MORGANTOWN — Tonya Stalnaker is 30 years old.
She says she’s been homeless, by choice, since May.
She cries when asked about the items lost on Tuesday when city police and work crews removed her camp — dubbed Angel Village by its regular inhabitants — from an area beneath the South High Street Bridge.
“They literally took everything. They have birth certificates, social security cards, my eyeglasses, my kids’ wrist bands from the hospital when they were born,” she said before pausing to compose herself. “Our blankets. Our clothes. Everything.”
Those items are gone.
Morgantown Communications Manager Andrew Stacy confirmed as much, explaining that if officers remove an unlawful camp or temporary lodging on city property and no one is there to claim personal belongings, the property is treated as abandoned and disposed of.
But that may soon change.
Photos posted to Facebook showing Stalnaker’s camp being cleared struck a nerve in the community and prompted a number of public comments during Tuesday’s Morgantown City Council meeting.
As a result, Stacy said the city is reviewing its policies pertaining to the handling of property collected in camps like Angel Village as well as how the city provides notice that items will be cleared if inhabitants don’t move along.
“Following public input at last night’s City Council meeting, the city and police department officials will promptly review options to appropriately sort and store property to avoid loss of important personal possessions and financial documents, when possible,” Stacy explained, adding that the city is also looking to formalize a written policy for providing notice.
Stacy said the downtown beat officers, Steve Bennett and Matthew Starsick, patrol areas like those beneath the South High Street Bridge daily and are in frequent communication with the inhabitants of these camps.
Stalnaker confirmed that she’d spoken to Starsick on multiple occasions.
“The Morgantown Police Department is sensitive to the plight of the indigent individuals; however, the MPD must also provide for public safety and address illegal activities,” Stacy said, explaining that officers found a 10-month-old baby and a two-year-old girl living in unsafe conditions beneath the bridge last week despite “multiple interactions” with the family.
The children were taken into the custody of Child Protective Services.
“It is because of these types of situations that the officers are addressing the camp sites daily and not allowing them to be established,” Stacy said.
Stalnaker said there were five people who stayed at the camp she started on a regular basis, but it wasn’t uncommon for that number to swell to as many as 12. She said the regulars were all adults.
“My camp was open to literally everyone who wanted to come down and stay,” she said.
According to information provided by the city, there were four sites cleared on Tuesday, all of which were located near the South High Street Bridge — two of which were moved voluntarily after being asked.
BOPARC maintains the portions of the rail trail that run through the city. The camps removed Tuesday were located near the trail, along Deckers Creek.
According to city code 941.05 (c) under Parks and Recreation Facilities, “No person shall establish or maintain any camp or other temporary lodging or sleeping place within the park without the written consent of the Manager.”
