The Deschutes County Commissioners backed out of a plan to hire a contractor to manage a safe parking campsite on a 1-acre parcel of land on Murphy Road in south Bend after a two-to-one vote. At a meeting on March 8, Commissioners Tony DeBone and Patti Adair said complaints from neighbors, proximity to unmanaged camps in China Hat and uncertainty that the county could find a service provider with the funds available as reasons it withdrew from the project.
“Last Monday we kind of shrugged our shoulders and said, ‘OK, let’s try and do this.’ And now we’ve got this response, so I’m fully comfortable in just letting the City put something there if they want but we don’t need to get near that,” DeBone said at the regular meeting on March 8.
Commissioner Phil Chang, the lone vote to continue the plan, said the process of exploring a site for a managed camp, receiving negative feedback and retreating is a bad precedent. He said he’s had issues with the process thus far, but that successful projects like Rogue Retreat in Medford also faced intense public scrutiny at its onset that subsided when the effort proved successful. Chang drew a distinction between the proposed managed camp to unmanaged campsites. On March 1, Chang said he wouldn’t support a managed camp that didn’t screen applicants prior to entry, have rules of conduct and fencing around the site.
“What we are talking about here is not Hunnell Road, it’s not China Hat, it is an authorized managed facility so it’s really important to keep in mind that if we want to fix the problem of maybe 1,000 people living unsheltered in unauthorized camping in the county, people do need places to go, they don’t just need to be sent to some new place they actually need a place that provides stepping stones or a pathway out of homelessness,” Chang said at the March 8 meeting.
“The county abandoned this pilot project before it even began and has provided no alternate site or concrete options for the short-term solutions we know we need right now.” — Melanie Kebler
Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler expressed her disappointment with the county commissioner’s decision at a press conference on March 8. The City asked the county to partner on the proposed camp, tasking the county to hire contractors to oversee operations on a parcel of City-owned land. Both governments communicated over the past few weeks, but Deschutes County Commissioners never officially voted to sign onto the project. The plan did impact City decisions on homelessness, though, and on March 1 City Manager Eric King announced the City would postpone the sweep of an unmanaged campsite on Hunnell Road until a managed campsite was up and running.
“The county abandoned this pilot project before it even began and has provided no alternate site or concrete options for the short-term solutions we know we need right now. This is incredibly disappointing; we’ve had multiple conversations with the county as well as the Coordinated [Houseless Response] Office as elected leaders and staff about solutions about where people can go,” Kebler said during the press conference. “The City relied on information from the county in its decision about Hunnell Road and trusted that they were our partners.”
The proposed Murphy Road site would’ve accommodated about 25 to 30 medically vulnerable people. About 80 to 100 people live on Hunnell Road currently, and the Murphy Road site is one of several that the county explored for a managed camp. Adair clarified when voting against the site that the vote doesn’t exclude them from exploring other proposals. Kebler said the City is at capacity to increase shelter space after investing in motels as transitional shelter and the Lighthouse Navigation Center, and that it couldn’t take on the Murphy site without a potential budget shortfall.
This article appears in Source Weekly March 9, 2023.
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The City of Bend needs to bypass the obstructionists on the County Commission and secure the funding on its own to build this project. Besides, Bend City Hall has a far better track record than Deschutes County, having already successfully co-partnered with agencies and non-profits to build Veterans Village, the Lighthouse (and Navigation Center), the St. Vincent dePaul cottages, the renovated motels, and the Central Oregon Villages 27th St. project to shelter women and children.
Though we pay taxes to Deschutes County for public health, they shirk their duties to seriously deal with this most visible and tragic of issues time and time again.
I am deathly afraid that we are letting cultural war politics take over and cloud our thinking. What other reason could there be for this County refusal to build a relatively inexpensive, supervised, fenced site to provide shelter, parking, and care for people with serious medical conditions? Like many other projects designed to assist the unhoused, it would save us far more in the long run in costs associated with emergency care, policing, and traumatized lives.
Agreed that the city need to build the project, however, location appears to be problematic. However, there a essentially empty land close to service opportunities in downtown Bend that could support such an operation. Troy Field is extremely under-utilized and no reason the City of Bend could either rent from the School District or take by eminent domain to be re-purposed for this project. It would be location near more service providers for mental health and various addiction treatment along with other public health issues. It is closer to more entry-level jobs with the growing hospitality operations in downtown which would allow residents of the project to easily walk to work and not have to rely on personal vehicles or a fragmented public transit system, It would be in a location where city leaders especially the city council could monitor its operation on a daily basis and provide first-hand knowledge on its successes or its inadequacies. This would be a win-win-win situation for all (residents, city leaders and the general public). It should be one of the first locations for helping the unhoused move to more full integration with the rest of the community.
The Facts:
The City never presented a detailed plan or budget for this Pilot program, yet they tried to strong-arm the County into agreeing without any specific information. The City claims they do not have the budget to run these sites and cannot do it without the County’s financial support. It is unclear if their claims about budget are accurate. In the last 18 months, the City has spent/earmarked $35-$40 Million dollars on homeless efforts, and today, Mayor Kebler claimed that Bend is looking at a budget shortfall if the State doesn’t step in with more funding.
