Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/332945
caseworkers. At no point has either board discussed how those costs will be shared. Other examples of Marbut-designed shelters show local churches and ministries taking over the feeding of the people in the facili- ties. In the case of Pinellas County's shelter, meals for at least the first year were mostly paid for by government money. Feeding 200 to 400 people three meals per day, every day of the year, is not a trivial expense for any- body — church or state. The Sarasota city and county governments are both engaged in budget deliberations for the next fiscal year. While no vagrant or homeless shelter is expected to open for sin- gle men and women in the 12-month period those budgets will cover, starting Oct. 1, it is possible shelters for homeless families might be in operation in that time frame. On June 10, the county commissioners heard a discus- sion of efforts by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation to get something going soon, perhaps by the end of summer, for homeless families. The city and county board members stand on the brink of a major decision on June 23. Are they ready, willing and able to make a prom- ise of shelter to vagrants and the homeless, single people and families? THE BIG STALL This already complicated issue — who will pay, how much, for what and where — is about to undergo a political metamorphosis. So far, the Sarasota City Commission has been vot- ing in lock step with the county, although by a bare 3-2 majority. However, two of those three in the city majority have resigned as of Nov. 18, as required by Florida election law. City Commissioners Paul Caragiulo and Shannon Snyder are running against each other for the open County Commission seat being vacated by Joe Barbetta. By mid-December, the three remaining city commissioners will name replacements for Caragiulo and Snyder. Of those three, two con- sistently vote against establishing any shelter in north Sarasota for vagrants and homeless people. In other words, any decision reached in June could be overthrown in January. To stop the shelter would not take a rever- sal of any June vote. That action could come during the rezoning process required for the chosen property, for example. Will special exceptions be required? What does the future land use map say? The potential for bureau- cratic sabotage is rich. THE BIG WIN There are already winners and losers here. The winners occupy downtown Sarasota. Most have been arrested multiple times. Their health care is an ambulance ride away to the emergency room of Sarasota Memorial Hospital. Katrina Schlegel knows them well, as a home- less woman herself in 2008. "Those folks you see downtown have always been there," she pointed out. "They enjoy it. There is a portion that is young, and they are happy with their lifestyle. They say, 'I don't have to pay bills, I don't have any responsibilities.'" She spoke at a homelessness focus group in City Hall on June 17. "They have no rules, no OPINION Sarasota News Leader June 20, 2014 Page 96