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City officials discuss donation to Pinellas Hope
By BOB McCLURE
Article published on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008 |
SEMINOLE – City officials tentatively agreed to donate $5,000 to the Pinellas Hope homeless camp during a workshop Aug. 12 at City Hall.
After a lengthy discussion on the topic, City Councilors Dan Hester and Peter Hofstra each agreed to donate $2,500 each from their allotted travel budget for 2008-09.
Prior to their decision, Hofstra questioned whether it was appropriate for the city to donate tax dollars to a charitable cause.
“How do we know this is something (city residents) agree to,” he said. “If anything, we should give the money back to them (city residents). I just don’t think it’s appropriate for us to donate to causes we deem as deserving.”
City Manager Frank Edmunds explained that the city has directed homeless people in the city to the facility and from that standpoint the city should contribute something to the cause.
“Pinellas County contributes hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Edmunds said, “and St. Petersburg donates thousands of dollars. But they’re in a different place (financially than Seminole).”
“I would like to designate a donation for a specific cause,” said Councilor Patricia Hartstein. “I would like to target it for a specific purpose like food.”
Hester suggested reducing the amount to $2,500 and suggested it come out of his travel budget. Hofstra followed with the same suggestion.
A final decision on the issue will be considered at a future council meeting.
Pinellas Hope is an initiative of Catholic Charities that began operation in December on land owned by the Catholic Diocese at 5726 126th Ave. N., a few blocks west of 49th Street.
The goal of Pinellas Hope is to convert homeless people in Pinellas County to a self-sufficient standard. The camp can handle about 250 people.
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Article published on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008
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