I heard City Councilman Richard Conlin speak last night. He outlined the highest priorities for City Council in 2011:
– Schools and education: Renew the Families and Education levy in partnership with Seattle Schools.
– Economic recovery: Advance strategies to foster economic development and promote new jobs.
– Budget: Adopt a sustainable 2012 budget that invests in public safety and human services.
You can see the entire priority list here.
On a local note, he mentioned that the city is looking seriously at using Fire Station 39 in Lake City as a long-term shelter for the homeless.
I was at the Lake City post office the other day and had a pretty amazing conversation with one of the women who work there. She described daily run-ins with homeless people, mostly men, who litter, urinate, and even use the 24-hour open area of the lobby as a toilet for fecal material now and then. She stated emphatically that it’s the restult of a homeless shelter in the area. Has anyone spoken to folks who have businesses in the area about the shelter idea? I dodged a really drunk man in the post office lobby one evening when I went to use the automated postal machine and it wasn’t a fun experience.