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City axes plans for safe parking area
BY TIM TRAINOR
Redmond Spokesman
Dozens of residents told Red-
mond city councilors that they
felt blindsided by plans to use
property in north Redmond as
a place for people to live over-
night in their vehicles.
A week later, the city said it
will not pursue plans to turn the
property into secure, safe park-
ing for the homeless.
On August 29, nearly a week
after a packed city council meet-
ing, the city and the church
that operates the safe parking
program announced they had
“withdrawn the city-owned
property near NW 19th and
NW Pershall Way.”
A follow-up discussion of
the site, planned for Sept. 6, has
been canceled.
City manager Keith Witcosky
said at the Tuesday, August
23 council meeting that crews
would “stop everything” at the
city-owned, juniper-studded
property at the north end of
Dry Canyon.
The decision came after more
than 90 minutes of public tes-
timony from a standing-room-
only crowd that packed council
chambers.
That testimony was split.
Neighbors of the proposed site
argued against it, citing a lack
of transparency about the proj-
ect and their concerns about
increased crime and decreased
property values.
Yet numerous people, most of
whom volunteer for the project
or vehicles, as long as they agree
to a code of conduct and work
to find more secure long-term
housing. While using safe park-
ing, participants cannot use
drugs or alcohol and must work
with a case manager.
Mountainview Fellowship,
located at 1435 SW 35th Street,
has hosted the program in its
with Mountainview Fellowship
Church, argued the safe park-
ing program has been success-
ful at reducing homelessness
in Redmond. They argued that
safeguards are in place to keep
participants in the parking pro-
gram safe, as well as those living
nearby.
The program allows people
to live for up to 90 days in RVs
See Council / A6
The Redmond safe parking program
What it is • Location and rules • Guidelines and requirements
BY NICK ROSENBERGER
Redmond Spokesman
E
motions were on
full display Au-
gust 23 as attendees
crowded into the Redmond
city council chambers to
voice their support or their
concerns surrounding the
Redmond Safe Parking
Program.
Some were scared to the
point of tears about the program
expanding into their neighbor-
hood; others were adamantly
supportive of the program and
its potential for success.
WHAT IS THE REDMOND SAFE
PARKING PROGRAM?
The program allows people
struggling with homelessness
to temporarily park their ve-
hicles – anything from RVs to
passenger cars — and sleep at
designated sites in Redmond.
Currently, the program has
two locations in the city; one
at Mountainview Fellowship
Church, 1475 SW 35th St and
the second at VFW Post 4108,
491 SW Veterans Way.
The city council meeting Au-
gust 23 focused on expanding
the program to a third site, this
Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin
The previously-proposed location for the safe parking program in north Redmond. City officials said Aug. 29 that the location will not be used
for the overnight parking program.
one north of the Dry Canyon
near 19th and Pershall.
The pilot program began last
October after the city council
approved $50,000 from Red-
PHOTOS
mond’s ARPA funding bud-
get — funds coming from the
federal government’s American
Rescue Plan Act.
Rick Russell, pastor of Moun-
tainview Fellowship Church
and organizer of the program,
has fundraised an additional
$500,000 for the program.
Since its inception, Russell said
about 12 people have used the
Redmond Safe Parking Program.
Most, Russell said, moved on
from the program to find stable
housing or a more permanent
place for their RVs, such as a fam-
ily member’s private property. A
few others moved on to less stable
living arrangements, he noted.
The program is not for peo-
ple working through mental
health or addiction issues or
long-term homelessness. It ex-
plicitly bans drugs and alcohol
at the site.
Instead, the parking program
is for people who are experienc-
ing temporary homelessness
and want help.
“When people get stabilized
they can begin to think and plan
longer term,” Russell said. “That
stability really becomes a launch
pad for people to move toward
greater stability in their lives, and
that’s what this program does.”
Among the current users at
the safe parking program, one
works as a contractor and has no
stable place to live, so he drives
to the site each night to sleep in
his car. Another is a former elec-
trician who owned property in
Eagle Crest until a brain injury
stopped him from being able to
earn a living.
Russell said nearly half of
the program’s participants have
been employed. According to
Russell, they commute to work
just like everyone else and are
tired when they get home —
just like everyone else.
See Program / A6
REDMOND
School district strategizes about safety
BY LEO BAUDHUIN
Redmond Spokesman
High flying
MX13 jump to benefit Central Oregon
Veterans, A9
Get your backpacks ready — the
first day of school is just around the
corner.
The Redmond School District
is back in session after Labor Day.
Superintendent Charan Cline and
his team said they have been hard
at work to ensure that the return
to learning is a safe one. Feedback
Cline heard from parents, students
and community members this
summer made it clear that school
safety was a top concern going into
the 2022-2203 school year.
“The Redmond School Dis-
trict’s First Priority is the safety of
its students and staff members,”
the district wrote in a safety and
security handout. “Given the in-
crease in school related violence,
we continually strive to improve
the safety of the educational envi-
ronment.”
The district divided its protocols
and resources into three main areas:
preventative, operational and phys-
ical security.
PROMOTING PREVENTION
“The first thing we want people
to understand is we’re not immune
to violence here,” Cline said. “It
could happen at any time.”
The district’s preventative mea-
sures work to mitigate that risk.
The student threat assessment
system is one of those. The pro-
gram comes into play when a stu-
dent makes some sort of violent
threat — either against themselves
or others. School officials sit down
with parents to review the threat
and to assess the likelihood of harm
before figuring out how best to in-
tervene.
WEATHER FORECAST
See Schools / A5
INSIDE
Calendar A2
Obituaries A11
Coffee Break A10
Classifieds A12
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