Agenda Packet 7-8-19 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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•Commissioner Farr – noted the City and County’s long history of actions that had resulted inthe current conditions; said some of the recommendations will cost little to no money andothers will cost an enormous amount. •Councilor Evans – asked about the City of Springfield’s role in navigating the challenges ofhomelessness. •Commissioner Berney – shared that he spoke with several Springfield city councilors priorto the meeting and noted that body held a meeting at the same time; expected to see moreparticipation from Springfield in the future. •Councilor Zelenka – agreed with Commissioner Buch that the plan presented was a radicallydifferent approach to what has been done in the past; hoped to get the plan and setupcorrect in order to move faster later; expressed disappointment that Springfield was notpresent at the meeting. •Commissioner Bozievich – expressed enthusiasm about a strategic plan for moving forward;expressed concerns about plan costs; agreed with Councilor Clark about there not beingenough consequences for poor behavior; wanted to increase buildable lands inventory. •Councilor Taylor – appreciated the cooperation and coordination and would like to seemore support from the State and federal government. •Councilor Yeh – felt that the cost for implementation could be intimidating but wasnecessary; said the plan was well thought out. •Commissioner Sorenson – said he was a strong supporter of the approach and concept;wanted to see comment from the general public as well as community partners; wantedmore details on implementation. •Mayor Vinis –noted that many of the recommendations pertained to streamlining services,which would produce cost savings; emphasized that accountability is built into the system;urged both groups to focus upon providing services that make the experience ofhomelessness brief and brings people into services efficiently—the larger, interlockingissues of addiction, economics, equity, etc. are another conversation. •Commissioner Berney – felt all the interrelated issues were important and needed to be partof the conversation; would prefer continuous improvements over time in a three- or five-year plan; expressed disappointment that the report did not account for homeless kids inthe schools; would like the conversation to be more human-centered. •Councilor Syrett – advocated piloting strategies, assessing their effectiveness,implementation of those that are successful, and then continuously reassessing and makingadjustments as needed; highlighted the Community Court’s work to encourage defendantsto make different choices; pointed out Appendix E of the report outlined costs. •Councilor Clark – referred to initial remarks and emphasized that they were focused on theoverall strategy being out of balance; wanted to see specific, measurable goals as well as atimeline; said he looked forward to seeing the budget; voiced concern that Eugene wastaking actions that kept Springfield away from the table, particularly the public safetypayroll tax discussion. •Commissioner Farr – gave some historical context for the current issues with homelessnessand housing and expressed hopefulness for actions that could be taken now; highlighted thework of mobile outreach teams and encouraged maximizing their—and other programs’—use. •Councilor Zelenka – noted the resistance from the City of Springfield to participatefinancially in efforts to provide social services is not recent, but long-standing; shared thatproposals and plans need someone who is in charge of them or the work does not get done. MOTION AND VOTE: Councilor Zelenka, seconded by Councilor Yeh, moved that the City Council support the homeless services system plan improvement plan framework, that the City Manager move forward on immediate actions over the next year, and that we direct the City Manager to bring back for council approval a work, July 8, 2019, Meeting – Item 3A