This morning, the city of Eureka released an official request for proposals aimed at “nonprofit organization[s], religious institution[s] or other interested parties to provide a temporary-not greater than six months sanctioned camping facility within the city limits.”
With a scant 39 days until the estimated 180 people living behind the Bayshore Mall are ordered to vacate in order to accommodate construction of a waterfront trail, the odds of finding an organization meeting the guidelines in the RFP (insurance, experience and budgeted without city funds or resources) seem low. Proposals are also due by April 22, leaving the city of Eureka 11 days in which to read and approve a proposal if it plans to give the exiting marsh dwellers a sanctioned alternative. City Manager Greg Sparks was unable to comment on this issue; he and City Councilmember Kim Bergel were en route to Ukiah for the Northern California Homeless Services Summit with Sen. Mike McGuire.
This article appears in The Sinking Feeling.
There is a small, but possibly fatal problem here. People have been told that the morning of May 2 they will be handcuffed, their possessions put in the shipping container already onsite and their dogs taken to the pound. There will not be a legal place for them to relocate to. The plan is to decide if there is a workable proposal on May 3rd.