Reply to Let's join forces to scrap the current homeless shelter plan and start over

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Has bozzuto/cathedral commons chimed in? They've done a beautiful development job - have they even sold all the flats though?[/quote]

Cathedral Commons is a rental community and yes it is stabilized.  Buzzuto most likely will not weigh in publically - they have to get approvals on other projects in the City.

Homelessness is a horrible and certainly needs to be addressed.  Mayor Bowser put forth a plan that was 1) not actually studied and 2) that benefitted her campaign contributors.  Now it is no secret that the Mayor and Mendelson have some bad blood.  He seized on this as an opportunity to attack her.  At the same time the constituents in Glover Park united and scared Cheh politically.  Cheh and Mendelson (who lives in Glover) quickly realized this was going to be a hot button issue and an opportunity to score points on Bowser and they did EXACTLY what was in their political best interest.  Cheh identified a site in Ward 3 that would have the least political impact on her.  This site is in the Eaton School district and although it is a beautiful school and performs extremely well it has a high OOB population, meaning less constituents she would be affecting.  Eaton has been the sacrificial lamb for Cheh on almost every issue.  This entire thing including the rush to approve after a POORLY advertised meeting and a holiday weekend is the very essence of poor governance. Cheh, Mendelson, and the entire DC government should be ASHAMED that instead of doing there fiduciary duty: a study of all sites, identifying real solutions, and making hard decisions that benefit all DC Citizens, they did what was in their political best interest.

There are 50 DC owned sites in Ward 3 that are 1/2 acre or more.  As of now DC considered 3 and studied 0 of them.  Cheh and Mendelson claim the Idaho site will save money because it is D owned.  However, the site they chose will require either underground or above ground parking for all the police force (based on a count of the parking lot last night it is 175 cars).  This will cost a minimum of $40,000 a car.  In addition their is a refueling station on this site for Police and Fire.  This will have to be removed and relocated creating inefficiencies for our police department.  It will also require the tanks to be removed and remediation of any environmental issues.  The cost of this will be exponential.  So saying this site will save money is laughable.

As a city I do think we need to provide support for the homeless.  DC general is unacceptable and there is a strong case for decentralization.  The Idaho station site could be the best site, although based on a little study I doubt it.  My point is instead of rushing through a decision like this - FOR POLITICAL COVERAGE - it should be fully vetted.  We should find answers to homelessness in our city - but the quick answer is often not the best.  If after a thorough study of all sites, Idaho is selected as the best then we should invite it.  But we should NOT accept this type of POOR GOVERNANCE for our City.

There should be a public process.  This was a rushed mess.  One site was even changed when the vote was taken.  This type of poor governance is exactly why DC will not receive Statehood.[/quote]

Horrible, horrible people.

[/quote]

Who are the Horrible, horrible people?  The commenter, who I actually think is spot on, or the politicians.[/quote]

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