​At today’s Bend City Council meeting, Councilors approved a contract with NeighborImpact to operate a temporary shelter that will add up to 40 additional shelter beds in Bend through May of this year. The temporary shelter, located at 2346 NE Division Street, will open later this month and provide guests access to case management and a pathway to stable housing. 
 
Opening the temporary shelter is in response to the lack of capacity at the shelter located on NE Second Street. It also supports continued public health efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the community. 
 
“This temporary shelter is located at the motel we purchased with the state funds through Project Turnkey,” said Recovery Strategy & Impact Officer Carolyn Eagan. “It will still eventually be used as a permanent emergency shelter, but we have an immediate need for more temporary shelter beds now. That’s why we’re using it as a temporary shelter until renovations can be completed and we open it as a permanent emergency shelter this fall.” 
 
The contract with NeighborImpact is not to exceed $200,000. It is funded from the portion of the City’s General Fund that was authorized for housing and houseless services. The City will submit for reimbursement from FEMA for any approved expenses related to this contract.  
 
City Council has a goal to create housing or facilities to house 500 homeless individuals on a temporary or permanent basis. 
 
 
Council Update on Temporary Housing Strategies
 
Also at Wednesday’s meeting, Councilor Megan Perkins shared an update on the City’s temporary housing strategies. Because of the broad community interest in housing and houselessness, Councilors have added a new standing agenda item to Council business meetings to provide regular updates on work the City is doing to address houselessness. In addition to the Division Street Shelter (Project Turnkey) updates provided above, highlights from the Feb. 2, 2022 update include: 
 
1) Efforts to increase temporary housing capacity

• Outdoor Shelters: A contract to begin Phase I of the process of creating two outdoor shelter sites (a Senior Women’s Shelter with 10 sites, location TBD, and a Tiny Home Units of 6 sites, location TBD), is anticipated to come before Council on March 2.
• 2nd Street (a designated permanent warming shelter): Operated by Shepherd’s House with a capacity of 90 beds, the facility is consistently full. The City has received a proposal to operate location as Navigation Center and that contract anticipated to come to Council on March 16.
• Temporary Shelter (Rainbow Hotel): The Council approved the purchase last month of this hotel for a potential of 40-60 rooms. Closing is anticipated in the spring, following due diligence. The City will issue a “Request for Proposals” (RFP) from organizations that could operate the facility, potentially open this summer.

  2) Efforts to improve efficiencies and partnerships

• City Councilors and Deschutes County Commissioners met last week and reviewed a narrative and strategic plan proposed by the Emergency Homelessness Taskforce. There was unanimous support to continue moving forward with the efforts to form a Collaborative Office on Homelessness.
• HB4123 to fund Collaborative Office: The City of Sisters, La Pine and Redmond have all been named in the bill along with the City of Bend and Deschutes County; there are seven other City/County pilot sites listed in the bill, which is being considered in the legislative session with possible hearing dates of February 8 or 9.

   3) Efforts to manage the City’s rights-of-way to improve health and safety

• City staff continue to meet regularly with area service providers to coordinate resources and assess challenges in providing support for individuals camping throughout the city.

• Over this past week the team has given 72-hour notices in more than 20 areas along 2nd Street between Emerson and Irving for reasons including garbage, debris, obstructions in the rights of way or things that obstruct clear vision at street intersections, driveways, and alleys.
• Contractor Central Oregon Bio Solutions was on site Monday and Tuesday this week for clean-up efforts and may possibly be again Friday.
• The City is planning to post some notices on Hunnell Road later this week in targeted areas, related to topics such as rights-of-way obstructions and trash clean-up needs.

 
 

This month, in partnership with the NLA, the City launched a new land use education webpage to house the many resources that have been developed by the NLA to help the community better understand land use planning in Oregon and in Bend.

To access the webpage, click here.

The emergency order includes an immediate ban on the use of all fireworks – legal or illegal – within the City of Bend. It also allows the City to mobilize resources to provide support services to unhoused community members.

Professional fireworks displays at Vince Genna Stadium (July 3) and Pilot Butte State Park (July 4) will continue as scheduled.

Under the emergency order, use of any fireworks is a class A civil infraction and carries a penalty of a fine up to $750.

The City is asking for the community’s support in keeping Bend safe by complying with the ban on fireworks. Community members are encouraged to report the use of fireworks via email at fireworks@bendoregon.gov. Use of fireworks posing an immediate risk to persons or property are emergencies and should be reported by calling 911.

Please do your part to ensure the safety of our community –- opt out of using fireworks this year! Start a new tradition with your loved ones this independence day, and stay cool! To read more about the emergency declaration, click here. 

