Dr. David Gordon - The right man for Burbank.
Mar/30/2009 21:20
With the local election for Burbank City Council upon us, we at United Burbank would like to thank Dr. Gordon for his aid to our neighborhood in regards to the Winter Shelter at the Armory this last season.
When the use of the Armory came before the city for the second year, all the council members, including Dr Gordon, were generally in favor of the program. And why not! According to the city manager and other dept. heads it was a raving success with barely a hint of trouble, and overwhelming support by the community.
The only problem was that no one asked the people in the area what they thought.
When the use of the Armory came before the city for the second year, all the council members, including Dr Gordon, were generally in favor of the program. And why not! According to the city manager and other dept. heads it was a raving success with barely a hint of trouble, and overwhelming support by the community.
The only problem was that no one asked the people in the area what they thought.
We found out about the plan for the shelter only at Dr. Gordon’s insistence at the city council that members of the community around the Armory be notified. We received notification only the day before the meeting.
We became outraged. Don’t they know that the Armory is right next to the park? Don’t they know that a lot of homeless have severe drug and alcohol problems? What about sex-offenders? Why were we not informed sooner? Why were no community meetings held? Suddenly odd events noticed the previous winter became clear. Loitering, panhandling, trash, broken windows, parked cars, pick-ups and RV’s were observed in the area.
Many of us went to the city council meeting to give our opinions before the vote. Many who could not attend because of the short notice sent emails to council members urging them not to approve the shelter at the Armory so close to the park, schools and residences.
Only one council member listened, Dr. Gordon.
Other council members chastised us for being cold-hearted. They said we we’re over-reacting, that everything was under control and our neighborhood would be unaffected. We were told the Bus-in Bus-out program would insure that homeless guests would only be at the shelter at night. Tight screening would be performed to make sure no violent criminals or sex-offenders would stay at the shelter.
Only Dr. Gordon chose to represent those in our neighborhood. He voted to not let the shelter operate at the armory so close to the park, schools and our homes. He implored the other members of the council and city staff to look for a more suitable place in Burbank. To no avail, the other members were having their “kum-bay-yah” moment and weren’t going to let our concerns stand in the way.
With the discovery of EIGHT sex-offenders due to the nearly non-existent screening process, multitudes of walk-in traffic, inadequate security and ineffective patrols at the shelter that resulted in 67 police reported incidents and five arrests, it is clear that Dr. Gordon was right to support us in the neighborhood.
It was through questions by Dr. Gordon, that we discovered that the Union Rescue Mission had contracts with the Sheriff’s Dept and State Dept. of Corrections to house inmates after release from jail/prison.
It was through questions by Dr. Gordon, that Ms Gatlin of the URM admitted that many of the people who come to the shelter are chronic homeless who have been kicked out of other shelters.
We also give kudos to Vice Mayor Bric who asked if the people staying at the shelter were even asked if they were a sex-offender. The answer: “That is not part of the intake process.” If only he had asked that question before voting to approve the shelter.
What Dr. Gordon did, and continues to do, is not extraordinary. Above all else, Dr. Gordon knows that he represents the people of Burbank. The questions he raises at the city council all stem from how the issues at hand affects the people of Burbank. Dr. Gordon is the right man for Burbank.
We became outraged. Don’t they know that the Armory is right next to the park? Don’t they know that a lot of homeless have severe drug and alcohol problems? What about sex-offenders? Why were we not informed sooner? Why were no community meetings held? Suddenly odd events noticed the previous winter became clear. Loitering, panhandling, trash, broken windows, parked cars, pick-ups and RV’s were observed in the area.
Many of us went to the city council meeting to give our opinions before the vote. Many who could not attend because of the short notice sent emails to council members urging them not to approve the shelter at the Armory so close to the park, schools and residences.
Only one council member listened, Dr. Gordon.
Other council members chastised us for being cold-hearted. They said we we’re over-reacting, that everything was under control and our neighborhood would be unaffected. We were told the Bus-in Bus-out program would insure that homeless guests would only be at the shelter at night. Tight screening would be performed to make sure no violent criminals or sex-offenders would stay at the shelter.
Only Dr. Gordon chose to represent those in our neighborhood. He voted to not let the shelter operate at the armory so close to the park, schools and our homes. He implored the other members of the council and city staff to look for a more suitable place in Burbank. To no avail, the other members were having their “kum-bay-yah” moment and weren’t going to let our concerns stand in the way.
With the discovery of EIGHT sex-offenders due to the nearly non-existent screening process, multitudes of walk-in traffic, inadequate security and ineffective patrols at the shelter that resulted in 67 police reported incidents and five arrests, it is clear that Dr. Gordon was right to support us in the neighborhood.
It was through questions by Dr. Gordon, that we discovered that the Union Rescue Mission had contracts with the Sheriff’s Dept and State Dept. of Corrections to house inmates after release from jail/prison.
It was through questions by Dr. Gordon, that Ms Gatlin of the URM admitted that many of the people who come to the shelter are chronic homeless who have been kicked out of other shelters.
We also give kudos to Vice Mayor Bric who asked if the people staying at the shelter were even asked if they were a sex-offender. The answer: “That is not part of the intake process.” If only he had asked that question before voting to approve the shelter.
What Dr. Gordon did, and continues to do, is not extraordinary. Above all else, Dr. Gordon knows that he represents the people of Burbank. The questions he raises at the city council all stem from how the issues at hand affects the people of Burbank. Dr. Gordon is the right man for Burbank.