Just a quick reminder that today (Tuesday, July 10th) is the day of the big meeting to discuss Benton County's funding (or not) for the cold weather shelter. It will be held at the Sunset Building, at 4077 SW Research Way, at the worker-unfriendly time of noon. Even with the awkward time, and the out of the way location, I trust that there will be some sort of audience there. It will be interesting to see how the County Commissioners behave with people watching - it's a situation they don't find themselves in too often, which is part of the problem.
This is a time-sensitive topic, and the scheduling of this meeting probably makes it an event that is time-sensitive for those attending. (Which is to say, a lot of us will need to get back to work at some point.) With all that in mind, it will also be interesting to see if the Commissioners insist on sticking to their time-wasting and pointless habit of having everyone in attendance - and I do mean everyone - introduce themselves.
Also of note...Even with all they've been through in terms of criticism for how they've conducted their business, the County Commissioners continue onward with their bad habits. The problematic "meeting" where they decided to pull the funding was called with a totally vague, deceptive agenda. That was just one of many problems with the way the Commissioners came to their decision.
Well, the agenda for today's meeting isn't as vague as the previous one, but it's also not very clear or informative. You can read it here. It tells you what order things will happen in. It tells you who will be presenting, and in what order. It tells you when the public may make comments. But nowhere does it simply state that what the focus of these presentations and public comments will be about. In other words, this meeting is all about the funding for the cold weather shelter, but the agenda does not include the words "cold" or "weather" or "shelter" or even "homeless." Once again, it is vague to the point of deception.
Stay tuned. More on this topic later...
And now it is later...Just after 6:00 PM on Tuesday evening...
The meeting was standing room only, with people spilling out of the room into the lobby of the Sunset Building. (Yes, standing room only, but I was the only candidate for County Commissioner there.) It went for just shy of three hours. Shawn Collins, representing the HOAC and the cold weather shelter, went first, and he hit all the right notes in a spirited and concise manner. When he finished, the guy I was sitting next to turned to me and whispered, "Shawn really nailed it." I directed his attention to my notebook, where just a moment earlier I had written, in all caps, HE NAILED IT.
But the only thing the opponents of the 2nd Street location nailed was the coffin containing their reputations. Their presentations were emotionally manipulative, extremely light on facts, and very heavy indeed on repeated references to the need for "buffers" around the shelter, to keep anyone from having to see homeless people, or acknowledge them. Their collective approach was both criminally cruel and comically inept. As Rich Carone was winding down his sad little presentation (containing power point slides of, I kid you not, scrawled Post It notes on a wall to represent the "plan" for his building) I once again wrote a summary in all caps. It said simply: MAGIC BEANS. Because that was what he was trying to sell. Too-good-to-be-true plans! Paid for by secret investors! All problems solved! Magic beans for everyone! Reality did not intrude into his presentation - other than the cold, stark reality of some people's desire to see the homeless not served, but banished.
It will be interesting to see how the County Commissioners get themselves out of this mess. They clearly do not want to support the 2nd Street location - for whatever behind the scenes reasons - but just as clearly the majority of the community supports that location. Will we see responsiveness, or more defensiveness? Will we see real leadership, or more weaselship? Time will tell...
This is a time-sensitive topic, and the scheduling of this meeting probably makes it an event that is time-sensitive for those attending. (Which is to say, a lot of us will need to get back to work at some point.) With all that in mind, it will also be interesting to see if the Commissioners insist on sticking to their time-wasting and pointless habit of having everyone in attendance - and I do mean everyone - introduce themselves.
Also of note...Even with all they've been through in terms of criticism for how they've conducted their business, the County Commissioners continue onward with their bad habits. The problematic "meeting" where they decided to pull the funding was called with a totally vague, deceptive agenda. That was just one of many problems with the way the Commissioners came to their decision.
Well, the agenda for today's meeting isn't as vague as the previous one, but it's also not very clear or informative. You can read it here. It tells you what order things will happen in. It tells you who will be presenting, and in what order. It tells you when the public may make comments. But nowhere does it simply state that what the focus of these presentations and public comments will be about. In other words, this meeting is all about the funding for the cold weather shelter, but the agenda does not include the words "cold" or "weather" or "shelter" or even "homeless." Once again, it is vague to the point of deception.
Stay tuned. More on this topic later...
And now it is later...Just after 6:00 PM on Tuesday evening...
The meeting was standing room only, with people spilling out of the room into the lobby of the Sunset Building. (Yes, standing room only, but I was the only candidate for County Commissioner there.) It went for just shy of three hours. Shawn Collins, representing the HOAC and the cold weather shelter, went first, and he hit all the right notes in a spirited and concise manner. When he finished, the guy I was sitting next to turned to me and whispered, "Shawn really nailed it." I directed his attention to my notebook, where just a moment earlier I had written, in all caps, HE NAILED IT.
But the only thing the opponents of the 2nd Street location nailed was the coffin containing their reputations. Their presentations were emotionally manipulative, extremely light on facts, and very heavy indeed on repeated references to the need for "buffers" around the shelter, to keep anyone from having to see homeless people, or acknowledge them. Their collective approach was both criminally cruel and comically inept. As Rich Carone was winding down his sad little presentation (containing power point slides of, I kid you not, scrawled Post It notes on a wall to represent the "plan" for his building) I once again wrote a summary in all caps. It said simply: MAGIC BEANS. Because that was what he was trying to sell. Too-good-to-be-true plans! Paid for by secret investors! All problems solved! Magic beans for everyone! Reality did not intrude into his presentation - other than the cold, stark reality of some people's desire to see the homeless not served, but banished.
It will be interesting to see how the County Commissioners get themselves out of this mess. They clearly do not want to support the 2nd Street location - for whatever behind the scenes reasons - but just as clearly the majority of the community supports that location. Will we see responsiveness, or more defensiveness? Will we see real leadership, or more weaselship? Time will tell...
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