CHICO — With only two speakers among five members of the public in attendance, the Chico City Council held a special meeting Tuesday evening to discuss, in closed session, ongoing renegotiation of the Warren v. Chico settlement agreement.
Councilors convened for an hour in a conference room but revealed little about either this or the secondary item, settlement of litigation against opioid manufacturers. The announcement from Mayor Andrew Coolidge indicated the council gave direction but took no formal action.
City Attorney John Lam participated via videoconference; staff in person included City Manager Mark Sorensen, Deputy City Manager Jennifer Macarthy, Police Chief Billy Aldridge, Public Works Director Erik Gustafson and City Clerk Debbie Presson.
Coolidge told this newspaper afterward that there’s no information he could relay “yet” — but an announcement will come.
The speakers addressed matters that have come up frequently at council meetings with Warren v. Chico on the agenda.
Renee Ives said she’s “very disappointed” these discussions take place behind closed doors, adding: “I think this is something everyone in the community should hear.”
Makayla Garlow, who works in a local law office, said the experiences of the eight plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging the city’s approach to homeless people “are the stories of many” and compared public spaces to feudal lands where average citizens lacked full access.
“If not in parks, where?” she posed, saying that restrictions send a message that homeless Chicoans “are not part of the community.”
This was the second special meeting the council has called in a month following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision (in Grants Pass v. Johnson) overturned the appellate ruling (Martin v Boise) at the heart of the settlement agreement.
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The city sought to renegotiate terms with the plaintiffs’ representatives, leading to the July 9 closed session. Tuesday’s meeting came as the city cleared the Eaton and Cohasset alternative camp site and on the heels of a fire that destroyed two Pallet shelters at the Genesis site by Silver Dollar Fairgrounds.
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