Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/336863
"If there isn't the public will to do some- thing, I am done. You can call us when you are ready," Barbetta said, referring to the city commissioners. But a motion Barbetta put forth to suspend the search for sites until the city had pro- posed a location failed in a 2-3 vote. "I don't know what else the county can do at this point," said Hines, who supported the motion. Vice Chairwoman Christine Robinson and Commissioners Nora Patterson and Carolyn Mason voted it down. Although Monday's session was a "tough meeting," it was also a "good meeting," City Commissioner Suzanne Atwell said in an interview with the News Leader after it ended. Atwell added that she is committed to the recommendations Marbut made after he was hired by the city and county to come up with a blueprint for addressing homelessness, including his proposal for a come-as-you-are shelter that would offer services to the chron- ically homeless population. Atwell countered Barbetta's charge that a lack of political will on the part of the City Commission is stalling the project. "I think, quite frankly, there was leadership," Atwell said. "We have to make a tough deci- sion. I think that takes quite a good deal of leadership." As for the probability of the shelter ever getting built, Atwell would not venture a pre- diction of the odds. Finding an approach that the City and County commissions can agree on does not appear to be getting simpler. County Commissioners say the shelter is the best option for address- ing homelessness, which has led to increasing problems downtown, from crime to custom- ers having to contend with panhandlers and County Commissioner Carolyn Mason. Photo by Norman Schimmel Sarasota News Leader June 27, 2014 Page 41