County revives homeless shelter talks

Less than a year after it appeared plans for a come-as-you are homeless shelter in north Sarasota County were dead in the water, county commissioners this morning doubled down on efforts to fill the gap in its homelessness initiatives. And they want the city of Sarasota’s input on new alternatives for such a facility.

“I’m not 100% confident that a solution will finally be worked out,” said county homelessness consultant Robert Marbut. “But I’m very optimistic.”

County staff will begin analyzing costs and timeframes for private-sector plans to consolidate homeless services into the current Salvation Army on Central Avenue or the Harvest House on Lime Avenue, or the construction of a homeless shelter outside city limits. County Administrator Tom Harmer said staff will discuss the cost of  retaining Marbut for further consulting on that due diligence process.

The former two alternatives were born out of a coalition of social-service agencies called the CEO Group, which has developed what it calls a "3 into 1 plan.” Under that initiative, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office would take over operations at either site, which would be converted into a 24-hour come-as-you-are shelter.

Marbut said doing so at the Salvation Army would be triple what it would cost at Harvest House, but the Central Avenue location is ideal due to its vicinity to Coastal Behavioral Healthcare's crisis stabilization unit, and the Salvation Army would provide 220 beds without permitting issues. With the establishment of such a shelter, the number of homeless individuals hanging out in the Rosemary District would likely decrease.

"I have no doubt that will work," Marbut said.

Marbut offered the three alternatives as part of a report card grading the county on evaluating the region’s progress on his 12-point plan for tackling homelessness, which included three As, three Bs, one C and an F. The absence of a 24-hour shelter remained as the biggest stumbling block for addressing chronic homelessness, according to the report.

Marbut praised the county's efficacy in preventing homelessness and its sucess in assisting homeless children and families.

"Nobody is doing it better in the country," Marbut said.

County commissioners will also draft a letter to city commissioners requesting input on those options, and possibly schedule a meeting between the boards.

Talks between the county and city about such a facility broke down in July 2014, but County Commissioner Christine Robinson and Marbut said they were hopeful that a recently-shuffled city commission could be more receptive to plans for a shelter. City Commissioners Liz Alpert and Shelli Freeland Eddie replaced Eileen Normile and Stan Zimmerman in the May 12 runoff election.

"I think we need to extend that olive branch and have that really difficult conversation with the city of Sarasota about this issue,” said County Commissioner Carolyn Mason.