Four Salem City Council members say they support ending camping at Wallace Marine Park but won't back a hard deadline if it means displacing roughly 100 people with nowhere else to go.
Mayor-Elect Vanessa Nordyke, along with councilors Paul Tigan, Linda Nishioka and Micki Varney, gave written responses to Salem Reporter published Thursday, Aug. 13. All four said they fear clearing the park without enough shelter beds would scatter the unhoused into downtown, other parks and under underpasses.
"If appropriate shelter or other housing options are not available, we need to pump the brakes and adjust the pace of the transition accordingly," Nordyke wrote. "We can't just move people from one place to another, pushing people into neighborhoods or onto sidewalks."
Five of nine council members did not weigh in. Mayor Julie Hoy and councilors Deanna Gwyn, Shane Matthews and Mai Vang did not respond before Salem Reporter's deadline. Councilor Irvin Brown declined to comment, saying he is waiting for city staff to provide an update.
The timeline question
City Manager Krishna Namburi said the end-of-year target is a projection, not a firm deadline, and acknowledged the timeline may extend if connecting people with resources takes longer than anticipated. City leaders had previously cited the end of October as an operational target.
Tigan put it bluntly: he supports ending camping at Wallace but not if it puts people at greater risk than staying. Nishioka echoed that concern, writing that moving someone from Wallace to a sidewalk hasn't solved homelessness but has only changed its location.
The shelter math remains stark.
SafeSleep United Shelter operator Lynelle Wilcox told Salem Reporter on Aug. 7 that her facility has only 50 beds while the park houses about 100 people. Jimmy Jones, executive director of the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency, told Salem Reporter the same day that Salem has one shelter bed for every two unsheltered residents.
Nordyke noted the city's Navigation Center hosts 75 shelter beds run by Community Action Agency, and the city provides affordable housing for roughly 9,000 residents. But the 2025 Point-in-Time Count recorded 2,135 homeless people in the Marion-Polk region, with 953 living unsheltered.
Homeless Services Team results
The councilors gave mixed reviews of the Homeless Services Team, which operates seven days a week at Wallace and other sites.
Tigan said the team has removed more than 500 tons of trash from the park and called the shift to daily operations "the right call." But he added that the team can't create shelter beds or treatment slots that don't exist.
Nishioka cited city data showing a 40% decrease in criminal activity at Wallace Marine Park during the first six months of 2026, which staff attributes to the consistent presence of HST officers. She also noted that HST workers say it can take 10 to 15 contacts before someone living unsheltered is ready to accept services.
Tigan said the Homeless Services Team is being funded this year through opioid settlement dollars paid by manufacturers and distributors.
What's next
Nordyke said the City Council will host a work session on homelessness in October. She also flagged a funding gap: the council has approved ongoing REACH Team funding through June 30, 2027, but Marion County has only approved funding for the team's mental health associate through Dec. 31, 2026.
Varney, a biologist who chairs the Climate Action Plan Committee, said she will stay engaged on the environmental restoration of Wallace to ensure native habitat is protected. The city is initiating a long-range planning effort for the Wallace Natural Area.
Nishioka made a motion for the city to evaluate a Downtown Ambassador Program to help fill gaps in the downtown core as the park transition unfolds.
Salem City Council meetings are held at Loucks Auditorium in the Salem Public Library, 585 Liberty St. SE, at 6 p.m. while City Hall undergoes seismic retrofitting. Written public comments can be emailed to [email protected] by 5 p.m. the day of the meeting.
