Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/360116
morning [and] have to deal with the [home- less]," Barbetta pointed out. "… Let the merchants and residents speak up and tell the [city] commissioners what they want." Local radio talk show host Phil Grande recounted a scene he had witnessed downtown in a July 26 email to County Commissioner Carolyn Mason. "A vagrant who was drunk laid down then sprawled out on the concrete and passed out under the library overhang," he wrote. "Now at 2:36 p.m.," he continued, "there are 7 new vagrants," adding, "[S]oon the num- ber will grow …" COUNTY'S NEXT STEPS Barbetta said he is open to talking with Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight about the type of facility the county could operate to provide shelter and services for some home- less individuals. The size and scope would depend on what Knight says the community needs, Barbetta added. A shelter, not a "jail-diversion program," is what Barbetta envisions, he made clear. The county commissioners will discuss the topic later this month, after they return from their summer recess. Sarasota County Commission Vice Chairwoman Christine Robinson. File photo Sarasota News Leader August 8 & 15, 2014 Page 41