Eugene City Councilors voted 6 to 1 Wednesday against designating a homeless camp on Highway 99 as a Dusk to Dawn site. The designation would have meant funding and support from the city for St. Vincent de Paul to manage the site.
Camp-99 was established in October as a short-term camping spot for about 100 people who had been camped in downtown Eugene. Assistant City Manager Kristie Hammitt told councilors the dusk to dawn proposal would provide more oversight of Camp 99.
“There needs to be more structure at this site.” Hammitt said, “We’re getting more concern and we’re hearing it from the business owners and hearing it from staff that are helping support the camp is that they’re concerned about the long-term safety and viability of the camp in its existing form.”
The camp is on Lane County property. A county spokesperson says the board of commissioners will discuss leasing the property to the City of Eugene so it can operated the Camp 99 location under a model that it believes will best meet the needs of unhoused individuals.