Barney Lerten
(UPDATE: Adding video and quote from Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — A majority of Bend and Deschutes County leaders agreed at a joint meeting Tuesday to extend the Juniper Ridge Temporary Safe Stay Area six more months, to mid-2027. But there was reluctance and some opposition from both elected boards amid an end to federal funding and a desire to fully close the area to homeless campsites as soon as possible.
The staff presentation KTVZ News reported on earlier (see below) brought some questions for clarity from city councilors and county commissioners during the joint meeting, which somewhat ironically took place at the city’s new Public Works Campus – located at Juniper Ridge.
Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler said earlier council discussions on what to do next found general support for the six-month extension, in part to not force large numbers of people to move in the middle of winter, then “starting the process all over again.”
Mayor Kebler told KTVZ News, “I’m really grateful that we had Commissioner Chang and Commissioner Adair agree that we want to look at extending by about another six months, to avoid some of the pitfalls of maybe displacing people in the middle of winter, but also to take a look at how we can really kind of, get people moved into housing.”
The closure of two northern sections by this June also will mean anyone who stays will be in a more concentrated area of 75 acres. Staff said that should make case management, safety and efforts to find more people new places to live will be somewhat easier.
County Commissioner Patti Adair drew general support when she asked about putting a lid on any new residents or campsites, so they can say, “we are full.”
Adair also noted there was another trailer fire a few days ago in the area. Staff said any such negligence is grounds for removal, as was an arson fire last year.
But fellow Commissioner Tony DeBone pointed to the still-standing code enforcement case in the area. He repeatedly noted that with federal dollars running out, future expenses – such as the county’s half of the estimated $550,000 for a six-month extension – would have to come from the general fund, at a time when costs are rising.
“If somebody has an idea where these dollars come from,” that would be different, DeBone said – but as it stands, “I’m not going to be supportive” of an extension.
“If we do extend this six months, where are we going to be then? What’s the vision?” he asked.
“The real solution,” DeBone said, is “leadership out of the governor’s office, from state legislators.”
While city Councilor Mike Riley said an extension would “give us more time to work with the governor,” fellow Councilor Gina Franzosa said she couldn’t support the extension, going so far as to call the current situation a “dereliction of what we were elected to do.”
Kebler agreed – to a point.
“We’re not saying this is the best way to do it. It’s the best option we have right now,” she said, as opposed to a year’s-end closure that would raise more fire concerns, with “people going further into the forests.”
Commissioner Phil Chang agreed that progress has to come on where those who must move can go safely.
Adair also said that only 35 people moving to new, safer locations in recent months is too low, with close to 200 people still living there: “We need to do at least 50 (leaving) in the next six months. We need to hear that we’re making greater progress.”
City Senior Program Manager Amy Fraley said there are some “creative ways to bring down costs” for more needed permanent supportive housing.
City Manager Eric King said councilors will discuss the financial strategy at a February 25th work session, possibly including, ironically, some one-time proceeds from recent property sales at Juniper Ridge.
Earlier story:
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ-Jan. 19) — Bend and Deschutes County leaders return to a familiar and tricky topic at their joint meeting on Tuesday: whether to close the Juniper Ridge “Temporary Safe Stay Area” as planned, at the end of this year – and if they do, how they could provide enough safe places for them to go next.
City and county staff will lay out the options and costs, much as they did at their last joint meeting in late September. (You can see the full new presentation below).
As of Jan. 9, officials say nearly 200 people were living in 150 camps in the safe stay area, part of the undeveloped area at Bend’s north end that some refer to as “Dirt World.”
There has been progress on options such as shelters and safe parking sites, but most are full or nearly so, the report says. And fewer than 50 new beds or spaces are in the works for this year, including a 35-space Redmond campground expected by late spring.
The TSSA, a mix of city- and county-owned land, has been divided into four sections.
Unless things change, those living in sections 1 and 2 will get notice in March that they must move by June. But they will be allowed to move to the two southern areas, for now.
People staying in sections 3 and 4 will get a similar notice in September, with a full closure of the TSSA by November, to meet the year-end deadline set earlier.
The staff update also revisits efforts to get the more troublesome people living at Juniper Ridge to follow the rules. Nearly 50 have been told since last July they might have to move for breaking those rules, and 10 have been issued notices to leave for non-compliance with the proposed remedies.
The TSSA is costing the city and county nearly $850,000 to operate, from water, toilets and dumpsters to security, trash cleanup and other costs, officials say.
Meanwhile, several organizations, from NeighborImpact to Shepherd’s House Ministries, have received a share of $1.2 million in grants for case management work at the TSSA.
The staff presentation also breaks down the millions it costs for new shelter beds, and lesser costs for Safe Parking spots or outdoor shelters, including the Central Oregon Villages site that will be moving to city-owned land this year. For example, a new campground for 70 people, if land can be secured, would cost about $1 million to set up and operate in its first year.
If the TSSA were to continue, it would cost about $1.1 million a year, based on what’s been spent so far – much less costly than new shelter beds, though the goal all along has been to transition the people at Juniper Ridge to safer, long-term housing.
Another telling breakdown is anecdotal – that 25% each might qualify for permanent supportive housing, be interested in safe parking, interested in a “non-congreate” shelter beds or would like to stay in a managed camp.
But providing all four options, at 50 beds or spaces each, is estimated to cost nearly $28 million.
City and county staff also are warning of “funding cliffs on the horizon,”” such as American Rescue Plan Act dollars that expire at the end of 2026, not to. mention a projected $1.7 million deficit in the current biennium for city-backed shelter services.
So the key up-front question, as it was last fall, is whether to hold to the end-of-2026 closure of the Temporary Safe Stay Area or extend it for six months, at an estimated cost of $550,000.
The meeting begins at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the city’s new Public Works Campus on NE Talus Place, will be livestreamed and has other agenda items to tackle. You can find more details here: https://www.bendoregon.gov/government/city-council/city-council-meeting-agendas-video.
Heres the full staff update on Juniper Ridge:
TSSA Options Joint Meeting 20260120Download
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