After hearing the proposal of a local group that wishes to bring housing for ex-convicts to the area, the Ironton Point Authority decided to pass.

Rob Slagel, IPA member, said that they had heard from Dennis Murphy, one of the partners who wishes to bring a the 20-bed facility to Ironton, about two months ago. Murphy said he had hoped the group would be able to help him find a building.

“He said ‘We can not turn away sex offenders’ and after they left, the board discussed it, and we discussed it and decided we didn’t want any part of that project.”

Slagel said that was the last time they had official contact with Murphy, and the IPA had never told him officially that they had decided to pass.

Murphy said he was saddened by the decision, which he attributed to a lack of understanding about the independent housing facility, which would provide shelter to homeless former prisoners in the area.

“I understand their concerns, and any time you mention the word sex offenders, people want to take a back seat,” Murphy said. “But what they fail to realize is that these individuals are already walking the streets of Ironton.”

He also expressed surprise that the IPA, which seeks to bring employers to the region, would pass up on the 20 or so jobs the facility could create.

“I don’t understand why anybody wants to pick and choose when 20 good-paying jobs could be coming to the area,” Murphy said.

Slagel said that while he recognized that the jobs were important, he said he was also worried about the overall impact that the facility could have on the IPA.

“We don’t know whether or not it will be a good thing or a bad thing, but we’re taking a neutral stand on it,” Slagel said. “We recognize that there’s going to

be some opposition to it, and we don’t want to have our name on it. That’s the bottom line.”

The public will have a chance to voice its feelings when Murphy and his partners hold public hearings in the near future.