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Red Bluff sees mixed reactions to the meeting on homelessness

Red Bluff sees mixed reactions to the meeting on homelessness

A special meeting was held Tuesday evening by the Red Bluff City Council to discuss homelessness in the city and what the city council plans to do about it.

“I would suggest that there is extreme momentum right now to work together,” reads Clay Parker. “We must seize this opportunity to give law enforcement and policymakers the support they need to make change happen. Please give us a forum to unite as soon as possible”

Parker, mayor of Red Bluff, read an excerpt from one of six letters that, along with a series of online posts, called on the city to do more and be more transparent about homelessness in the city. Parker said the outrage convinced the city that Tuesday’s meeting was necessary to put all the cards on the table.

“It was encouraging that the public is not leaving it to the government alone to solve all the problems,” he said. “We now really have a number of people who want to help us solve the problem.”

According to him, more than 300 people were present. Both will hear about what the city has done so far, including the work of PATH and other nonprofits. Along with an initiative over the past two months by Red Bluff police to clear homeless encampments along waterways before the rain really starts to hit. Parkers said residents put forward their own ideas. Things like a citizen task force, designated camping areas, or just pushing homeless people out of the community.

“Some of the ideas people came up with to take care of it are completely illegal and we couldn’t do that,” Parker explains. “But again it was the public that said we had had enough.”

Although Parker thought it was a good meeting, Councilman Cody Strock claimed to Northstate’s News that it was essentially a sham.

Claims in a statement:

The city could have immediately issued new instructions to the police department, who issued instructions on a new camping ordinance, and claimed that the city still had $3 million in COVID funding left that was unused.

In response, Parker said in his own statement:

Cody Strock is a complete disgrace and a detriment to the community. He does not speak for the city or the municipal council and does not tell the truth.

According to the city budget, there is no indication that $3 million remains unused in the city.

As for the public’s reaction, KRCR asked in a Facebook group for Red Bluff residents if they were happy with the meeting. Of the 97 people who responded before 4:30 PM on Wednesday, more than 80 were dissatisfied with the conduct of the meeting. Includes the official accounts of two council members, Cody Strock and Kris Deiters.

Parker said the city will create a web page to give citizens more information about what the city is doing in the coming week. In the long term, he hopes that something like a special campsite will be established to solve the city’s problems.