[GPSCC-chat] Sunnyvale City Meeting on Homeless Cold Weather Shelter

[Brian]

Hi Chuck [Jagoda],

Predictably, the Council placed the gymnasium shelter item last on the agenda, hoping the audience would get 
bored and leave before it came up.   

Residents of the "snail" neighborhood near the Armory testified that the proximity of the shelter to their homes
had motivated them to volunteer at the shelter, and that they had found that its clients were no danger to their
community

Opposition to the use of the gymnasium was usually presented in these terms:  "Oh, we love the idea of a cold
weather shelter but we object to the lack of notice of this proposal, and the use of this particular venue is 
inappropriate when alternatives are available."  (Lack of notice is a good point.  With adequate notice the myths
of the dangerous child-raping drug-addicted homeless might have been addressed by the gymnasium advocates.)

Alternatives discussed were the Georgia Travis Center in San Jose, which apparently is ready to roll but lacks
operational financing, the Onizuka property (needs move-in portables), and a property at Fair Oaks and California.

The Council very early established the principle that the County was responsible to lead the effort.  They directed the
City staff to survey available properties (in this timeframe--what a joke!)

County was (according to Jim Davis) on vacation for the month of July.  Ky Lee said that they would probably not 
even begin to address the issue of a cold weather shelter until their meeting early in September.  

The Council voted 5 to 2 to take the gym off the list of available sites for the cold weather shelter.  

Terry indicated that Lockheed was undertaking a long-term study of their defunct Mountain View campus, and that
moving the security perimeter would be necessary if their vacant gym was to be opened as a shelter.  

That's the news as I see it.

Brian 
 		 	   		  
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