Published: December 13, 2008 07:11 pm      

Struggling Haven House on Jeffersonville City Council’s agenda

Homeless shelter seeks money

The Jeffersonville City Council is expected to address the financial woes of homeless shelter Haven House this week.

The council meets for a workshop at 6:30 p.m. Monday night. A regular meeting will follow at 7:30 p.m. Both are at Jeffersonville City Hall, 500 Quartermaster Court.

Councilman Nathan Samuel put the shelter on the council’s workshop agenda after talking with its director, Barbara Anderson, during the last week. Anderson, who could not be reached for comment Friday, has talked to Samuel about the shelter’s financial needs recently.

“My heart goes out to her, but I’ve said, we don’t have any money.”

Lower revenue — created by state legislation to cap property taxes — is expected next year. As a result, the council decided earlier this year that it would no longer provide donations to social welfare organizations.

At the same time, Haven House has found itself in financial struggles. Last year, it was revealed that the shelter owed the U.S. Internal Revenue Service more than $400,000 in back taxes.

Anderson has acknowledged that the shelter could be sold by the end of the year and the organization could be defunct.

Samuel said he wanted her to come before the Jeffersonville City Council, so it could be updated on the shelter’s financial status and see if there is anything the city could do from a nonfinancial standpoint.

Municipal assistance is not out of the question, locally. The New Albany City Council recently gave Haven House $25,000.



In other business

• Several rezoning proposals are on the agenda.

The council is expected to make a decision on a request to rezone 2.4 acres of riverside land across Utica Pike from the Perrin Pointe subdivision. The owners of the property, the Perrin Park Foundation, want to rezone it from parks and recreation to low density residential.

There’s been talk of using the land as both a residential space and as a new city park.

Perrin Pointe homeowners are against the residential rezoning, fearing that their scenic views of the Ohio River may be obstructed. Though it’s owned by the foundation, the property is not a part of what is considered Perrin Park.

There’s also a request to rezone four acres on Charlestown-New Albany Road from light industrial to institutional.

• Councilman Keith Fetz is expected to introduce a resolution that encourages the council to govern in a “paperless” fashion.

Fetz has said he wants to take steps to reduce the amount of paper — such as distributing council packets electronically — for environmental and budgetary reasons.



So you know

• The Jeffersonville City Council meets for a workshop at 6:30 p.m. Monday night. A regular meeting will follow at 7:30 p.m. The meetings are at Jeffersonville City Hall, 500 Quartermaster Court.