CRESWELL — From councilors to concerned community members, potential amendments to Ordinance 557, or the 72-hour rule, led to a lively conversation at Creswell City Council’s meeting on Nov. 12. The review of said ordinance was an extension of the previous month’s work session, where councilors instructed Ross Williamson, City Attorney, to draft potential changes to the document.
Before the council discussion, several Creswell citizens, including Ed Gunderson and Bill Kent, took the stand to share their thoughts. The duo have built numerous Conestoga huts to provide shelter for Creswell’s unhoused population.
Gunderson described how he and Kent were concerned about the safety and well-being of tent-dwelling individuals residing in Creswell. The pair believes Conestoga huts make adhering to city code easier. In response to non-compliance, Conestoga dwellers signed a contract promising to follow the city’s guidelines. One Conestoga has been removed and is no longer in use.
Both Gunderson and Kent said they believe that enacting Sunday as a moving day would further streamline code enforcement in Creswell.
“Timely moving of the Conestogas has been a recurring issue. To ease that issue for both code enforcement and the residents, I would suggest one moving day for all RVs, sleep vehicles, and Conestogas, no matter when they first park,” Gunderson said. “This would greatly reduce monitoring by code enforcement and Bill or I while making street cleaning more efficient.”
Kent also shared that, according to the contract signed by Conestoga owners, residents must provide at least two hours of community service for the city of Creswell as a “thank-you” for being able to reside on allocated streets. Kent and Gunderson oversee this initiative and offer potential volunteering ideas and community connections for Conestoga dwellers.
After a brief recess, the council turned their attention to ordinance amendments made by Williamson, who was not in attendance despite being listed on the meeting’s agenda.
Councilor Staci Holt and Mayor Dave Stram needed clarification about how the renovated language addressed Conestoga huts in the city of Creswell. Holt also referred to Michelle Amberg, city manager, to answer questions about the lack of clarity surrounding the updates to the 72-hour rule.
While ideas for additional amendments to the amended language were presented, Holt motioned to revisit the document at an upcoming work session. Mayor Stram seconded the motion, which was passed unanimously by the council.
“While I did motion for this to go to work session again because I’m disappointed in the fact that I don’t think that our ordinance actually addresses the problem that brought us back to the table, I’m not interested in changing it. I’m interested in shoring it up, not making it easier,” Holt said. “If we pass it the way that it stands right now, it doesn’t do a thing.”
Councilor Clark Kent also asked if Williamson could be invited to the upcoming work session to provide clarifications. Amberg confirmed that the council is at liberty to do so.
“I’m curious if there was a reason why that language wasn’t in there or what happened with it,” Kent said.
Creswell City Council’s next work session will be held on Nov. 25.