The declaration of a local state of emergency is effective immediately and remains in effect through July 9, 2021.

The Neighborhood Leadership Alliance (NLA) has adopted their 2021-2023 Strategic Plan & Work Plan. These are now available on the NLA’s webpage at:  www.bendoregon.gov/nla.

The NLA consists of one member representing each recognized Neighborhood Association in Bend. This standing advisory committee of the City Council is a liaison the  City of Bend through a dedicated staff member, the Community Relations Manager.
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The NLA reports regularly to the City Council, providing updates on projects accomplished or in process and testifying on specific items in front of the Council. The NLA meets with the City Council on at least a bi-annual basis to inform them of accomplishments and projects.

The non-partisan League of Women Voters is sponsoring a ballot initiative to change the county commissioner seats from partisan to non-partisan. They are requesting your support by signing a petition to get the initiative on the ballot.

Why do voters need the opportunity to vote non-partisan for County Commissioners?

• Candidates for County Commissioner are the ONLY elected officials in the county that are still selected by political parties.
• A third of Deschutes County voters are registered as non-affiliated and are not able to vote in party primaries for a commission candidate.
• Of the 36 Oregon counties, only 10 still have partisan races and Deschutes is one of them.
• Local government has no need for partisan decisions at the county level. Commissioners are full-time employees with an administrative role in addition to their policy-setting role.
• Partisan races tend to favor more extreme-leaning candidates.
• The public is easily aware of the political party affiliation of candidates without them being chosen by the party.
• Moderates and third-party candidates would enter each election on an even playing field with major party candidates.

To sign the petition, please contact Mimi Alkire at: mimi.alkire@gmail.com. She will let you know when and where volunteers will be collecting signatures or she can have a volunteer come to you.
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Petition Circulators are needed in your neighborhood. Let Mimi know if you’d like to volunteer.

Bend Bikes, a local non-profit advocating for the safety of people on bikes, wants to include voices from neighborhoods throughout Bend about what bike infrastructure is working and what needs improvement.

The mission of Bend Bikes is to improve bicycling conditions in Bend to include equitable access, protected bike lanes, neighborhood greenways, and a complete bike network. Bend Bikes works in partnership with citizens, businesses, community groups, government agencies, and elected officials to create a community where all people can meet their daily transportation needs by bicycle. 
 
The group has created a Neighborhood Association Outreach Workgroup that is brimming with ideas and wants to include voices from neighborhoods throughout Bend about what bike infrastructure is working and what needs improvement. They want to hear directly from residents in all of the Bend neighborhood associations.

To email your ideas to Bend Bikes click here.

Based on a high number of residents reaching out to the City with concerns about multiple westside construction projects, the City is setting up a virtual meeting to review concerns and facilitate conversations. This meeting is intended only to open discussion between residents with concerns and representatives from the construction teams.

The main areas of concern that have been noted are in regards to construction traffic disrupting residential streets and construction activities damaging nearby homes. Contractors are expected to join the meeting to provide updated contacts and schedules to address some of these concerns. The meeting invite has been sent to the following construction teams (not all have confirmed availability yet):

• Pahlisch Homes
• Jack Robinson and Sons
• Sage Ridge
• Empire Construction and Development

If residents are unable to attend, feel free to send questions or concerns ahead of time so they can be resolved before hand or answered during the call.

City of Bend contact:  
Dustin Elmore <delmore@bendoregon.gov>.

Microsoft Teams meeting link:
Join on your computer or mobile app:
Click here to join the meeting

​Or call in (audio only):
+1 503-946-5336,,757777413#   United States, Portland
Phone Conference ID: 757 777 413#

This event is sponsored by our neighbors in Century West Neighborhood Association. To register for the FREE virtual event, click here.

Now is the time to clean up your yard, create defensible space around your home, and drop off the debris at FireFree collection sites FOR FREE. The westside collection site will be open 3 weekends in May, while Knott Landfill will be open everyday.

Westside Collection Site in Bend: Saturday & Sunday, May 1-2, 8-9, and 15-16
Hours: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Location: Skyliners Road west, past Miller Elementary, then north onto the construction road before the Tree Farm subdivision. Watch for signs.
Knott Landfill: Sat, May 1 to Sun, May 16
Hours: 7 Days/week, 7 a.m. - 5 p.m.

What can I drop off?

• Grass clippings, brush, pine needles, pinecones, weeds, trimmings and branches, stumps or trees (no larger than 12” in diameter).
• NOT Accepted: sod, dirt, rocks, lumber, metal, trash or plastics of any kind, including plastic bags.