Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/316941
Another factor that has to be dealt with if the Osprey site is chosen is where to park city utility vehicles, which would be displaced from that property. Reflective of the tense nature of the shelter debate, the parking matter has ignited another dispute between the county and city. Earlier this month, both Barbetta and County Commission Chairman Charles Hines criti- cized city discussions about whether the City Commission should agree to purchase a $1.6 million parcel from Florida Power & Light to use in relocating utility vehicles and storage bins from the Osprey Avenue site. Why not park the vehicles on one of the city's less-utilized lots nearby, Barbetta asked during an interview Tuesday with The Sarasota News Leader. Barbetta has even done some informal investigation on his own, which pointed to one site with potential close to the Osprey Avenue property. The city park- ing lot on Goodrich Avenue seems to see little use, he told the News Leader. Barbetta said he drove to the site on three different occasions, snapping photos with his smartphone during a visit on Wednesday and again on a weekend day. (See the accompanying photos.) Statements from city officials contradict Barbetta's characterization of that lot and his photographic evidence. The county's homelessness coordinator, Wayne Applebee, told the county commis- sioners on Tuesday, "I did raise that [Goodrich Avenue parking] issue at the [latest] joint city and county staff meeting [on homelessness]." A consultant for Sarasota County prepared a graphic to show how a homeless shelter could be situated on the 1330 N. Osprey Ave. property. Image courtesy Sarasota County Sarasota News Leader May 23, 2014 Page 48