It’s been a few months since the vote on the men’s shelter and tonight the Common Council Executive Committee is set to vote on shelter criteria.
THE RESOLUTION
3 (Abbas, Carter, Havlerson) of the 6 people (also Harrington-McKinney, Charles Myadze and Nasra Wehelie who wouldn’t move to reconsider) who stopped the men’s shelter from being built by East Town have sponsored this resolution that is further slowing things down. The resolution is simple in that it simply says:
WHEREAS, the City of Madison has established the following criteria for evaluating options in its search for a site for a shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness:
• The site should be within a few blocks of seven-days-a-week bus service, with a preference for close proximity to BRT routes;
• The site should be zoned for commercial or mixed use, and not adjacent to single-family homes;
• The site should be greater than .5 mile from any schools or daycares;
• The site should not be located in a Census tract identified as a location of concentrated poverty;
• The site should include either an existing building or a lot large enough for new construction;
• The site should include space for future expansion;
• The site location should be within a walking distance of within 3.5 miles from the Beacon on East Washington; and
• The site should be an active real estate listing that is vacant or soon-to-be-vacant.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Madison Common Council request City staff to provide a list of eligible sites and estimated cost based on this criteria and present it to the Common Council Executive Committee by June 15th and then provide regular monthly updates on the search for a shelter.
DO THE CRITERIA MAKES SENSE?
I agree with the criteria about bus service and BRT routes, but that’s about it. The most outrageous criteria is the on the seems to infer that walking 7 miles a day carrying everything you own with you, to wash your clothes, use computers and services and get housing is acceptable.
I also have a feeling that the only real criteria that matters is price and availability. As someone who is out there looking for a site for a third Occupy Madison village, I can tell you that it’s pricey and there aren’t a ton of new viable options springing up.
HOW MUCH LONGER DO WE WAIT?
Clearly they intended for this resolution to pass quickly. It was created on 5/12 and introduced on 5/18 and anticipated that they would have answers from staff by June 15th. Except the council won’t even pass it until July 20th. All they have done at this point, is create a further delay.
I suspect staff continues to work in the background, but I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be to continue working on things only to likely have the rug pulled out from under them again. Meanwhile . . . time is slipping by and we are delaying the new men’s shelter.
