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The City of San Antonio, meanwhile, has real- ized a 75-percent reduction in its homeless population. Downtown Sarasota is where the Sarasota County shelter needs to be built, Marbut and others say. San Antonio's shelter is in its down- town. The Dallas facility is two blocks from City Hall. Both shelters are near the judicial system facilities, the jail and offices of agen- cies that serve the homeless. Easy access to those services is integral to the success of a homeless shelter, Marbut told the commis- sioners Tuesday. Eleven of 12 shelters built recently have been located within downtown cores, he added. Pinellas Safe Harbor was constructed in Clearwater because Pinellas County's existing social services and crimi- nal justice operations are located between Tampa and St. Petersburg. The evidence is clear, Marbut said, that home- less shelters are most effective where the services are. In the case of Sarasota, that is downtown, which is also where data shows most of the community's homeless popula- tion are living. CONTRADICTING ACCOUNTS On April 22, in one of their joint sessions, the City and County commissions voted 8-2 — with City Commissioner Susan Chapman and then-Vice Mayor Willie Shaw dissenting — to further evaluate and compare the two top sites Marbut has proposed for a shelter. Challenges remain, though. A report released last month detailed contamination and other logistical challenges involving both parcels — 1800 N. East Ave. and 1330 N. Osprey Ave., the latter of which is owned by the city. On May 20, Homelessness Coordinator Wayne Applebee updated the County Commission on plans to build a homeless shelter in Sarasota. Photo by Roger Drouin Sarasota News Leader May 23, 2014 Page 47