Bend, Deschutes County leaders to get update on Juniper Ridge ‘Temporary Safe Stay Area,’ decide what comes next
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- 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:
