up with a better plan of how to run this.

So then how much money is gonna be allocated for those eight weeks?

20.

Well, I just want to make sure we're on the same page here.

I mean, we're sort of working on the fly.

So is that what it is?

The amendment is to only give them 25,000 at this point.

I think that's the math for eight weeks, I believe.

Okay.

And then what do they have to accomplish to get the next, I assume you're gonna want to be able to do 25 and then another 25?

Is that how you want to do it?

Or are you gonna give them 50 the next time?

I mean that all depends on on the on the proof they bring back.

What we're asking for is proof that they have applied for or started the process of getting their IDs, their social security cards, their birth certificates, right?

There's an application.

Okay.

So 15 or 30 people in there, we need to see at least certification that half of those individuals have started the process or the social worker or whoever the life hub is going to have working with those individuals.

Somebody can show us that half of those individuals have started the process to capture the to get their IDs right.

Half of those individuals have started the process to fill out the applications for the section eight odd housing vouchers.

Okay.

And just so we're clear, let's back up.

We're giving this money to the life hub so that they can operate the salvation army's shelter.

Yeah, so whatever.

And the salvation army, which which location is it?

The one in South Wheeling or more on 16th Street.

16th Street or 60 Street.

16th Street.

Okay, natural place that they're basically funding the Life Hub to hire staff to work at the Salvation Army, right?

So fund staff to um this might be an opportunity.

We have somebody here from the Life Hub.

Um might approach the podium and just to maybe explain that and let us ask a few questions, boys.

Hi, my name is Lisa Leach.

I'm the shelter director at the Life Hub.

Um every time we get somebody new that comes into our shelter, we enter them into the HMIS system.

They sign a waiver allowing us to do that because the HMIS system has their social security numbers, their birth dates, a lot of personal information.

Um we don't share that information, it just goes into the HMIS system.

Everybody is required to fill out a housing application.

If they don't have their birth certificate, we send them to the mojo, and Miss Becky at the Mojo get if they're not born here in Wheeling, then Miss Becky can get it out of town.

So we have MOUs with them, and Miss Becky will go and get our um folks from out of town their birth certificates.

As far as Social Security, I come in in the day, and I would personally drive our guests up to the Social Security office to get their Social Security funds.

Um housing applications, uh, they go to Wheeling Housing Authority as soon as as soon as we get there, we get them in.

We do everything we can to get them people pushed into housing.

That is our main goal with everybody.

We are a nighttime emergency shelter.

We are not a permanent shelter, we are not a place to live for the rest of your life.

We are all about getting in people into housing and and making things better for them.

We um we have a very compassionate staff.

We staff over there.

It's not something you learn, it's something you have or you don't have.

The staff that we have has so much compassion working with the community.

Um they don't do it for the money, they're there because our hearts are there.

That's the reason why I'm there.

I don't do it for money, I do it because my heart is in it.

Um, it's very important to us to get people into housing.

It takes a long time to get people into housing.

There's half there's barriers for housing.

Um we have worked with, I've worked with personally with landlords trying to get them in if they don't qualify for housing.

So we go above and above and beyond um to do whatever we can to get people into housing.

That is our first and foremost goal with our guests.

So did you you did you understand the benchmarks that they're we're putting out there?

I understand.

We so then my follow-up question is if you understand is that something that you can meet.

Well, uh, see, I don't know because this is what I don't know about because with the agreement with the Salvation Army, it's a six-month agreement.

We don't want to sign up for a six-month agreement and only be funded for six to eight weeks.

Um not that's not total funding, that's help with the funding.

So we have the facilities use agreement, and you're you're um proposing to give us the 25,000, okay, but no, now lies the um the rest of it if we can't make it with that much money.

I mean, we're gonna have other funders as we're trying to get under the other funding as well.

This opioid money is supposed to help the the lower income and the population is what I'm thinking.

So I mean this is what it's not it's not helping, it's helping the life hub help other people.

It's not just if you don't if you don't I'm sorry, if you don't if you don't know the job, then don't make comments about I don't know how to be a police officer, so I'm not gonna I'm not going to um downgrade the police officers' jobs or anything like that.

