Mr. Fonzi, your opinion on the recent Atascadero City Council decision is appalling and the most selfish piece I’ve ever read in the New Times (“Why the armory is a bad idea for a shelter,” Dec. 6). You assume that everyone who can’t make it to ECHO is an addict and violent, which is a flat-out lie. At my work in SLO, transients frequent and sleep there every day, and the majority are struggling to live while sleeping in the cold and heavy rains.
How dare you assume that these people would ever harm a child!
The selfish-individualistic mentality that’s infected all levels of government and society is why our great nation is failing to achieve any form of positive and pragmatic goals. That is to lower the basic costs of living so we can be “well fed, well clothed, well lodged, well instructed, and well paid,” attaining our harmony of interests, while using our innovative productive powers to save our planet and keep our children and communities safe from school/public shootings.
We are a community and through association and cooperation, we pay local, state, and federal taxes. The state military department has no right to ask more from us stalwart taxpayers and should be asking the Department of Defense, which takes 54 percent of our income taxes, accounting for $590 billion plus interest (cbo.gov), instead of gutting the city’s small budget.
If you claim to be a Christian, consider Christ’s compassion. Stop spreading fear and come to the table with some pragmatic and empathetic suggestions.
Garland Miller
Atascadero
This article appears in Dec 13-23, 2018.
Thank you, Garland. Well said.
Ann Berry-Gallegos
Roberta and Al Fonzi both gave the same pathetic excuses: the armory’s admittedly “worthless” designation as a “drug free” zone, whatever that means, its geographic proximity to the schools, and its overwhelming cost.
First of all, the City of Atascadero can EASILY afford the $35,000 (plus change) price tag.
They spent $48.6m for the Fine Arts and Middle School Project, $1.4m for a skate park, another $505k for the Joy Park addition to the CPCC, $320k for the Zoo Garden Event Center, and over $3m for the Centennial Bridge and Plaza Project. Not included in this spending spree is the exorbitant cost of the City Hall renovations, which totaled $48m and required millions in FEMA grant money, and the the city (Amanda) couldn’t even provide me with a grand total for the Colony Park Community Center cost.
Even the McNamara Realty Performing Arts Center for Profiteers generated $370,000 in local donation money despite their unseemly local reputation as a slum lord with a history of ethics problems.
According to Al Fonzi, our perceived “severe” drug issue is located at the Sunken Gardens, which is right next door to the schools; he didn’t mention that little tidbit. After research, it does not appear that any of these suddenly-concerned business & education leaders have hired any form of security or use fenced properties to protect the children from this imagined threat. The reason? There is no real threat.
Furthermore, the location of the armory is geographically located JUST on the other side of the schools, opposite the Sunken Gardens and closer to the police & fire stations, so it does not increase the proximity of the Sunken Gardens homeless population to the schools because they’re the same distance: RIGHT NEXT DOOR.
So if the Sunken Gardens is the same distance as the armory to the schools, and closer to law enforcement, how exactly is the perceived threat increased in any way?