Several hot button local issues will likely amplify the rhetoric Tuesday, as the Chico City Council convenes to discuss a shuttle van for the homeless, the remaining balance owed on a controversial loan and the disposition of open space adjacent to Bidwell Park.
City administrators are proposing to drop a decade-and-a-half-old shuttle bus service for the homeless. The bus moves people between the Torres Shelter, which offers overnight accommodations, and the Jesus Center, which until recently was where Torres clients went for meals.
But new kitchen facilities at Torres eliminates the need for the shuttle, city officials said. Additionally, the service’s cost is rising and county buses now ply a similar route. The shuttle’s monthly ridership, however has risen dramatically, jumping nearly 40 percent last year.
Officials may also resolve a long-simmering dispute with the Chico Creek Nature Center. The center, operated by a private nonprofit group, offers visitor information, interpretive exhibits and educational programs for children in Bidwell Park.
The center is behind in repaying a decade old supplemental construction loan from the city. The center planned to use a portion of expected annual city funding to pay back the city’s $185,000 loan, but the city has reduced funding.
The city council is being asked to consider several options, ranging from forgiving the loan entirely, deferring payments for another year or pursuing legal action against the center.
Gate closures at Bidwell Park, and plans for Bidwell Ranch, a 759-acre property designated as open space, are also scheduled to be discussed. After a push to build a subdivision was thwarted a decade ago, officials have been studying how to use ranch property as habitat mitigation for development elsewhere.
The meeting gets underway Tuesday at 6:30.
