Residents press council on homeless shelter location, budget cuts to libraries and parks ahead of March 1 budget hearing

Several residents used the Feb. 24 Huntington City Council public-comment period to urge the council not to move a planned low-barrier shelter away from downtown and to prioritize services often threatened by proposed budget cuts.

Reverend Oliver Snow (Westview Avenue) appealed to council to keep the low-barrier shelter near downtown resources, saying moving it would be costly and would not solve homelessness because supports remain downtown. Snow warned that criminalizing homelessness would be more expensive than a permanent Housing First approach and said he would continue to press the council on the issue.

A companion commenter (identified in the minutes only as a resident who had conducted a small survey) described outreach data from 14 respondents at a mission: transportation was the most-cited barrier to employment (7 responses), several reported substance-use struggles (8 of 14), and most used mission services (11 of 14). The resident asked council to consider those needs when locating shelter services.

Other speakers focused on the proposed municipal budget. Monty Fowler (625 South Terrace) urged council to preserve funding for libraries and parks, warning that cuts would damage quality-of-life services. Coco Daniels (1066 Cedar Crest Drive) also warned that incremental cuts — which she termed “the death of a thousand cuts” — were eroding services and cited proposed reductions to the animal shelter and other line items as causes for concern. Both urged close scrutiny when the council considers the budget on March 1.

Councilmembers responded with neighborhood meeting announcements and pleas for public engagement. Councilmember Rumbaugh reminded residents that the budget hearing begins March 1 at 9 a.m.; she said the hearing is currently expected to run only until about noon and noted a Women's History Month celebration afterward. Councilmembers Sarah Walling and others encouraged residents to volunteer and to attend the hearing.

Several councilmembers voiced support for keeping the low-barrier shelter downtown. A councilmember identified in the minutes as Mister Orchard said he publicly supported Mayor Farrell’s stance concerning the low-barrier shelter expansion at the mission; Councilmember Lamont said she did not support moving the shelter because resources such as food and clothing are downtown and that the city should either pay for transportation or keep the shelter centrally located.

The public-comment period closed after these remarks; council business continued with announcements and adjournment.