From: Arthur George
To: Mary Gourley
Subject: Public Comment: Agenda Item 2: May 3 2022 Consent Calendar: Local Homeless Emergency Date: Tuesday, May 03, 2022 10:34:53 AM
Dear Council Members: This email is to request that the Council approve Agenda Item # 2 on the May 3, 2022 Consent Calendar, to find a continuing Existence of a Local Homeless Emergency, as referenced by and attested to in the recent Report of the Council's Ad Hoc Committee on the Unhoused. While the Council has done much in recent months to alleviate conditions of homelessness in Sebastopol, there is continuing need of emergency proportions that only has been placed in abeyance. Recognition of a continuing emergency would deter our being lulled into complacency about a problem that for now has been contained only temporarily.
The clearance of Morris Street was accomplished in part through the creation of Horizon Shine RV Village at 845 Gravenstein Highway North, but that project is funded and leased only to the end of this year.
Safe Parking and related sanitation remains a necessity, as allowed in city streets between 10 p.m. and 7:30 a.m., and in church and other private lots. There are needs for warming and cooling stations as hot and cold seasons require; mental health services and outreach; search for a replacement site for Horizon Shine; and future needs of the unhoused as they may develop. With all the accomplishments by the Council and related departments over recent months, your attention on this situation must continue.
Thank you for your consideration in these regards.
Arthur George
Chair, West County Homeless Advocates