City, county move forward with Marbut plan

Nearly four months after the city of Sarasota and Sarasota County hired Robert Marbut as a consultant to address regional homelessness issues, officials got their first chance to formally review his findings and recommendations.

The reactions were largely positive, as a majority of commissioners and members of the public who spoke at Monday’s meeting offered their support for implementing the recommendations in Marbut’s plan.

The most heated point of discussion among city commissioners has been the location of a potential regional homeless shelter. From a list of four, both commissions identified three sites as potential locations for a countywide “come-as-you-are” shelter for homeless adults on Monday.

The proposed sites — located at 1330 N. Osprey Ave., 1800 East Ave. and 1121 Lewis Ave. — are all in the city’s District 1, between 10th Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Way. The city-owned Osprey Avenue site was listed as the preferred location in Marbut’s report, but the commissions directed staff to carry out preliminary environmental reports on all three properties.

Vice Mayor Willie Shaw, who represents District 1, has been outspoken about his opposition to a shelter in north Sarasota, an area he feels has been unduly burdened with less desirable projects. City Commissioner Susan Chapman, another opponent of a shelter in the city, voted with Shaw at Monday’s meeting to postpone any action until the city could hold a public meeting of District 1 residents to discuss the report.

That motion failed, 2-3, as other city commissioners voted to vet the three sites under consideration.

In approving a series of motions, both legislative bodies signaled their readiness to act on Marbut’s recommendations. Based on advice from Marbut’s report, the commissions moved that:

• The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office should organize a future come-as-you-are shelter,

• County and city staff should work on standardizing homeless ordinances throughout the county,

• Marbut should be retained as a consultant going forward. About $57,000 remains budgeted from both the city and county for Marbut’s services.

Eight of the nine public commenters at Monday’s meeting encouraged the city and the county, in varying degrees, to continue to move forward in implementing the changes outlined in Marbut’s report.

Other recommendations listed in the report include an emergency intake portal for families with children in both North and South County and two different master case management systems for adults and families with children. The full draft report can be found on the county website.

For more information on the community’s reaction to Marbut’s report, check www.yourobserver.com and pick up a copy of Wednesday’s Sarasota Observer.

Contact David Conway at [email protected].