Homeless shelter response to mismanagement charges delayed

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

A response to blistering charges leveled against the operators of Key West’s homeless shelter has been delayed until Jan. 17.

Originally scheduled for the Jan. 3 city commission meeting, city manager Jim Scholl told commissioners the presentation by officials of the Southernmost Homeless Assistance League (SHAL) had mistakenly been put on the Jan. 3 agenda. In fact, Scholl said, he had told SHAL officials to present their response to the allegations at the Jan. 17 commission meeting. However, SHAL will provide a written report to commissioners prior to that meeting.

But the scheduling mistake angered Commissioner Sam Kaufman, who has been asking for an accounting from SHAL of its operation of the Keys Overnight Temporary Shelter (KOTS) for months.

“This is the second time the [SHAL] report has been postponed and we’re approaching four months after the allegations of misuse of funds, unsanitary food preparation on site and hundreds of people being banned from the facility, as allegations, of course,” Kaufman said at the Jan. 3 commission meeting.

Scholl said that SHAL has responded via email to most of the allegations made by Mike Tolbert, the former KOTS director who was fired in September for reopening the shelter after Hurricane Irma without approval from SHAL Executive Director John Miller. Scholl said he was going to meet with Miller Jan. 5.

“We’ve got [Key West Finance Director] Mark Finigan involved because we’re looking at the [SHAL] financial reports. They’ve just completed an audit that was part of that process,” Scholl told Kaufman.

Tolbert, who had worked at the shelter for the past four years, wrote a highly critical letter to Kaufman and Scholl after he was fired, accusing Miller of multiple issues including mismanaging money allocated to purchase bus tickets for homeless residents to leave the island, unsanitary food preparation areas and unhealthy living conditions for residents. Tolbert said he had seen 17 cases of scabies, a painful, contagious skin condition, at KOTS before he was fired.

Kaufman had asked that the city open an investigation into the charges but was voted down 5-2 on Nov. 8. Commissioner Billy Wardlow said at the time he might consider an investigation but the fact that Tolbert came forward with his complaints only after he was fired was suspicious. And Commissioner Margaret Romero said the city did not have the expertise to investigate fraud complaints. Any suspicion of fraud should be raised with the Florida State Attorney’s office, she said.

Kaufman said on Jan. 3 that he counted approximately 380 names on the list of permanently banned persons from KOTS, which happens when someone is violent or violates other SHAL rules. That list was provided by Tolbert, Kaufman said. One year ago, SHAL said that 52 people had been banned from the homeless shelter.

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