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These actions Tuesday signaled a strong desire by the County Commission to make Marbut's shelter recommendation a reality. In addition, Commissioner Joe Barbetta rebuked two city commissioners who have voiced concerns about the city's share of the cost for a shelter. "You can see an apparent plan of action to sabotage this process," Barbetta told his col- leagues. "I'm not afraid to say this, because I saw the meeting. It is really sad they are going to hold this program up." Barbetta was referring to the Jan. 21 City Commission meeting, when Vice Mayor Willie Shaw and Commissioner Susan Chapman expressed dismay regarding the city's share of the shelter expenses. Both commission- ers have previously said they do not want a countywide shelter established in the city, that they would prefer to see it built else- where in the county. "We need to keep this thing on track. Do our job," Barbetta said Tuesday. "Hopefully, the City Commission will do its part." Barbetta was not the only county commis- sioner to respond to opposition from the city. Chairman Charles Hines and Commissioner Carolyn Mason agreed that this is not the time to back away from plans for a shelter. Although it might not be the most popular idea and funding will be an issue, Hines said such a facility is a necessity. "Is there a perfect place to put it? No, there never is," Hines said in an interview with The Sarasota News Leader during a break in the meeting. "And no one wants to spend the money. But it has to get done." Mason told her colleagues she wants the board to send the message that it wishes to forge ahead with discussions. "We do owe it to our constituents, which do include the homeless population," Mason said. "For any entity to get cold feet at this point would do a huge disservice to the com- munity at this point." County and city staff members are working with Marbut to evaluate three top sites for a possible "come-as-you-are" shelter, similar to one in Pinellas County called Pinellas Safe Harbor. These sites, all in the city of Sarasota, are 1121 Lewis Ave., 1330 N. Osprey Ave. and 1800 N. East Ave. Once all the parcels have been evaluated, local government employees and Marbut will work on the cost estimate for County Commission Chairman Charles Hines listens to a speaker on Jan. 28. Photo by Norman Schimmel Sarasota News Leader January 31, 2014 Page 16