Sarasota News Leader

07/11/2014

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adults say the facility is one of the best options for addressing a growing population of home- less people and issues associated with them. But plans for the shelter, once the goal of the city and county commissioners, remain at a standstill. The concept barely survived a joint meeting of the City and County commissions last month, when both voted to continue exploring sites inside and outside the city limits. This week, prospects for a city-county agree- ment looked even bleaker. The question of how to proceed with the latest search led to further debate. And the City Commission's unwillingness to confirm the tentative schedule for another joint meeting in September further stymies plans, county commissioners say. "It just seems like there is always a push- back," Commissioner Joe Barbetta said about the effort to work with city commissioners and their staff to secure a site for the shelter. During his board's July 8 meeting, Barbetta voiced frustration at what he perceived as another series of setbacks on the part of city officials. He referenced an assertion a day earlier by Sarasota Mayor Willie Shaw that because homeless individuals are not originally from the city, they are not a city concern. Barbetta characterized that as an argument that does not make sense. "None of us are from the city," Barbetta pointed out. "We all come from somewhere else, with the exception of [County Commissioner] Carolyn [Mason]." Wayne Applebee, the county's homelessness policies coordinator, noted that 78 percent of Homeless people again are camping on Central Avenue in the Rosemary District. Photo by Norman Schimmel It just seems like there is always a pushback. Joe Barbetta Commissioner Sarasota County Sarasota News Leader July 11, 2014 Page 46

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