County still considering options for Dumfries homeless shelter

Prince William County officials are still weighing their options when it comes to spending federal funds to put a homeless shelter in Dumfries.

“Currently, Prince William County is looking at different options. Once we have something concrete, staff will bring this information to the Prince William County Board of Supervisors,” county spokeswoman Sherrie Johnson tells PLN.

County Supervisor Andrea Bailey, who represents the Potomac District which encompasses the town, asked the town’s Planning Commission to remove from its Sept. 14 agenda a request to amend the town’s zoning ordinance to allow homeless shelters in the town’s B1 zoning district. Bailey didn’t say why she made the request, and today she declined to comment for this story.

On September 15, the Dumfries Town Council was supposed to hold a public discussion about the homeless shelter and consider a recommendation from town staff to approve the 80-bed facility that would house single men and women without families. That didn’t happen as the item was also removed from the agenda.

The county began negotiations with the owners of Grace Church, at 1006 Williamstown Boulevard, to purchase the church to use as the shelter.

The property had been on the Real Estate market for one year before it was de-listed in March 2020, with no buyers. Meanwhile, the church purchased the property about a mile away, at the corner of Route 234 and Van Buren Road, where it plans to build a new house of worship.

Area homeowners associations have expressed outrage that the county would place a homeless shelter in Williamstown, an area well known to police for crime and drugs.

County officials today did not address a question about whether or not the county government has conducted sufficient neighborhood outreach and spoke to residents concerning the project. Earlier this month, Deputy County Executive Elijah Johnson told PLN the county is trying to provide a needed service to residents of the town, and that it shelter would provide not only a place to stay but also job placement and mental health counseling.

The county has not disclosed how much it’s willing to spend on the new facility, citing ongoing negotiations with the church. It does plan to use some of the $41 million it received from the CARES Act in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic to pay for the new shelter. That money must be spent by December 31, according to the legislation.

“I’m warning everyone: This shelter is going to come back up for discussion after the November election,” said Dumfries Councilman Charles Brewer, who does not support the shelter being located in the town.