The Fate of Gales and Franklin Schools

Yesterday the council (which so graciously postponed its recess to deal with some emergency legislation)held a legislative meeting. At issue was the fate of Gales School. Due to computer malfunctions and other concerns, I've been short on blogging time for a couple of days. However, I decided to post my e-mail response to an on-line dispute between Councilmember Jim Graham and former mayoral candidate Chris Otten. (I will describe the meeting in greater detail in the near future.) I fed them the facts:

Petworth properties are worth $4 million.


Gales School is worth $9 million in current trashy state.


City will give mission $7 million to renovate Gales.


Terms include gales remaining a shelter for at least 40 years with at least 150 beds and going back to city if ever used for anything else.


At Gales, mission will have a net gain of 22 beds or more.


Council strongly signaled an unwillingness to allow Franklin to close. Gray asked wells to assess the number of emergency shelter beds. He wants to stop the mayor from closing any more shelters until we are sure that we have enough shelter beds. He does not want to use the fact that housing is being created for the homeless to justify closing shelters and decreasing number of shelter beds.


Gales formerly held 178 people.

Franklin holds 300.

CUM holds 128.

TOTAL: 606.



Former Gales is closed.

If Franklin closes, which the council might stop or postpone, we will have gone from 606 to 150 beds between the 3 shelters.



Council has stopped the mayor from juxtaposing emergency shelter bed numbers with the 400 units of permanent supportive housing (PSH) being created this year and 1600 units in following years. gray correctly stated that they are separate issues and that we must maintain a sufficient number of emergency beds, no matter how many people are housed.

Read my blog site (in my signature). I'll post my thoughts about yesterday soon.

I'm glad to help and to inform. Ask what you will.

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