If I don't know what they're doing, then I'm not gonna sit there and be rude about it.

I'm not that's fair.

If I made the city manager uh um has received reports in the past from um uh other providers who had received some of the opioid funds in regard to progress reports, um it appears it just in a generic way.

Um that those reports would include many of the things, if not all the things that uh councilman side or um stated.

Would that be something that you can provide?

Yeah, we do provide that.

The last time I think we had I'm not sure though quite me, but I think we had $10,000 getting to us from the city.

Um, and George Schmulger came in and did a report because we believe in transparency and wanted to tell council what we did with that money, however much it was.

I'm not the finance person.

Okay, so let me ask a couple questions.

I'm sure you can appreciate my rudeness um by uh you know, make sure that we're making smart decisions with the money we continue to throw this problem.

You know, when we're up to 70 people from 15 last year, right?

So I may not know it, but I know that's the wrong direction, right?

It it is the wrong direction.

A lot of stuff has changed, like the drugs have changed, the incomes have changed, the rent has changed, everything has changed.

Um people are are are sent here from all over the place, and I don't I don't understand, you know.

I don't understand that part of it.

I don't, but you know, I we can't control what happens out there.

We have structure at the hub, we have rules at the hub, we have rules and consequences.

They don't like rules, but you know what?

If you don't follow them, then there's consequences for your actions.

But I mean, are there I mean we have businesses downtown that are ready to close up because of the amount of crime that's happening, like 7-Eleven.

You know, explain that 7-Eleven.

But anyway, my first question is 11.

I don't really know.

My first question is what's your success rate on housing placement?

Oh, just this week we've gotten um two into housing, one is a couple, so that's a man and woman, and we got another one in over on the island, so that's another one.

We got one into um rehab.

I forget my numbers, I have them in my phone.

We got one into rehab.

We push these people.

We don't our first question when we come where are you at when you're on your housing?

Because we've know we picked it, we know that we've done the application with them, they have come back, we get the response.

Now they need this.

They need that some of them might earn a little debt, so now we gotta go try to find money to pay this debt so we can get them in the housing.

Um, it it's every case is different, not they're not all the same.

Yeah, and you can see my question on the logic though.

150,000 divided by 30 people is five grand a person, right?

Yeah, I get that, I understand that.

So go ahead.

But there's nobody who's gonna go and I mean, if you give 30 people 5,000, how many of them are gonna go get housing with it?

Oh, I'm not saying to hand them a check for 30,000.

I'm saying we need to continue to focus on heavily on getting them housing.

I'm not basing the success card.

I'm not getting this criteria on you.

What's that?

That is our main focus on the housing.

Great, and that's that's my point.

I'm not saying that you're gonna be successful in getting a person house in one month.

I understand there's a long waiting list.

What I'm asking for is proof.

I don't need their PII, their PI information.

I don't need their personal information, I don't need their social security numbers.

What I'm asking for is proof and certification that half of the individuals in this facility, right?

Have applications started to get their IDs and get their house.

Well, they all do, so we have files if you want to come over and look at their files.

So then you can't comply with what he's requested.

So you understand.

Yeah, we have yeah, we have yeah, we keep track of everything.

Okay, I also want to be clear here.

I don't think anybody on council, and maybe we can maybe we can make an amendment.

I'm not gonna make that yet.

Let's talk about it out loud.

I don't think there's any intent of not funding the 7,000, 75,000 work, 75,000 we're talking about here.

I think the point that we're trying to make here is is if we're not making progress, we don't want to continue to fund that.

I think that we can maybe perhaps make an amendment to this that we can allocate that 75,000 payable in free increments, assuming these milestones are met.

I'm just not interested in writing another 75,000 check.

I guess that increase continues to increase our homeless population.

Yeah, I guess I don't want to spend money without getting receipts myself.

So I understand that completely.

Um concern I have is we have so many people coming from out of town.

How do we make sure that the ones that actually live here are being taken taken in?

That's what that's what that's another thing that we have um started in the summertime.

It wasn't so bad.

Yeah, you know.

So um now if we get calls from other areas, we we just apologize.

