Lies, Damn Lies, and PADS!

Various sources report that Mayor Howard Frimark has been saying that the depth and breadth of his knowledge of the intended PADS homeless shelter at St. Mary's is what he's been reading in the papers, and that the City has not been approached by the church about the issue.

We don't know about you, but we think Mayor Howard is lying about reading the papers. In an article that appeared in the Journal & Topics, we read:

"Carrie Davis, acting community preservation and development director for Park Ridge, confirmed that St. Mary's approached the city with a proposal for a PADS shelter, but added, "That's as far as it's gone." Davis explained the city is determining the process the church must go through to get approval of the shelter. She also emphasized that the shelter is not governmental in nature.

"The city is not involved in this program in any way," she said. "We have not proposed it, we have not asked for it."

And in a letter written by Rev. James McCracken in one of the local rags:

"In 2006, during a Men's Breakfast at one of the churches, the guest speaker, Mayor Frimark, was asked why there was not a PADS shelter in Park Ridge. He responded that he would welcome a proposal for such a service from the Park Ridge churches.

At the same time, representatives of the Park Ridge Ministerial consulted with the Park Ridge Police Department, some aldermen, the Mayor's Task Force on Human Needs and Mayor Frimark. They were very encouraging in their support of the proposal. Three feature articles about the project appeared in the Park Ridge Herald-Advocate."

Oops! Looks like not everybody has been following the script!

But let's just say that city staff didn't inform Mayor Howard of the "approach" to the city by St. Mary's. We suppose that could be the situation.

But what about that Men's Breakfast question back in 2006? And what about Rev. McCracken's contention that Mayor Howard has been "consulted"?

And what about the story in one of the local rags that appeared back in late November 2007 under the headline: "Hope for the homeless: churches hope to start PADS program here". The story is no longer available on the Herald-Advocate web site, because those dipshits archive their articles after 30 days. Still, you'd think an article like that may have piqued Mayor Howard's curiosity. If you were the mayor wouldn't you get on one of your office phones and start inquiring about the subject?

But let's just say that since that story appeared in a Thursday rag, and Mayor Howard must get busy finishing up the business he conducts on both of his city office phones before he leaves for his weekends in Bonita Springs, Fla., that Mayor Howard just forgot to follow-up. And, as we recall, the last time Mayor Howard followed-up on something, it was nearly two years after the fact. We suppose that could be the situation.

But what about the Human Needs Task Force meeting that Mayor Howard attended back on November 13, 2007. If the PRU Crew's party game reading of meeting minutes is correct, Mayor Howard doesn't usually show up at Human Needs Task Force meetings. But he showed up for that one. Why? We think he was expressly invited. Why? Because the agenda included some guest speakers; notably, Nan Parson, chairman of the city's Fair Housing Commission, Pat Harrington, Director of Journeys from PADS to Hope shelter system, Beth Nabors, Executive Director of Journeys from PADS to Hope, and Todd Statt, Director of Journeys from PADS to Hope, clinical arm of this organization.

And Mayor Howard's contribution to that meeting? Did Mayor Howard ask about possible locations for a PADS shelter? Nope. According to the meeting minutes, "Mayor Frimark spoke about a homeless woman he has seen and asked how to motivate individuals to get help."

So in November of 2007 Mayor Howard attended the Human Needs Task Force meeting, but didn't ask about a possible location for a PADS shelter.

Mayor Howard claims to read the local rags and so, after having attended the Human Needs Task Force meeting, he must have read the article "Hope for the homeless: churches hope to start PADS program here". And still Mayor Howard didn't think to inquire about a possible location for a PADS shelter?

But surely Mayor Howard read about the brouhaha surrounding Christie's Carousel of Learning preschool moving to the Park Ridge Presbyterian church; after being asked to move from St. Mary's, where they had operated for more than 20 years, because the church "wanted to use the center's space for other things."

Surely after having attended the Human Needs Task Force meeting and hearing the various guest speakers discuss the PADS program, and after reading of the local churches hope to start a PADS program in Park Ridge, and then reading about the newly available space at St. Mary's...

Surely after all that, Mayor Howard may have been inspired to finally ask about a possible location for a PADS shelter.

Nope. Not according to Mayor Howard. He doesn't know anything more about it than anybody else who reads the local rags.

Suuuuure.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Tomorrow - Why the PRU Crew thinks PADS sucks.