Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/190797
Sarasota News Leader October 11, 2013 Those include close proximity ("walking distance") to existing social services and the county jail. With most social service agencies located in the northern half of the city, Shaw wanted to preempt Marbut from making what seemed an obvious decision. "In the news we've heard, 10th Street, 12th Street or 18th Street. No one in District 1 has had any input in this," said Shaw during the commission meeting. "Things are happening that are not transparent." Shaw was supported by a number of backers. Among the most vocal was Barbara Langston, president of the Amaryllis Park Neighborhood Association. "Harvest House! Resurrection House! Salvation Army! [All are facilities in Page 42 north Sarasota.] We as neighbors will not allow this [new] facility to be established in our neighborhood. We are not powerless. District 1 is no longer a dumping ground." She was preceded by the director of human resources at the Pines of Sarasota on Orange Avenue at 12th Street. "There are times when we have had problems hiring people because they didn't think it was a safe area," Dawn Crable said. "We only ask the commission to study this carefully. Any transitional housings would compromise our expansion." Another neighborhood president, Marge Sykes of Bayou Oaks, told the commissioners, "In about a month, Marbut will come up with decision and recommendations. We're Paul Sutton, chairman of the Homeless Committee of the Community Alliance of Sarasota County, leads a discussion on homeless issues during the summer. Photo by Roger Drouin