Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/268408
Like the plovers, the concept has come back. It is on the Monday agenda. Bets are being placed all over town on who is thinking big, and who is not. It was a contentious issue almost a decade ago, and it probably still is. SHELTER SHOWDOWN The city has embarked on a cooperative venture with the county to tackle vagrancy and homelessness by creating a multi-pur- pose shelter. This is a shaky partnership with a bare majority of city commissioners aboard. So it is fitting that the first public air- ing of the shelter partnership will come with the City Commission sitting in the County Commission's chambers. It is the next-to-last item on the evening agenda. For months, Vice Mayor Shaw has asked his colleagues to take community input on the concept of a shelter in north Sarasota. Almost a month ago, a small delegation, includ- ing Sarasota Police Lt. Kevin Stiff, toured similar shelters in other cities. Shaw also is asking Stiff to report his findings from the cross-country trip. Two weeks ago, both the City and County commissions approved the extension of a contract for Texas-based consultant Robert Marbut, along with funding to provide an in-depth environmental assessment of two possible shelter sites. One site is city-owned on North Osprey Avenue. The other, at 1800 N. East Ave., is zoned "Industrial Heavy," and it would need to be purchased and rezoned. The city is locked in a 3-2 voting pattern on homelessness issues, with Shaw and Commissioner Susan Chapman — arguably the two most liberal members of the City Commission — opposing the current shelter paradigm at every turn. Consultant Marbut and the county commissioners are promising more information about the plan — including operational costs — in the spring. Commissioner Susan Chapman (left) is still fighting a Sunshine lawsuit while Commissioner Suzanne Atwell settled last year with the plaintiffs. Photo by Norman Schimmel Sarasota News Leader February 28, 2014 Page 62