A Deschutes County program to house parolees is obsolete after commissioners, who last week vowed to relocate the program from its location on SE Wilson Avenue in Bend, terminated a contract with the nonprofit hired to oversee the operation.

A relocation is uncertain, but the Wilson Avenue property will be transferred to another public agency and likely be used as housing for people transitioning out of homelessness because of contingencies of the funding the county used to buy the property.

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County votes to relocate new parolee housing along Wilson Avenue

Commissioners voted 2-1 Wednesday to terminate the county’s agreement with Free on the Outside, an Oregon City-based nonprofit that was operating the housing program for men on parole or probation. The commissioners’ vote was unscheduled, and it occurred after a discussion during an executive session labeled “litigation.” Executive sessions are closed to the public but open to the press under certain conditions.

Commissioner Tony DeBone, who has been in support of housing this particular population but also sensitive to neighbor concerns for safety and livability, said after Wednesday’s vote that it was a shame the program was crumbling.

Pull Quote

“I’ll acknowledge this is a waste of taxpayers’ dollars.”

— Deschutes County Commissioner Tony DeBone

“I’ll acknowledge this is a waste of taxpayers’ dollars,” DeBone later told The Bulletin. “This is not good.”

Commissioners approved the request for state funds for the program as far back as May 15. They again authorized purchasing the property on Wilson Avenue in December and approved a contract with Free on the Outside that same month during a meeting from which Commissioner Patti Adair was absent.

The program, which had been in operation for just a few months before the commissioners’ decision, was meant to house men who served time in jail or prison, are under supervision through parole or probation and at a high risk for becoming homeless due to their criminal history. That likely includes registered sex offenders. The program, located in a triplex off offered short-term and long-term housing and a live-in house manager with the goal of moving the men onto better life situations.

Phil Chang, who has been supportive of the program at its location on Wilson Avenue from the get-go, doesn’t believe finding a new location for the program is feasible for the county.

“I am just disgusted. Absolutely disgusted,” Chang told The Bulletin following Wednesday’s vote. “It disgusts me that my two fellow commissioners, in response to neighborhood concerns, promised people that this facility could be moved when it is so clearly obvious it is unfeasible to locate this program somewhere else.”

The commissioners’ decision is a victory for neighbors of the property who decried the program and its potential impacts. More than 20 people testified before commissioners at their March 20 meeting where officials decided to search for a new property for the program.

“I thought it was incredibly impactful,” Commissioner Patti Adair told The Bulletin on Wednesday.

Adair declined to comment further per the advice of county legal counsel, she said.

County spokesperson Whitney Hale said there are two individuals currently living at the house. The county is working to place them in “the most appropriate shelter or housing option available for them at this time,” she wrote in an email.

The Wilson Avenue property will likely change hands per the terms of the state funding and fall under the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council’s ownership, said Tammy Baney, executive director of the organization. COIC was the go-between for the state funds that the county used to purchase the property. The county spent $825,000 on the property, according to property records.

COIC has certain state-mandated shelter and housing goals it must meet for the Central Oregon region, so the property will likely be repurposed to still meet those goals. For whom, or for what population, is uncertain.

“We will always need affordable housing,” Baney said.

The funds initially came from Gov. Tina Kotek’s 2022 Executive Order funds. Under the terms of the agreement between the county and COIC, the property must remain in public ownership for 10 years, Baney said. Initially, according to the county’s agreement with Free on the Outside, the nonprofit was going to take ownership of the property after the 10-year period. Now, COIC must find a new service provider to manage the property.

Baney added: “I foresee a good outcome to a challenging situation.”