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"It's a sliding scale," said Litchet of the fine for not registering. "It starts at $240 and goes up to $500 after two years, then $1,000, to a maximum of $4,000 if the property is fore- closed or abandoned more than four years. We want to encourage the banks to take care of these properties. Banks that do not regis- ter will be cited." HOMELESS — LOCALS OR THE NEW TOURISTS? City police are starting to comb the homeless and vagrant population in town, looking spe- cifically for veterans. The city has adopted an informal policy that no veteran shall be home- less in Sarasota. "We have made contact with 132 individuals. Twelve say they are veterans," said Police Chief Bernadette DiPino. "Five are confirmed veterans and qualified for case management and housing. Four are in the process and almost permanently housed and eligible for long-term counseling. The fifth is in the pro- cess and should be housed shortly." She was joined at the dais by two members of the Homeless Outreach Team (HOT), case management specialist Calvin Collins and Sgt. Lori Jaress. City Manager Tom Barwin asked if the veterans were found downtown. "Most of the ones I'm talking to are not from the Sarasota area," replied Collins. "One goal is to reconnect them with persons, family from wherever they are from." "The HOT team is doing this one person at a time," said DiPino. "We're trying to identify the vets first and then the vulnerable adults. Our motto is to help people one individual at a time. Each one is unique." Meanwhile, the numbers are growing and tempers are fraying. "There are lots of people sleeping outdoors near The Salvation Army," said the Army's Maj. Ethan Frizzell during the afternoon session. "The parties are getting larger. A lot of the arrests have drug issues, not just homeless issues." At the opening of the evening session, Valerie Guillory with the homelessness sanctuary Trinity Without Borders came forward to say the homeless camp adjacent to her 10th Street ministry is getting out of control. During the commission's "open to the public" period, she reported, "Over the past few days, it's getting very, very violent there. A 71-year-old woman was sexually assaulted. I don't know what it's going to take to get the people into housing and cure the area. We have pregnant women back there. … We have people recovering from heart surgery, just asking for your help to get them into housing again and self-sufficiency." Jon Thaxton, who is on the staff of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, came forward during the evening session to brief the com- missioners on progress regarding a shelter for homeless women and children. He is working with Harvest House, using property owned by the ministry on Mango Avenue, south of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Sarasota. "How many are just passing through?" asked Snyder. "Are we imposing some kind of resi- dency requirements?" "It's the reason we're setting up this two-phase system, one for families here more than one year," replied Thaxton. "Many come here in hopes of employment and finding a better cli- mate," he added. "There may be a need for residency requirements, and we have given that a consideration." % Sarasota News Leader July 11, 2014 Page 34