In a sometimes raucous, nearly five-hour-long meeting on Tuesday, the recently-sworn in councilors clawed back a key grant, sharply reduced official camping opportunities for homeless people and pulled the plug on several advisory committees.

Tuesday’s City Council special meeting was the first conducted by Grants Pass’s new leadership, elected in November and sworn in on Monday. It includes new mayor Clint Scherf as well as four new councilors, who were all backed by the county’s Republican Party and ran on a platform of public safety.

The council made several big decisions that will change how the city addresses its homelessness crisis.

First, the council revoked a grant agreement with the local nonprofit Mobile Integrative Navigation Team, or MINT, to purchase land to create a low-barrier homeless shelter. Councilors also instituted major changes to the two city-owned campsites designated for homeless residents, closing one of them.

These major decisions come after the city won a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June. The court sided with the city after a years-long legal battle, upholding its ban on public camping. But Grants Pass still has to comply with a state law that says rules regulating where homeless people can camp must be “objectively reasonable”, although that term isn’t specifically defined.

Tuesday’s meeting also featured repeated outbursts from the audience, including yelling and swearing, and one resident was escorted out of council chambers by police after trying to use his public comment period to read Green Eggs and Ham.

Revoking funding for MINT’s land purchase

The funding for MINT was just approved in December, under the old City Council. It would have provided $660,000 to the nonprofit to purchase two parcels of land, one of which has two buildings, to provide a low-barrier shelter, 20 pallet shelters, an outdoor urban campground and a navigation center with services.

The council’s concern centered on the state of the buildings, which are in need of extensive repairs.

An inspection report found that one of the buildings contains asbestos, rot and mold and needs a new roof. The other building requires additional maintenance and has a leaking roof, according to the inspection report.

“Nothing must be done with the electrical system until a trusted electrician has checked every aspect of this system. The power has been cut and for good reason,” the report reads.

Still, 27 of the 30 residents who spoke during public comment on Tuesday were against revoking the grant agreement.

“This isn’t perfect, it’s not a perfect building, but it’s way better than we ever were,” Julie Thomas, president of the homeless services organization PATH, said during public comment. “Please look at the big picture and don’t get caught up in that this is not perfect today.”

The Council voted to revoke the grant 5-2.

“It doesn’t matter how bad you want a shelter. We should do it right. That is the problem here,” Councilor Dwayne Yunker said, concerned about the quality of the buildings. “It’s my job as a councilor to say ‘Hey, this is not right.’ The people put me in office to say ‘Hey, this inspection doesn’t fit muster.’”

Yunker resigned from the City Council after Tuesday night’s meeting. He was appointed to serve as District 3 state representative in December 2023.

MINT CEO Cassy Leach said in a text Wednesday that they’re working on extending their lease on the property and exploring other options.

Major changes to homeless campsites

Councilors then voted 5-2 to close one of the city’s homeless campsites and to restrict the hours of the other.

They did so against the advice of Interim City Attorney Mark Bartholomew, who had to leave the meeting early for a prior engagement.

“I would not be comfortable with any changes made tonight. And that’s just strictly from a risk management perspective,” he said.

The campsite at the future Water Treatment Plant site at 755 SE J St. will be closed. The campsite next to the police station at 712 NE 7th St. will only be open from 5 p.m. until 7 a.m. Councilors voted for these changes to take effect after 72 hours.

The city opened the two campsites in late August as a way of complying with state law that says rules regulating where homeless people can camp must be “objectively reasonable.”

But the campsites have received a lot of criticism. Some have even called them “concentration camps,” and there are concerns about fire hazards and mud. The city did not provide shade or potable water, and Disability Rights Oregon has claimed the campsites violate federal and state law.

Still, many residents pointed out that the sites were an option — for some, the only option, since the city has no low-barrier shelters. “It’s not a viable solution, but it’s a space,” one woman said during public comment.

“J St. ... Public health disaster. A catastrophe by any imagination that was even worse than was forecast when it was put together last August,” Dr. Bruce Murray, who volunteers with MINT, said during public comment. “Where are they supposed to go? They aren’t there because of the weather being good. They’re there because they have nowhere else to go. It is not just drug use and mental illness. It is poverty. Poverty should not be a crime in this community.”

City councilors did not offer any alternatives Tuesday night for where homeless residents can camp instead.

“It is unconscionable to me to allow people to live there like that,” new city councilor Indra Nicholas said. “So to me, wherever they go is better than where they are now.”

More major decisions

Next up on the agenda, councilors voted to suspend the renovation project for the Caveman Pool, which is in need of repairs. The city had planned to spend $6.5 million on the project, but some councilors Tuesday night were concerned about the high price tag and would rather spend that money on public safety.

“It feels kinda like maybe we’re getting a lot done,” Brad Converse said during public comment on the pool. “My concern is that it is really easy to kill something. [...] If you kill it tonight, it is going to be very difficult to claw it back.”

Councilors also voted to sunset three advisory committees: the Collaborative Economic Development Committee, the Housing Advisory Committee and the Sustainability and Energy Action Committee.

“It’s all about homeless. And that kinda irritated me because that’s not what the Housing Advisory Committee was supposed to be about,” Councilor Yunker said. “I have a problem with the influence of some of the people on the committees because they’re influencing the way they want things, not the agenda of the council.”

Councilors also received some pushback over the timing of Tuesday’s meeting. New leadership was sworn in on Monday at 11:45 a.m., and the special meeting was scheduled for Tuesday at 3 p.m. Councilor Rob Pell said that while technically this followed the law regarding 24 hours notice, many residents receive meeting information from The Daily Courier, which comes out around noon, so residents were effectively given only three hours notice of the meeting.

“There’s nothing on this agenda that had to be acted on in three hours. Nothing,” Councilor Pell said. “Zero reason to have had it. And to me, this is a horrible precedent for a first meeting for a new council.”

Still, the meeting had so many attendees that Council Chambers reached capacity.

Tuesday’s meeting demonstrated an assertive attitude from the Council’s new conservative majority and indicated that additional major changes might be coming in the future.

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/01/09/new-grants-pass-leadership-drastically-changes-citys-approach-homelessness/