County response to proposed safe parking project in Bend

After carefully evaluating the City of Bend’s request that the County hire a service provider or manage a safe parking site on City property in south Bend, the Board of Commissioners determined today on a 2-1 vote that the County will not move forward with this project.

Read the full letter from the Board of County Commissioners to the City Council below.

--------

March 8, 2023

Dear Mayor Kebler and Bend City Council:

After carefully evaluating the City's request that the County hire a service provider or manage a safe parking site on City property in south Bend, we determined today on a 2-1 vote that we will not move forward with this project.

The reasons for this decision include the following:

• 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.

We remain committed to coordinating with the City to address homelessness in our community.

Tony DeBone, Chair

Patti Adair, Vice-Chair