HomeMy WebLinkAbout06.26.21 Press release
From:Pickett, Andy
To:Alpert, Bruce;Bennett, Robin;Clerk of the Board;Connelly, Bill;Cook, Holly;Cook, Robin;Hironimus, Patrizia;
Kimmelshue, Tod;Lucero, Debra;Paulsen, Shaina;Pickett, Andy;Reaster, Kayla;Ring, Brian;Ritter, Tami;
Sweeney, Kathleen;Teeter, Doug
Subject:Press release
Date:Saturday, June 26, 2021 2:37:23 PM
Attachments:PR2021.06.26HomelessnessSolutions_City_County.docx
Board Members,
The resting site at the Chico Airport has created a lot of community discussion, some of which is not
accurate relative to our collaboration with the City of Chico. I have drafted a press release which
expresses a few things: we are still committed to partnering with the City on a solution. The current
site does not work for us, but that doesn’t mean we have abandoned the efforts to find a suitable
solution.
There is another narrative circulating in the community that the County walked away and left the
City holding the bag. I added a brief section detailing the collaborative process we had, followed by
the silence from the City imposed on them by litigation.
Please read the press release and let me know if you have any concerns with it going out.
Also, I had a conversation with Jen Macarthy, Deputy City Manager who is in charge during Mark
Orme’s absence, and I conveyed our desire to continue working toward a solution. She was
appreciative of the call and said she’d report to the City Council the same thing I just said to you.
I look forward to hearing back from you on the press release.
Andy
Butte County Administration Andy Pickett
Chief Administrative Officer
25 County Center Drive, Suite 200 T: 530.552.3300
buttecounty.net/administration
Oroville, California 95965 F: 530.538.7120
Members of the Board
Bill Connelly | Debra Lucero | Tami Ritter | Tod Kimmelshue | Doug Teeter
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 26, 2021
CONTACT
Andy Pickett, Chief Administrative Officer
530.552.3310
BUTTE COUNTY REMAINS COMMITTED TO WORKING COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE CITY OF CHICO TO IDENTIFY
SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS HOMELESSNESS IN OUR COMMUNITIES
Oroville, Calif.— Butte County remains fully committed to our partnership with the City of Chico to identify solutions to
address homelessness in our communities. An ad hoc committee consisting of two members of the Butte County Board
of Supervisors and three members of the Chico City Council formed in January of 2021 for the purpose of jointly
exploring solutions that could be taken back to their respective governing bodies for review and action.
The identified solution consisted of a location within the core of the City of Chico, and included aluminum frame,
climate-controlled pallet shelters, on site showers, restrooms, and laundry. The location was to be managed 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week, and would have included on site mental health and social services. The goal was to provide
unhoused individuals a location for resting and sleeping, and also to provide critical services that would allow individuals
to get out of the condition of homelessness.
On March 9, 2021, the ad hoc recommendation came before the full Board of Supervisors; however, days before the
board meeting, the planned location fell through. Nonetheless, the Board of Supervisors approved the plan in concept,
along with a commitment of $500,000. The County communicated to the City that even though the agreed upon
location did not work out, the County remained committed and that the funding, along with mental health and social
services, were available for another site that was in substance similar to the agreed-upon plan.
After the March meeting, the County waited for the City to find a new location for the site. There was informal
discussion between staff during this time, but no details were shared. Having received no update from the City, the
County officially asked the City for an update. The City responded that they had been having much discussion on the
issue, but due to the litigation, the discussions had been in the confidentiality they needed to remedy their legal
matters. The City said it needed to complete necessary legal steps before it could share information in full.
The details surrounding the current homeless resting site were not discussed with the County prior to information being
released to the public. The location at the airport selected by the City is not suitable in many respects for the County to
provide mental health and social services, which are key components of the solution.
Butte County is committed to identifying actions which help those experiencing homelessness rejoin society in a
productive manner, and we look forward to continuing to work with the City of Chico to identify a solution.
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