Park Encampment Cleanup Costs

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions; the park name is rendered "Chapin," "Chisholm" and "Cheyne and" in the captions, so it is uncertain.

Background (October 13): The city manager told the council the park sits in a flood plain, that 90 people had been engaged since March, 36 housing vouchers secured, and everyone had been told to leave by October 13 with a cleanup contractor starting the next day. The contract (about $110,000, above the $100,000 level that normally comes to the council) was part of an existing $300,000 fiscal-year encampment cleanup contract approved through the Board of Bids and Contracts in December 2024, with the state transportation department sharing hauling costs. Councilmember Shepherd said the council never voted on it and asked the city attorney to look into how it happened.
What: Councilmember Shepherd wants full answers on the cost, funding and risk assessment behind a recent encampment cleanup at a city park.
Where it stands: On October 20 the council agreed (four members in favor) to add it as the first topic under current and organizational issues on the Friday 8:00 a.m. retreat agenda (the retreat runs Thursday and Friday).
Next: Retreat discussion on Friday, October 23.

Mayor Wu said the parks department had logged 524 homeless remediation work orders in 2026, costing $335,792 and 4,843 labor hours.
Josh Lober (finance) said the authority came from the December 2024 bid recommendation for a fixed-fee itinerant encampment cleanup contract.
Councilmember Shepherd said vouchers are not housing, no one had yet taken a bed at the Second Light shelter (a councilmember said 25 bunk beds were reserved for park residents), and raised staff health and turnover. Councilmember Johnston said council should set policy, not run day-to-day operations; Councilmember Hoheisel noted the land is state transportation department property and communication needs work; Councilmember Tuttle thanked community partners.

Billable units and site classification, contract documentation and verification of completed work.
Total cleanup spending and budget reconciliation, including any appropriations, transfers or adjustments, and how work fit within the 2026 budget.
Work authorization, fiscal-year authority and the state transportation department's contribution to the final cost.
The full risk assessment (she said she was sent only a screenshot of two items) and the findings of a consultant brought in by housing staff for about $17,000 to $20,000 (captioned "clutch consulting").
Councilmember Shepherd said she does not want to reopen the encampment policy and that misappropriation is not her concern.

Mayor Wu argued any encampment talk should cover the ordinance and encampments citywide, and suggested a workshop; Shepherd noted the October 27 workshop is already full.
The mayor cited the public dashboard: 531 work orders, $345,100 in work order costs and 4,935 staff labor hours; Shepherd cited about $365,000 and said she was told both come from the same funding source.
Councilmember Johnston asked whether the concern was misappropriation by Parks or Public Works. Several members said they agreed with giving it real time on the agenda.

About 34 minutes across 3 meetings (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

2026-10-13 - City Council - City manager update on the park clearing; council debate on why a roughly $110,000 cleanup contract never came to the council.
2026-10-20 - City Council - Raised in council comments; added to the Friday retreat agenda as the first current and organizational topic.
2026-10-16 - City Council Agenda Review - A councilmember formally requested the documentation and risk assessment by that day; the city manager promised it that afternoon.
2026-11-03 - City Council - Five public speakers addressed the Chapin Park clearing; the city manager said the project review will be reported by the end of December and that debris removal awaits state transportation crews; council members apologized for not doing more, discussed landlord outreach for vouchers and a pet-friendly shelter option, and one raised a future mill levy or sales tax for housing services.

Speakers asked for a city-land transitional homestead pilot and a 66-foot riparian buffer along all waterways.
The city manager said 91 people were engaged and two ended up at the shelter; the cleanup contractor's four-week estimate is not complete.

2026-10-06 - City Council (video)
Watch the video (October 13, roughly 3:44:42 to 4:09:09)
Watch the video (October 20, roughly 1:11:47 to 1:20:40)
2026-10-06 - 2026-10-06 - City Council: a staff update said 91 or more people were contacted at Chapin Park, 26 remained and 20 were housed; a resident asked to delay the October 12 closure until transition plans are complete.