The Deschutes County administration building. 

The decision-making boards from the city of Bend and Deschutes County will meet Thursday to discuss some of the thorny issues facing their local governments.

Strategies to create managed homeless camps, what’s next for the large, unsanctioned encampment at Juniper Ridge and Bend’s growth plans are all on the agenda for the joint meeting.

The meeting will begin at 2 p.m. in the Barnes Sawyer Rooms at the Deschutes Services Building, 1300 NW Wall St. in Bend.

Nick Lelack, Deschutes County administrator, said the goal is to open dialogue between elected officials and “to collaborate and coordinate on a variety of issues.”

The commission aims to meet jointly with city governments within the county at least once per year, he said. County commissioners are scheduled to meet with the Redmond City Council on Oct. 22, the Sisters City Council on Nov. 6 and the La Pine City Council on Nov. 13.

Staff presentations will be kept to a minimum to allow elected officials to interact, Lelack said.

Government leaders hope to leave Thursday’s joint meeting with some sense of a plan to address unsanctioned camping at Juniper Ridge, swaths of county and city-owned land on the northern edge of Bend where an estimated 100-200 people are sheltered in RVs, tents and other structures.

The county is already providing water, bathrooms and trash services there, and while proposals have been floated to create a more structured camp there, a collaborative solution hasn’t materialized.

Pressure has mounted on both governments to do something after a quick-moving blaze that started in a homeless encampment at Juniper Ridge on Aug. 3 burned nearly 80 acres and brushed with neighborhoods in north Bend, forcing evacuations and threatening homes.

Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler said she is looking forward to a productive meeting.

“I expect our two elected bodies to discuss and vote on clear actions we will take to address safety and fire concerns while connecting people living outside to more resources and housing options,” she said in an email.

The city and county bodies will also try to align their strategies to create a managed homeless camp in cooperation with the Coordinated Houseless Response Office, a countywide board focused on homelessness.

Earlier this year the Deschutes County Commission set aside $1.5 million for outdoor managed homeless camps. In May, the office made recommendations to award funding to expand tiny home villages and safe parking areas in Bend, along with other proposals. No project has yet been awarded.

Meanwhile, county commissioners selected a site on the eastern edge of Redmond to set up a fenced managed camp with staffing and case management, which could be competing for the same funds. The project is key to removing encampments on nearby county lands that are holding up a land swap with the state.

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Each government board will hear the growth plan of the other, with Bend providing information on which lands it might need for future urban development and Deschutes County giving an overview of the ongoing update to its comprehensive plans.

There won’t be time for the public to comment at the meeting, but written comments can be submitted in advance, Lelack said.