We can we can't take them, we can't bring more to our chaos, you know.

We um we try to direct them other other places when um the one in Souvenville closed when they closed, they had placed everybody that was in their shelter except for one, and they called us and asked us if we could take him, and I asked them to find if they could find another place, but if they could not use us as a last resort, but she ended up calling and finding that one guy that last that last guy that a place to stay.

Yeah, I just don't want you know our residents, you know, even though they're homeless to be left out when they're back leading, they're bringing them from Beckley and all over and I'm not so sure how many actually are gonna come down from the camps.

Um everybody's coming out of the camp.

I know they're all coming out of the camp.

I know that I don't know how many of them let me rephrase.

I don't know how many of them are gonna come to the law or try to come to the hubs.

Um we you know, we uh we have a great working relationship with uh a lot of the partners.

The police have been wonderful, the fire department's been wonderful.

I mean, I love when they do their walkthroughs, I do, and um, so it's it's it's been good.

It's I mean, we've had a lot of cooperation, and we've been trying to cooperate as well.

I know we have that a couple problems of children, but you know, so will the couples be at the life hub at the church.

No, we're not or it's just women at the Salvation Army and men at the Life Hub.

I mean, we can't we and it's it's the same rules that that there is there that they have we have to keep the same rules because we're not gonna cater the rules to individual people.

I mean, I know each case is different, but it it's still the same rules, and that's the structure works.

So the women at the bike up now, they'll move up to the salvation army.

We have 10 currently right now.

And like I said, the the structure, if you put structure into something, it it works.

Yeah, so we've come a long way with the lake club and with our people.

We you know what they're can't do every single one because you know you're gonna have the one here and one there, but we we try we do.

I have to say, and I want to tell council acting down though to the shelter.

She has done our remarkable job down there.

She showed me the sign of sheet, she walked me through, showed me everything, and I'm glad that you will be ever seeing this.

Thank you.

And I invite any of you down to come take a tour or see how we operate.

When yeah, Connie came down and we did um we did a walkthrough, and I showed her we have a sign bed, she's in that bed every night, and our bed availability.

I post on things every day just so other agencies can know.

Hey, we don't have any women's beds, we don't have you know any specialty beds because we do keep specialty beds.

The police have been bringing in actually quite a few D V victims lately with nowhere else to go, and they'll bring them in in the middle of the night, and and we're okay with that.

But the other ones have to be in, they do have to be in by a certain time.

How many individuals at the Life Ok today are from Wheeling versus Belair versus you know all the neighboring?

Um we did a poll, we did a poll in the beginning of October.

I realize that we're in you know middle of November now, but when we had um out of the certain 36 people there, we had 25 from Ohio County.

Um the rest of them were from West Virginia and two were from Ohio, just somewhere in West Virginia, but that number has dropped.

We have a and if we can't we can guide them back home.

We have a kid now even to go back to Beckley because he got dropped off here from a hospital.

How many uh people do you have there now?

We have um we have we have 54 beds, we have 37 male beds, we have 10 female beds and four specialty beds.

We have 51 beds, I'm sorry.

Um our original um plan when we heard about the camp closing was to use our third floor for an extra 10 beds.

It's just it's not feasible to run three floors.

That building was not set up for a shelter, it was set up for a church.

So it you know, so we're um that's why the Salvation Army would be it's a rent, it's a newly renovated building.

It's it holds 35 people.

We were only asking for beds for 30.

Um, but they have everything you can walk in.

So we have 51 total beds there, and 51 beds are full as a real.

Yeah, yes, okay.

And you every one of those individuals is in the HMI system.

Yes, they are.

So do we not have information on it on their last known addresses in there?

Yeah, there's there's things like that.

Yeah, if they if they're willing to provide it, not all of those people will provide it.

Any information or just or we've had a couple that wouldn't give us any information, you know, Jack Daniels and Jim Bean, those people have not given us, but we have a lot of people that just since we've opened our doors November 1st of last year, we've had 650 different individuals come.

But some of them just come in passing by, some of them um, you know, like I said, come in on a domestic, so eventually they go back home.

