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violence, the disruptions increase the hotter it gets," he pointed out. "We cannot deal with the summer challenge on our own without police presence or some other authority." Each night, he said, there is a gathering of homeless people at Ninth Street and Central Avenue in Sarasota. "We have 50 to 70 people partying every night." Two of the five city commissioners are not convinced the Marbut plan is the correct answer. Both of them — Vice Mayor Willie Shaw and Commissioner Susan Chapman — attended the May 14 Salvation Army meeting. Their attendance was advertised to the public. A deputy city clerk took minutes, acting in the wake of the city, Chapman and Commissioner Suzanne Atwell having been sued for an alleged violation of the Open Meetings Law after an earlier meeting about homelessness. Shaw told Frizzell, "You're here doing what others are offering down the road. I believe you are the vehicle we should be using." Shaw asked why The Salvation Army had so far not participated in the discussion of estab- lishing the come-as-you-are shelter. Frizzell replied, "We're getting to the right time. But The Salvation Army cannot do it all. The Point in Time [annual homeless] census shows 85 percent of the people staying in a homeless shelter were in The Salvation Army [facility]." Frizzell also challenged the city and county to make a pledge that no veteran should be homeless on the streets. He noted the home- less census in January showed 320 people were not being served by a shelter, and 120 of them were veterans. "No Sarasota vet should be homeless in Sarasota County," he said. Sarasota is one of the most expensive places to live in the nation, he added. "Until we address the affordability of housing, we'll need to have more shelter beds," he said. % A flag marks the intersection of Ninth Street and Central Avenue in Sarasota, where The Salvation Army staff sees regular nighttime parties involving homeless people. Image from Google Maps Sarasota News Leader May 16, 2014 Page 28