MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The 10-year journey to establish a sobering center in Morgantown is winding down with a regional facility located in the former location of the Ramada Inn.
The Regional Sobering Center is an alternative to incarceration for people experiencing acute alcohol or drug intoxication. The center will have basic medical capabilities and is designed for stays of up to 12 hours.
According to Morgantown Interim Police Chief Eric Powell, the center will protect intoxicated people from crime while preventing them from committing other, more serious crimes. Powell said it will also increase efficiencies for officers on duty.
“When we come into contact with a highly intoxicated person we become the responsible party until we can find somebody that is responsible,” Powell said. “So, that takes a person off the street that could be answering calls that are important.”
According to Morgantown Assistant City Manager Emily Muzzarelli, several parties are working to open the sobering center as soon as possible.
“We are hoping to have an executive director on board by the beginning of the fiscal year, so in July,” Muzzarelli said. “Ideally it would great to open the sobering center sometime this fall.”
The facility was rehabilitated with $3.5 million in CARES Act money that was allocated by Gov. Jim Justice. A little more than $2 million was used for initial repairs and the balance for the improvements for the Regional Sobering Center and the section to be used for the unsheltered. Other contributors include Morgantown Area Resources, the Monongalia County Commission and the City of Morgantown has $100,000 earmarked in the FY 2022 budget.
“Morgantown (Council) has one more reading on their budget, but there was funding included in that budget for the sobering center,” Muzzarelli said. “The county has also come through with a $100,000 commitment for the first year and the university has also talked about being a financial partner.”
Once the facility is in operation, agencies that bring people to the facility like Star City, Granville, WVU or Morgantown will in turn be asked to fund the operation of the center.
The Regional Sobering Center will have some have medical capacity, but subjects will be evaluated by police, fire or EMS before being brought for a stay at the center.
“They will have a second assessment once they get to the sobering center to make sure they are meeting minimum requirements,” Muzzarelli said. “There will be some kind of ongoing assessments throughout the process just to make sure they’re staying in good health.”
At some point, Interim Director of Morgantown Community Resources Jonathan Board believes some ancillary services could relocate to the property. For now, there are talks with local partners to provide transportation options.
“We have had very good communication with city and county,” Board said. “We see a lot of transportation being available to those who need it.”