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"The reality is there were no new additional police officers" assigned for that purpose, Applebee told the county commissioners. There was a redistricting of the patrol zones around Safe Harbor, which created a smaller patrol zone, and the creation of a home- lessness coordination team to handle the situation, Applebee explained. Some of the topics discussed at the City Commission dais recently have led to more confusion than clarification because due dili- gence for the two proposed homeless shelter sites is still under way, Applebee said. "We want the dialogue, want the factual infor- mation out there, but let's get the facts first," he told the News Leader. A BETTER CHOICE A shelter plan is important in Sarasota County because continuing to allow large groups of homeless people to gather in parks and on streets downtown is the worst option for all involved, community leaders say. "There is no supervision," Patterson noted. "[In a shel- ter], they will have warm food, books, TV in the afternoon and people working with them to solve problems … The shelter is a better choice than having homeless people hanging out at a fountain." The Sarasota concept envisions a well-run shelter that will enable the city and county to bring order to the homelessness situation. Law enforcement can "take people to jail, or take them to a better place," Patterson said. DUE DILIGENCE Public concerns need to be addressed, Robinson told her colleagues. She wants to schedule a board discussion on the shelter, she added, but that discussion should be "fact-based, not fear-based." U n d e r s c o r i n g A p p l e b e e 's c o m m e n t s , Robinson pointed out that a lot of details will be clearer after the due diligence and environmental site analyses have been com- pleted. County staff and the engineering firm Cardno ENTRIX Inc. are conducting envi- ronmental tests and calculating construction estimates and timetables for the two possible shelter sites: 1330 N. Osprey Ave. and 1800 N. East Ave. Among the results of that work will be the esti- mated cost of a shelter at each location and indications about possible ways the Sheriff's Office and Police Department can coordinate efforts, Robinson added. Meanwhile, the county is moving ahead with steps to make sure $805,000 in fed- eral Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money is available for construction Wa y n e A p p l e b e e i s t h e h o m e l e s s n e s s coordinator for Sarasota County. Photo by Norman Schimmel Sarasota News Leader March 7, 2014 Page 29