Plans for a managed camp for the unhoused in Redmond moved forward this week, when the Redmond City Council, as well as the Deschutes County Board of County Commissioners, voted to allocate additional dollars to the effort. A plan to offer a sanctioned camping area for the town’s unhoused population has been in the works since at least 2024, but hit a snag last month when the Redmond City Council had a split vote — 3-3 — regarding pulling money from its general fund to cover rising construction costs. City and County officials asked each entity to add another roughly $72,000 to the costs each would pay, after bids for the construction came in much higher than expected.
With Redmond’s mayor, at the time, recovering from surgery, city councilors were split on their votes and wanted more information before they’d move forward. That prompted Deschutes County commissioners to delay their vote about the increased costs at the county level.
On Oct. 28, Redmond Mayor Ed Fitch returned to cast his vote in favor of allocating the additional funds. With that vote, the Deschutes County Commission voted 2-1 the following day to approve the funds. Local construction company Taylor Northwest submitted the lowest bid for the construction of the camp.
The camp is to be located adjacent to the tiny home village, Oasis Village, near the Redmond Airport, on a piece of land the County is acquiring through a land-swap deal with the Oregon Department of State Lands. Plans are to build 36 camping spots with water, fire mitigation and other infrastructure on site.
The City of Redmond committed to partially funding the construction of the facility, in partnership with Deschutes County, though the City won’t operate the camp once open. As for who will operate it — that’s still up in the air. County officials hope to find a service provider qualified to manage the camp in the coming months. With plans to open the Redmond managed camp by January, the clock is ticking.
According to 2025 annual Point in Time count, Central Oregon saw a 17% increase in homelessness from the year prior, with 2,108 people in the region reporting they were experiencing homelessness as of Jan. 27, 2025. During that count, 374 individuals reported experiencing homelessness in Redmond, with 264 of those living unsheltered.
This article appears in the Source November 6, 2025.
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