Homeless Shelter Referendum?

At the October 3rd City Commission Meeting I said, during citizen comments, that I had received an email inquiry from someone who has a home in the golf course community, asking if the new homeless shelter could be put out to referendum? I paused, taking in the somber looks on the dais, said, that was meant as comic relief, of course that was not a good idea. Some smiles.

Mr. Sloan,

why cant the voters decide the homeless conflict the same as the dredging?

isn’t it just as serious quality of life concern, supposedly?

Glenn

Me:

Hi, Glenn – thanks for asking.

The dredging was clear cut, yes or no study, but that was not clear cut, because the referendum really was yes or no bigger cruise ships.

Bill Becker, or maybe it was Ezra Marcus, asked Tony Yaniz the same question last night in Old City Hall, as we all waited on the election results to come in. I don’t recall Yaniz’s answer, he went lots of places with it not in direct response to the question. My question first off is, what would be the wording of the referendum? If simply to decide where in Key West a homeless shelter would be placed, the Easter Seals property, for example? I suppose such a referendum could be properly worded and be binding on the City Commission and on the City of Key West to be legally enforceable, but that would not wipe out any legal remedies the golf course community might have to oppose the shelter being at the Easter Seals building. Ditto for any other location to locate the shelter in inside, or outside, the city limits. I think for the referendum to be legal, the choice would have to be one location, not a multiple choice left up to the elected officials then to decide, which is where we are at now. If the referendum was to, say, locate the shelter out near the airport on city land, you have that same problem, and a civil war, essentially, between that adjacent residential community and the rest of Key West during the lead up to the referendum. When they tried to put KOTS (the city’s homeless shelter) out there in 2003, as I recall the year, but perhaps it was early 2004, that neighborhood nearly lynched then Mayor Jimmy Weekley and then City Manager Julio Avael and then Assistant City Manager John Jones in a church on Flagler, at the intersection a road which runs into that city property. If you put to referendum what kind of homeless shelter, instead of the location, how would that referendum be worded? The negotiations on the wording of that referendum might be really interesting and, basically, madness, as there probably would be dozens of alternatives, and how do you get all of that into a referendum, which is supposed to be clear, concise, easy to understand, to be legal? My opinion, this is not something that should be put to referendum. The City Commission (mayor and six commissioners) should decide what kind of new homeless shelter, if any, and where, and take whatever political heat that causes. If they don’t like taking that kind of heat, if they don’t like making that kind of tough call, they should resign. Maybe more later.

Sloan

KOTS

Earlier in the commission meeting were two items, one, to approve a resolution for the city to co-sponsor a homeless summit next year, with the Monroe County Continuum-of-Care group, for which Reverend Stephen Braddock is Chairman, after the annual in place homeless count is done, and two, to settle the lawsuit filed by Sunset Marina to have KOTS (the city’s overnight homeless shelter) closed, because it was built without permits and was not in keeping with city code use usage. That gave me 6 minutes total to speak, 3 minutes to each item.

So, I gave them a brief history of time on KOTS and said there is no need for a homeless summit, I had attended such before, and nothing came from them. There are people in Key West, Steve Braddock at Florida Keys Outreach Coalition, and Elmira Leto at Samuel’s House, who have been offering homeless and addict rehabilitation for many years, and there is me, who has been homeless in Key West and elsewhere. We know the terrain and are willing to advise the city for free. No need to bring in outside homeless experts, who don’t know this terrain down here. The golf course community will sue the city if it tries to put the new shelter next to the golf course, on the Easter Seals property. Weekley, Avael, Jones nearly were lynched in a church for trying to first put KOTs next to the airport. It’s a very tough situation all the way around, there is no happy solution, but there is local expert help available to advise the city.

Short version of longer spiel.

When I was finished, Commissioner Tony Yaniz

said he wanted me to stay at the speaker’s station, he had a question since I know about homelessness and Key West. I said okay. He said nobody wants a new shelter in their own backyard. He is a problem solver, so where could Key West put a new homeless shelter? I said I know of no place in Key West where Key West can put a homeless shelter without a fight. He said that was no solution. I said there is no solution, there is no silver bullet. It’s a tough situation.

Tony didn’t seem to believe me, and I hope he comes up with something he likes, but I will be surprised if he does, and if the new shelter is built, I doubt the City Commission will like how that process goes, and I doubt the City Commission will like the end result, both in solving Key West’s homeless problem, and in what it cost to try to solve it. The problem simply cannot be solved. Tony said as much earlier, that it can only be managed, and he was not in favor of spending lots of money trying to solve it and making it nice for people who do not want to change or work.

I will be at the homeless summit. Maybe they will let me speak. The Commission decided to be the only sponsor, which was Commissioner Terry Johnson’s doing last night. She said the city should drive the summit, which I felt was correct. A non-profit should not drive it, although I am glad to see Steve Braddock wanting to participate, since he mainly is who the city should be relying on to guide it through the mainstream process.

Mayor Cates said again that the new shelter will not be his shelter, but will be the city’s shelter. However, the truth of the matter is, what drove the new shelter was Mayor Cates, it was all his idea, based on the Robert Marbut model, which simply will not work in Key West, because of the steady inflow of homeless people into Key West, and because Key West has not the land nor the affordable housing for graduates from a Marbut type shelter.

If Marbut truly was an expert, he would have seen his type of shelter was not workable in Key West, and he would have told Mayor Cates and the City Commission that up front. He was paid $20,000 for nothing, in my opinion. Steve Braddock and I both could have advised the City Commission and Mayor Cates to get to where they are now, and it would not have cost the city a penny, and it would have gone a lot faster getting to where the city now is.

Repeat, there is no happy solution, no silver bullet.