Council Members,
I urge you to vote NO on the St. Vincent de Paul Homekey Projects. There are many reasons why you should vote NO.
1) Sebastopol already has a project that is exactly the same as this one. It is Elderberry Commons, which is also a Homekey Project and will also use a Coordinated Entry list; 2) Unhoused in Sebastopol get NO priority in the St. Vincent de Paul project; 3) Sebastopol is the ONLY community of its size to have one Homekey project. It undermines our economic future to have two Homekey projects as there are additional City costs associated with have a high needs community within in your city limits.
Windsor, a town of over 26,000, does not have a Homekey project. Cotati, a neighboring town of similar size, does not have a Homekey project. Why would Sebastopol have two Homekey projects if other cities in Sonoma County do not have a single Homekey project;
4) Sebastopol has the highest number of homeless beds per capita in Sonoma County as we have Elderberry Commons, Park Village and vehicle/pod accommodations at the Community Church;
5) Sebastopol is actively dealing with the failure of Horizon Shine, another County funded homeless project. When these projects fail, it impacts Sebastopol residents and business communities. We cannot afford to have the economic and social impacts of failed County projects within our City limits;
6) Elderberry Commons has not yet opened. There is no proof that it will be successful. If it is unsuccessful in its client management, there will be costs to Sebastopol’s citizens and businesses. Unfortunately, this has been the situation with Horizon Shine from its opening through the present day;
7) Sebastopol citizens will be on the hook financially for 15 years per the Homekey contract. The State is in a deficit. If Trump wins the presidential election, the funding for social programs and for California could be greatly reduced. St. Vincent de Paul does not have the money to fully fund the program;
8) County funded programs within Sebastopol City Limits directly impact Sebastopol residents and business owners. Jack Tibbets does not live in Sebastopol. Supervisor Hopkins does not live in Sebastopol. Tina Rivera does not live in Sebastopol. Adrienne Lauby does not live in Sebastopol. These people put projects in Sebastopol and when there are problems, they do not have to bear the day-to-day consequences of them. In fact, they just leave like Adrienne Lauby did with Horizon Shine; 9) Sebastopol is in a declared fiscal emergency, it does not have the money to repair its roads from “poor” to “good.” It does not have the money to support St. Vincent de Paul’s program and cannot be financially liable for the St. Vincent de Paul project. The City is going to have to make cuts and reduce $2,000,000 in costs. How can the City be responsible for this increased economic liability;
10) Sebastopol is going to ask citizens for a increase in sales tax. How can Council ask Citizens to increase sales tax if they are spending money they don’t have, on a project citizens don’t need, which could have huge unintended consequences like Horizon Shine?