County, city planning second joint workshop regarding homelessness

‘These meetings were set up to better our working relationship between the city and county’

While May’s joint meeting helped officials gain a better understanding of the local homelessness situation, this week’s meeting will revolve around potential solutions.

Yuba City and Sutter County officials will conduct a joint workshop Wednesday to discuss ways of addressing local homelessness issues facing their respective jurisdictions.

“These meetings were set up to better our working relationship between the city and county. We want to work together on some joint efforts in helping solve some of the homeless issues we face here in the county and Yuba City,” said Sutter County Supervisor Mat Conant.

Officials from both jurisdictions met on May 31 for a similar meeting. The conversation largely revolved around the homeless situation overall. Officials talked about the number of people experiencing or on the verge of homelessness (at least 972 people) in the area; the fact that Sutter County, at the time, only had 44 rental units available while current shelters were already at capacity; and plans for a temporary shelter behind the Sutter-yuba Behavioral Health building on Live Oak Boulevard.

“Most of that meeting was taken up by presentations, so we decided to come back on (Aug. 7) and actually try to come up with some solutions or answers or action items,” said Yuba City Mayor Shon Harris. “This time around, staff will give a brief overview of the progress or changes that have taken place since the last meeting and where the county stands on the shelter on Live Oak Boulevard, but I think it’s our turn to step up and have a discussion as a joint board on ways to solve our problems together.”

One idea that was brought up at the last meeting had to do with the possibility of establishing a sort of temporary shelter/tent camp along Second Street in Yuba City where there is a high presence of homeless individuals. Harris said that will likely be discussed again on Wednesday, along with an update on how local law enforcement is handling the issue while having to deal with various obstacles like state regulations and the threat of lawsuits.

“We’ll discuss funding sources and look to put together some dates to work toward. What we don’t want to do is blow hot air around the table; let’s come up with something we can hang our hats on and move forward with it,” Harris said.

Wednesday’s workshop is scheduled for 6 p.m. at City Hall inside Council Chambers – 1201 Civic Center Blvd., Yuba City. The event is open to the public.