Among the reasons the County Commissioner board cited to the City for the “No” decision
Concerns from the neighborhood about the proposal and lack of community engagement. We recognize that the opportunity for community engagement would come later and be assigned to the service provider selected to operate the program. However, what we heard from the community is the desire to have input on the use of the property, not just the safe parking program.
Concerns that the $100,000 of County ARPA funds identified by the City to fund a service provider will not adequately cover the costs of the program.
Residents in south Bend already experience impacts from nearby encampments, including those off of China Hat Road.
Additionally, in today’s Commissioners meeting, the Operator of Bethlehem Inn (Redmond) stated they are half empty with 44 beds available. Commissioner Adair remarked that the “medically fragile” campers at Hunnell Road should seek shelter and services at this facility.
The City has been planning to create 3 to 5 “Authorized Camps” throughout Bend using the following criteria:
CITY OF BEND PROPOSAL:
There have been 3 public County meetings (2/24, 2/27 & 3/1) discussing a Pilot program in Bend for “Authorized Camping” to relocate the homeless residents from Hunnell Road to another place in Bend. This camp will be operated as a “Low-Barrier”.
“Low-Barrier” Operations in Bend Defined:
1. Not required: Sobriety
2. Not required: Security
3. Not required: Background checks
4. Not required: On-site and professional management. Camp residents can be designated to manage these sites. “Good Neighbor” agreements will be used and are difficult to enforce.
5. Partial Screening and basic Camp Rules will be utilized
6. In May 2022, Bend City Council permanently changed Homeless Shelter codes to allow “Low-Barrier” operations in sensitive areas such as next/near schools, parks, and neighborhoods without distance/buffers requirements.
Note: High-Barrier” operations require sobriety and background checks.
ORIGINAL PROPOSAL DETAILS:
On February 24th, the City of Bend approached the County to request approval & financial support, in the name of “Public Health” to relocate Hunnell Road Campers. It has been disclosed that the City of Bend ultimately wants 3-5 or more of these “Authorized Camping” sites around the City of Bend and County. The first targeted location will be a 1-acre site in South Bend (Murphy Road/Old Hwy 97), directly next to Les Schwab Tires. The City of Bend purchased this land from ODOT in 2022. This South Bend location is 1.1 miles from Pine Ridge Elementary and 1.3 miles from Jewell Elementary. Additionally, many businesses and homes are nearby. This area is already impacted by crimes performed by the existing homeless and drug dealers.
The City of Bend proposes that 30 sites, consisting of RV’s and tents from Hunnell road, be moved to this South Bend location. Basic needs services (toilets, water, trash removal) will be available. Service providers & case management will be able to service the new location as it has been doing at Hunnell Road. The City of Bend does not recommend having 24/7 onsite management or security. They do not intend to have any children living at this site and intend to prioritize “medically fragile”.
“Medically Fragile” defined by Cheyenne Purrington (CHRO Executive Director):
People who are:
-Probably facing a critical diagnosis
-Disabled (addicts in recovery are classified as disabled by the Fair Housing Act)
-Mentally ill
-Dependent on durable medical equipment
-Requiring nursing or other care (IHSS)
They also plan to have needle disposal for diabetics and others who use needles. They recommend that this site be “partially managed” by Central Oregon Villages (COV), who will be responsible for providing services to this “Low-Barrier” location. Drugs and their use will most likely be present at the camp since security and onsite management is not planned. Background checks will not be required.
Something else to note, the newly formed Deschutes County “Coordinated Houseless Response Office” (CHRO) is a joint office (La Pine, Sisters, Redmond, Bend, and County) to oversee homeless strategies, and Cheyenne Purrington is the CHRO Executive Director. Cheyenne has recommended that the Deschutes County Commissioners approve this Pilot Program without defining or meeting critical needs such as security. The County has yet to receive a detailed plan or budget from the City. The City of Bend is willing to return $100k of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA is one-time use) funds that the County previously gave the City to help with the shelter costs. The total costs for this South Bend location are unknown at this time. The City of Bend clarified that they intend to “figure it out” as it gets done.
Commissioner Patti Adair repeatedly stated that management and security are a must-have to protect not only the neighbors/businesses but also the campers of this location. In response, Commissioner Adair was told by Ms. Purrington that the City of Bend doesn’t have a budget for professional management and/or security and that case management for the campers is a higher budget priority. Yet, the City of Bend recently spent $500,000 on parking software in Downtown Bend to show open parking. They also earmarked/spent $35-$40 Million over the last 18 months on homeless efforts.
The City must prioritize funds for security and professional on-site management at these “authorized” camping sites.
Rename Hunnell Road Adair-DeBone Lane.
In partial reply (and respectfully) to paul200417: 35 to 45 million dollars in City funding and earmarks for “homeless efforts” ? Please, please, please verify.
Also please review my comments above which substantiate actual City-led on the ground projects that are even today saving lives.
In this whole debacle none of our elected officials look good. City should have included businesses in talks, city should have presented a more concrete plan and budget. County did not act in good faith and essentially undermined the entire process. Commissioner Chang is the only person in this political quagmire with his head on straight.
A citizens’ referendum could reverse this particular 2 to 1 decision. It would require 6581 qualified signatures by Aug. 9 to qualify for the Nov. ballot.