Um it's it's it's not a it's not a permanent solution for housing, it's a temporary shelter, and that's why we stay on them and I always laugh and joke and say that.

I do not know.

We said for the last two years that our camp is not a permanent solution.

It's not, it's not.

And I understand your absolutely being treated like one, right?

Excuse me.

The camp is actually absolutely being treated like a personality.

Absolutely solution.

All right, so uh when did you say you opened the door with November what?

So last year we opened November 1st, and we stayed open until March 30, March 30th or 31st, and then we closed our doors to men, but we kept women, and then um we kept a few vulnerable men that had some health issues that I didn't think would make it in the camp.

So it ended up being we have us having more men than women, and then we got the um funds to stay open year-round.

And I was really surprised that in the summertime we had as many as we did, but most of those people are gone.

One thing um when I came down and we have spoken, and you had talked about Sunday.

Um, in the winter months that you may let them stay in as a warm shelter.

Yeah, so with everything closing on the weekends, the library on I think the Larry on Sunday and all the other nonprofits.

Um, we were talking about doing a daytime warming center on the weekends.

Um, we do have an AmeriCorps Vista that we got to starting a day program for life skills.

So, this life skills plan will teach them financial things, it'll teach them cooking, making a bed, because you'd be surprised I'll make them make their beds, and you'd be surprised how many people don't know how to put a fitted sheet on.

So it's just the different the skills that they'll need when they actually get into housing.

What other mental health resources are uh so what are the resources programs do you guys offer?

So we we go with um we're an MOU with Northwood Behavioral Health.

Um so we do run we do take a lot of people up there if Northwood can't take them.

We are on the phone all over trying to send them out of our area.

So I know that a lot of people said I so I get it why you know we we strive to send people out in the area for rehab because they've done it here before, and when you come out to the same people in the same environment, it doesn't work for them.

Believe it or not, I know that I'm actually know way more about this than you might think I know, right?

So that's why I think it's good to send them out of the area.

So maybe that's why we are getting so many people from out of the area because they didn't farewell where they came from.

So all right so what's the per what's what's your success rate in getting people to agree to go to either a when they're ready here on it, we we move so fast because you know you got that small window of opportunity, and if you don't get them somewhere now, then they're not gonna go.

And the problem that we have is oh, this place don't have any beds, this place won't take your insurance, this place is you know, only you know, it's so many barriers.

Well, I mean, we've the city wheeling personally negotiated a contract with Northwood Hell Systems to guarantee placement with that.

So is that not happening?

Because the Northwood promises us, made a commitment to us that they would not turn anybody away.

Well, I've had well, I've had one girl tell me that she was turned away.

I don't know.

I didn't walk her in, I drove her up, dropped her off.

Um, she might have been just been saying that, so I can't speak for Northwoods.

So that's like one person that was no, that was one of the one that told me, yeah.

So how often are these individuals being encouraged to make a change in their life that they've got a better life ahead of them that this isn't what their life is defined by that they can make this change?

Is that happening every single day?

It happens every day because a lot of our employees have lived experience, and the majority of them are in recovery, so they know and they're doing well and they're and they push it.

If I can do it, you can do it.

I've lived on the streets, I was here.

This is what you can do.

I did this, you can do this.

So it's a lot of cheerleading and and pushing.

We don't just sit back and um, you know, sorry, watch them sleep and babysitting on sleep.

Actually, yeah, I'm gonna comment.

She's at the life hub and she's helping.

But there's a lot of nonprofits out here that need to also be helping out this can't always just all be on her.

I agree.

There's a lot of six-figure executives out here in non-profit organizations.

You have to have, and I know from talking to you and going down and everything you showed me and everything that um you're doing your job.

I'm dancing, I'm there dates, I'm there nights, I'm there whatever I have to be.

But you know, there's a lot of people out here we need them to step up and help out.

Right.

Yeah, you're you're absolutely and as far as North Lake, you already know how to feel about Northword.

You are gonna have northward.

I work at the public defender's office, and our clients get turned away.

But you know, that's another situation.

You can have to agree at college and college that they turned my guy away.

But my point is we've written a lot of checks that have gone nowhere.

