David Martel — a contract manager for the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which administers and funds the shelter program — said Thursday that if that happens, there will be no winter shelter for the homeless this season in the tri-city area.
“We understand what concerns there are from Burbank and that we need cities in the county to be partners in the long term,” he said. “We’re trying to be sensitive.”
Burbank is the only option left for the shelter after the California National Guard informed the county in mid-October that Glendale’s armory — the shelter’s site for the past decade — would be closed for a major renovation project. In doing so, the guard offered Burbank’s site as an option, but county homeless officials pressed ahead with finding an alternative in Glendale — fearing a negative reaction from Burbank.
One month later, with no alternative, the Glendale Homeless Coalition insisted the county homeless authority press Burbank for its armory just weeks before the winter shelter was officially supposed to open, on Dec. 1.
But while the state mandates all armories be made available as winter shelters, it is only responsible for their infrastructure, said Sgt. Maj. Larry Ellsworth, who coordinates homeless shelters for the National Guard at armories statewide.
Aware that the county will not move against the city’s wishes, Burbank Mayor Marsha Ramos took a more cautious tone Thursday about where her colleagues stood on the issue, saying the shelter’s fate would likely depend on the response to council inquiries Tuesday night.
“I’ll give it every consideration and keep my mind open to the possibility,” she said.
