City of Columbia bid deadline closes Friday for homeless camp cleanup
Alison Patton
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The window for bids from companies to clear out homeless camps around the City of Columbia closed on Friday.
Documents showed the city was looking for bids totaling fewer than $50,000. City spokesperson Sydney Olsen said the contractors would be on standby for when the city needs them. The contract would start in September.
“There’s not one area of town necessarily that we’re looking for assistance on. This is really sort of a blanket,” Olsen said. “If we see something that’s a concern, we can lean into this contractor, or contractors, to help address it.”
Companies that submit bids to the city are evaluated on expected cost and experience, according to bid documents. Contractors must list the cost to the city for hiring different-sized crews, as well as materials and equipment rental, according to the bid documents.
The city is required to identify cleanup areas, notify people camping there to leave the area, alert the public when cleanup is scheduled and obtain access to private property, according to the court documents.
The City of Columbia has long struggled with how to deal with homeless camps and provide housing. This includes the removal of several camps in the past two years, though new camps frequently pop up in different spots.
The city spent more than $8,000 on a clearing out in 2023, according to a previous ABC 17 News report.
Now, the city is working with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to create a plan for waste runoff from camps that ends up in nearby rivers or streams. Approval of the plan is critical to the city’s permit for sewage discharge.
The state told ABC 17 News this spring that it was still not satisfied with the plans it had received from the City of Columbia.
“We feel it’s necessary to respond to these for a number of reasons. But largely, these encampments can pose a risk to both, individuals health and also our environmental health,” Olsen said.