Photo of Victor Steinbrueck Park by Flickr user JDong.

This post has been updated.

I've given SHARE/WHEEL plenty of grief over the years, but this is a stunt (a legal and, hopefully, noncoercive one for once) I can actually get behind: In response to local celebrity chef Tom Douglas's widely publicized proposal to hold weekly $12 salmon bakes in Victor Steinbrueck Park to pay for security (which, ahem, I mentioned in Morning Fizz more than two weeks ago), the homeless group says it will hold its own, competing weenie roasts to raise money for shelter beds. A SHARE representative says the group will charge between $2 and $3 per hot dog, and calls the idea "a legitimate fundraiser/educational opportunity," not a "threat or publicity stunt."

Yesterday, SHARE filed for a permit in Steinbrueck Park for the same "time and for the same duration as" each of Douglas' salmon bakes. "As the Parks Department should not take sides in community disagreements, we expect the same respect, consideration, and resources granted Mr. Douglas," the application says.

Seattle Parks Department spokeswoman Joelle Hammerstad says the department can't grant SHARE's permit until the city knows what dates SHARE is applying for, which they won't until Douglas files his own permit application.

In a statement, SHARE said, "Whenever Tom Douglas starts selling salmon, we’ll be selling wieners at his side!  The Weiner [sic] Roast profits will go to real security – shelter for homeless men and women. While you won’t read about it in the Seattle Times, SHARE needs $50,000 extra to keep the shelters open throughout 2010."

I've got an email in to SHARE to ask how much they plan to charge for hot dogs and whether their threat is serious or just a stunt.