Winter Visitor Center and Planteen are not worth the cost of repair.
At the July 14 City Commission meeting, during public comments, one man addressed city leaders, “Last time I talked to you, I spoke about me being homeless, and addiction, and how Jesus Christ has changed my life. Me and my wife have been attending the Dwelling Place at Lithia Pinecrest Road. They serve the homeless, feeding them at the Planteen here. We found out they are not renewing the contract for any of the churches here to be able to feed the homeless.” According to this citizen, there are over 38 churches that participate in the program.
“There are no contracts,” said City Manager Bill McDaniel. “There was a lease agreement. An umbrella organization leased the Winter Visitor Center from us, and then churches and ministries, and other groups under that umbrella provided feeding activities each day. They did not renew their lease by the deadline, and I cancelled the lease because they didn’t renew it. Then I advised them that they had 60 days from July 1 to relocate their activities and encouraged them to take it to their respective churches, and run it from there, which are more appropriate locations. So, that’s all there is to it.” The umbrella organization is Generations Renewed: A Community Development, Inc.
At the next commission meeting on July 28, a woman stood to address the city commissioners, “Tonight I am speaking to those who have the power and the responsibility to make a difference….” While making a case for feeding and taking care of homeless people, the woman choked up and could not continue, so a companion stepped forward to read the rest of her statement. “As leaders, you shape more than policy. You shape the soul of a city. Your choices tell a story. Will we be a people of compassion, or a city that casts the vulnerable aside?”
“Last night you had comments that, basically, we were without compassion, concern, and care, and that’s not true,” McDaniel said. “We supported that program until it became unviable….compounded with the fact that I am aware of the condition of the buildings. The cost of the repair of the Winter Visitor Center far exceeds the value of the buildings, so we are not going to make that investment. It is a religious-based effort, and I think it is most appropriate to be handled out of the churches and the ministries that are doing it.”
Later in the July 28 meeting, city staff gave a presentation showing details of the decay of the Winter Visitor Center, and the Planteen Recreation Center and what it would cost for necessary repairs. “The Winter Visitor’s Center is a mid-50-ish era former residence that the city, at some point, tacked a large activity room onto,” McDaniel said. “To spend $855,000 on that building is not justifiable.” In addition, repairing the Planteen would cost another $1.3 million. McDaniel proposed to the city commission that the buildings be demolished and a new facility be constructed at the site. The commissioners voted 5-0 to move forward with this plan.
