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Barbetta also called attention to a comment by Vice Mayor Willie Shaw. During Monday's City Commission meeting, Shaw once again mentioned the unknown expenses of building a shelter and operating it. He questioned how the two final prospective shelter sites, both located in north Sarasota, were chosen, and he accused Marbut, the consultant brought in by the city and county together to address homelessness, of being "fraudulent." "Your intent was to put [the shelter] in north Sarasota from the beginning," he said, refer- ring to Marbut. "It was never a county issue. To play this game in front of all these people is fraudulent." On Tuesday, Barbetta said the matter has reached the point where every effort to move forward with the shelter proposal results in "hitting a brick wall with the city." He is tired of trying to work with an unwilling partner, he added. "I am really getting fed up with the whole situation," Barbetta said. "I'd rather pull the [county] funding. The city thinks they have the homeless issue under control." "They are insulting Dr. Marbut and Pinellas Safe Harbor… The sheriff [of Sarasota County] was attacked," Barbetta pointed out. SABOTAGING THE PROCESS Barbetta said the city's recent actions make it clear that two city commissioners do not want to a shelter built in the city. It also has became obvious, Barbetta continued, that city administrative staff is intent on blocking Marbut's recommendation for a come-as-you- are homeless shelter. "It is not the entire City Commission; it is a couple of them. But I think the administra- tion is helping them out," Barbetta added. "There is a clear path by [those] city commis- sioners and the administration to sabotage this process, and I don't want to be a part of that process." Vice Chairwoman Christine Robinson also voiced displeasure at the tone of the discus- sion the prior evening. The city dialogue has "turned toxic," she said. "That is the best way to describe that meeting." She made a motion to invite Marbut to the April 1 joint meeting scheduled with the City Commission to discuss the proposed exten- sion of the Downtown Sarasota Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA). (See the related story in this issue.) City commission- ers previously had said they did not want to County Commissioner Joe Barbetta/File photo Sarasota News Leader March 21, 2014 Page 11