Luzerne County is planning to file a lawsuit against Keystone Mission to recover federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.
County council approved a $500,000 allocation of ARPA funds to Keystone Mission in 2023. The nonprofit opened a homeless shelter at the former Thomas C. Thomas Building at 90 E. Union St. in Wilkes-Barre in October 2023 and plans to close the shelter on July 10.
“Because of the distinct possibility of the immediate closure of Keystone Mission, I have instructed the Office of Law to prepare, file, and serve a Praecipe for a Writ of Summons to initiate a lawsuit against Keystone Mission to protect and preserve our right to clawback ARPA monies distributed to the Keystone Mission,” County Manager Romilda Crocamo said in an email. “Council will be asked to confirm the initiation of litigation at the next Council meeting.”
Assistant County Solicitor Greg Skibitsky filed a notice in the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas on Thursday that the county plans to bring a legal action against Keystone Mission. County Controller Walter Griffith said the county has disbursed around $471,000 in ARPA funds to Keystone Mission, adding he is planning to review how Keystone Mission spent the ARPA funds.
“We’re going to cooperate with the county like we’ve done from the beginning and provide full transparency of everything, and cooperate with them and figure out what’s going on,” said. Justin Behrens, Keystone Mission’s CEO and executive director.
Last week, Behrens said two of Keystone Mission’s three homeless shelters in Wilkes-Barre and Scranton will close their doors sometime in the next four to five weeks and 75% of the staff will be laid off. The ARPA grant from the county included a $312,400 allocation to lease and remodel space to create apartments for four homeless families at 64 E. Union St., which is next to the homeless shelter on East Union Street.
Last December, county council approved Keystone’s request to extend the grant period of performance from Dec. 31, 2024 to March 20, 2025. Keystone Mission claimed the extension was needed to finish renovations and the installation of an elevator.
Keystone Mission received the ARPA funds from the county as reimbursements for approved expenditures after submitting invoices to the county, Behrens said.
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill passed in March 2021 to address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout. Luzerne County received $113 million in ARPA funds. to distribute to small business, municipalities, emergency responders, utility assistance plans and neglected county projects.