Board is 'aghast' at Principi request

Tuesday's closed sessions of the Prince William supervisors' meeting were marked by one item of special interest -- the chairman asked for a behind-doors talk about one of the board's own.

Following various interviews, what's emerged is that some board members are upset by Supervisor Frank Principi's self-directed attempt to help homeless men by placing them temporarily in county buildings. According to board members, Principi -- against county policy -- directed county staff to find ways of accomplishing this.

The matter came to light at Tuesday's board meeting.

Chairman Corey Stewart, R-At-large, requested the county attorney add a personnel matter for closed session about "one member of the board."

He declined in a Thursday interview to divulge the details of the talks as they progressed behind closed doors. But he did say the board was "aghast" at some recent actions of Principi to provide for the homeless who used the drop-in shelter by PRTC headquarters on Telegraph Road.

This winter shelter provides sleeping quarters for 32 homeless individuals; it typically stops providing this particular service when the weather warms.

In an interview, Principi said he was concerned about the future of the homeless who used this facility which, he added, sometimes surpasses its allowable capacity. So he held a community meeting March 5 to solicit solutions from nonprofit, church and shelter officials.

"I wanted to see if there was anywhere that had the capacity to handle the spill-over until March 31," when the facility is due to close its night-time operations, he said.

An official with Public Works subsequently found that the winter shelter could actually hold up to 50 people, rather than 32, Principi said. Moreover, he said, should more than 50 seek help at the same time, several of the 40 or so attendees of his Friday community meeting said they would be able to provide short-term assistance.

"Crisis averted," he said. "Even if 51 were to show up, then they could go to one of the other places, whether a shelter or a church."

So why the board criticism?

"To be honest, I don't know," Principi said. "I acted swiftly … and homelessness is not a Woodbridge issue, it's not a Gainesville issue. I think I did the right thing and we should not look at this issue as a Prince William government issue. It's an entire community issue."

Stewart, however, gave a different take.

"Multiple county staff members have confirmed to me that Mr. Principi directed county staff to contact the Park Authority and work with them to remove the youth basketball league out of the Ferlazzo Building and put the homeless men in their place, some of whom are sex offenders," Stewart said. "The board in its entirety was aghast at Mr. Principi's proposition to kick out the kids at the Ferlazzo Building and replace them with homeless sex offenders."

Jay Ellington, executive director of the Park Authority, confirmed in a Friday morning interview that he received calls from county staff about facilities that could be used for the homeless.

"I was not at the meeting," he said of Principi's Friday community gathering. "But I did receive a couple calls from county administrators about what options we may have regarding several park facilities … that could be used to help with [the temporary housing of homeless from the winter shelter]."

Ellington said he was not asked specifically about the boys and girls basketball league at the Ferlazzo Building.

"There was no particular request," he said. "It was more 'what uses does the Park Authority have' for that."

Stewart also said Principi "directed county staff to work with the school system to put the same homeless men in the gyms, and again, some of these men are sex offenders."

When asked on Thursday whether he was trying to work with the schools to provide for the homeless, Principi said there were "no schools that are closed."

Supervisor Maureen Caddigan, R-Dumfries, said the board only learned of the issue on Tuesday, when Stewart raised it.

"We have a protocol," she said. "If this was a serious thing, overcrowding, you call the county executive to call a meeting and bring people in to discuss it. It's not even in his district. Corey was absolutely correct [in contesting Principi's actions] and he handled it very professionally in closed session."

Principi was contacted Friday morning for a follow-up interview to address in greater detail statements made by Stewart and Caddigan, but could not be reached before deadline. Various senior administration officials with the county declined comment, failed to return calls or could not be reached by Friday's deadline.

Staff writer Cheryl Chumley can be reached at 703-670-1907.