A nearly $5 million price tag shouldn't scare city commissioners away from a proposed plan to deal with homeless problems in the city, members of the city's Task Force on Homeless Services said Wednesday.
Task force members tried to make clear to city commissioners at a study session that the task force never expected the city to fully fund the $4.7 million program. Task force members said they envision much of the money for a $2.5 million shelter to come from private donations. They said they also believe there are substantial grant and federal dollars available to fund other services in the plan. But they did ask city commissioners to formally endorse the plan.
"We will never get funding (from outside sources) if this commission doesn't say this is a good plan for the community," said Shirley Martin-Smith, a member of the task force.
Commissioners agreed to put the plan on a future agenda for formal adoption but said people should not take that to mean that the city would be committed to be the sole funder for all the proposals.
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smitty (anonymous) says…
Shirley Martin- Smith's advise is meaningless. When she was commissioner she advised Dan Wildcat, and the directior of the indian center that Ted Bordman had a missing bullet from his gun after the killing of Gregg Sevier and that that missing bullet was found at the apartment of Ted Bordman. This woman, then commissioner did not take responsiblity to do the right thing and tell the story to the official investigators, the family, the FBI, the peer review committee, the citizens of Lawrence. Her judgement is poor, her motives are political, her ethics are corrupted. She will not do the right thing. Any thing she supports is questionable at best.
As far as the endorsing this homeless shelter...only if the city endorses the slumming of 10th and Kentucky. Just click on my name and go back and read some of my posts on the happenings over this past month or so.
When I called city hall the receptionist took a deep breath as the subject matter of wet shelter was disclosed. I'm not alone in my concern and voicing my concern it seems.
What I asked for from the legal department was what ordinances can be applied to the Churches for allowing the loitering, trashing, drunkenness, diorderly conduct, camping on the church sites. The ordinaces are weak.
Wet shelter director, Henderson is a weak and poor admministrator, LINK is weak in their enabling Henderson and the druggie drunks.
no endorsement by the city unless the drunken druggies are isolated from the rest of the shelter operation with properly prepared staff ready to cope with chronic addiction problems. no endorsement without solving the current problems at 10th and Kentucky!
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
why, macon47, there are 200 now, but with all this investment you know there will be more homeless because they will come: "if you build it, they will come!" this money, every dollar, could be better spent for the law-abiding citizens, like say, sidewalk repair, now that's a radical idea!
trueninetiesgirl (anonymous) says…
why should we keep paying for people that can work and dont want to. just because they know that the city will pay for what they need. we all have fallen and we get back up on are feet. did the city come running with money to help us? no way they said get a job.
dbackbone (anonymous) says…
Dang, I got to go over to the Penn House and trade in some clothes downtown. Maybe then I can afford $2.50 gallon of gasoline. Gotta give those transients props, they've got all the angles covered.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
and, how many of these favored homeless are scofflaws, or worse, here in lawrence aboiding charges or parole in different jurisdictions or under different names? more homeless, more drunk, more drug, more public lewd, more property crime, more arson, more violent crime. hmmmm, what a way to beautify downtown?