BEND, OR -- A joint agreement between the city and county to create a temporary managed camp at Juniper Ridge is on hold.
Earlier this week, Deschutes County Commissioners couldn’t agree on a path forward, failing to approve a legal framework. Bend City Manager Eric King now says the city’s efforts have shifted to a plan B, out of concern federal funding will expire before the county signs on to a deal.
The city and county originally agreed to create a temporary site on 170 acres north of Bend, to provide case management and sanitation services.
Click HERE to read the letter sent by the city to Commissioners after that meeting. The city also issued a pulic statement, saying in part:
On September 5, the Bend City Council and the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners at a joint meeting unanimously agreed to work collaboratively to:
- Establish a Temporary Safe Stay Area to help protect community members, both housed and unhoused
- Increase security
- Lessen the impacts on the environment from trash and wildfire
- Work collaboratively with service providers and the Coordinated Houselessness Response Office to allocate and leverage county-wide resources to assist in case management
The Deschutes County Board of Commissioners’ failure to adopt a resolution implementing our agreement from September is an extremely disappointing development. Our joint City and County constituents are demanding action. The City of Bend is ready to move forward with creating solutions for the Juniper Ridge area to increase safety for nearby residents and property, reduce wildfire risk, give people a safe place to stay, and to provide case management services to help individuals move into more permanent housing. We appreciate the support of Commissioner Tony DeBone who showed a willingness to move forward with the resolution today instead of further delaying implementation of the agreement made at the joint meeting to collaborate and work together on finding solutions to managing the Juniper Ridge area.