We wrote a lot of checks last year.

We've written a lot of checks over the last six years.

How many again?

How many people are in our homeless camp right now?

Two weeks before it closes.

How many people are there?

Oh, so we are gonna do a resource fair like they did out there.

So Monday at six o'clock, we're gonna do a resource fair for our people so all the nonprofits can come and whatever they can help them with and steer them and guide them.

We're gonna have that Monday on the 24th at 6 p.m.

in our in our shelter.

So that way we can help we can get some external help from the people in the community for our people staying at the hub.

So I'm not against the members of council here.

I'm not against allocating the 75,000.

I'm against writing a blanket check if progress doesn't happen.

I don't know if anybody else here cares about that.

If not, I'm one vote.

But if we do, let's structure that in a way that makes sure we have people accountable because I'm really sick of hearing a whole lot of promises and hearing a whole lot of talking and lip smacking and our homeless population increasing instead of these people getting helping.

I mean, I feel like what you asked she are doing.

So why don't we have that?

But it sounds like to me that they need an actual commitment of that money as opposed to eight weeks.

Are you saying basically a commitment of 75,000 dollars of funds so that they uh with the payments allocated within every two months?

25,000, yeah.

As long as they continue to meet your progress report.

All right, I will make a motion to amend the ordinance for that so that we will allocate all 75,000 and cut them three checks as long as they come back two separate times and provide the progress notes that they're doing what she said they can do and are doing, then we can allocate the funds.

Does that does that make sense?

Is that meet your requirements?

Yeah, and and I would like to add we also have to pay rent, pay our utilities, pay for the insurance because we need insurance there too.

So we have to do all of our overhead payments as well.

That point of order.

I I I guess the house I just amended it again.

Is there a second?

Second.

Okay, all right.

Would you have a second uh for that amendment?

Is there any further discussion on that amendment?

And Kev, can I have uh counselor Sarrow to withdraw your first amendment?

Yes, I'll draw okay, and then we have a motion on the floor by Vice Mayor's Clavanakis and the second by councillor Forngate uh for that amendment.

Uh is there any further discussion on that amendment?

Okay, then let's go back to the original uh the original uh second reading with the with the amendment there.

Do we need two readings for that?

Uh two again, a first and a second with the amendment.

So we go back to ground zero.

We we we have to have an original amendment as well.

We have to vote on the amendment.

Well, let's vote on the amendment first.

Uh so you you heard the amendment.

All those in favor of the amendment is stated, please signify by saying aye.

Aye, those opposed, and that amendment's been approved.

Uh now I think we have to circle back to this uh proposition to the ordinance and have a motion and a second uh for a first reading since we've amended it, and then a motion of the second for a second reading.

I'll make the motion I second.

Any discussion?

All those in favor of a second reading, please signify by saying aye.

Aye and those opposed.

Okay, we have a second reading.

Uh now we'll entertain a motion for that second reading.

I'll make a motion.

That's second.

Any discussion on that one?

So let's make it clear that we're we're voting on the amended ordinance now that we would 75,000 dollars in three 25,000 payments uh with periodic uh upgrades and information uh from the LIFO.

And I would only like to say that I for one, and I know council wants to say thank you to the Light Pub and to the Salvation Army for stepping up to try to be part of a real solution to these problems.

We want to be part of that.

So, with that, the motions on the floor.

Uh, we're gonna ask, please to record your votes.

Do we have to read it for a second?

That's and say I still need to do the second reading.

Read it the second.

Okay, Jess, you're gonna have three different seconds on the police.

An ordinance of the council of the city of Wheeling, West Virginia authorizing the city manager to allocate a portion of the West Virginia opioid settlement funds to assist the Life Hub and Salvation Army in Wheeling, West Virginia for temporary housing to the unsheltered community and providing opioid related abatement as amended on the floor.

Okay, is there a motion to accept?

I'll never sound second.

Any discussion?

All those please record your vote.

I vote yes.

Okay.

Uh it's a unanimous vote and that motion is approved.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Any other comments from council here at this time?

If not, we're going to move on to the those wishing to be heard section of our agenda.

And we have