El Dorado County moves forward with new homeless Navigation Center plan, changes to several departments

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - After failing to pass a proposed navigation center for El Dorado County one month ago, the Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved a plan that will move around departments in county buildings, table current plans for a new juvenile treatment center, and create a temporary navigation center while a permanent home is planned.

It will require several different puzzle pieces to come together in the next 18 months.

Piece 1 - CalFire has been using the old juvenile hall building at 299 Fair Lane in Placerville. The agency had leased the building for seasonal workers and that lease was set to expire in January 2023. The new plan has the lease terminating 16 days earlier on December 15, 2022. CalFire was in support of the plan and was going to be leaving the space anyway.

Piece 2 - A temporary Navigation Center will go into the old juvenile hall building as soon as possible after December 15.

Piece 3 - Staff will work with the Superior Court to relocate the juvenile court which is located underneath the old juvenile hall building. They will move to 2850 Fairlane Court, commonly known as Building C of the government complex. This location is currently occupied by the Registrar of Voters who will move into the Carlton Building.

Piece 4 - Staff will prepare architectural and design drawings, as well as cost estimates to construct a permanent Navigation Center at 300 Fair Lane,
where the Sheriff’s Headquarters were previously located. Their new headquarters were relocated into a new building on Missouri Flat Road last year. The design will be through a sole source process as permitted by the Homeless Crisis Declaration and return to the Board for approval with the goal of having the facility constructed no later than December 2024. The design and look of the new building will match the others in the complex.

Piece 5 - A new juvenile hall facility has been planned for the last 8.5 years and was going to be built on the spot the Sheriff's headquarters were. The County's Chief Probation Officer Brian Rickart received a $9.6M grant to be used towards the new facility, and site-specific plans were being drawn up after the Board of Supervisors previously approved it. All youth currently in the juvenile treatment system are housed in South Lake Tahoe. The original plan was to create the new facility then have all juveniles in Placerville. Rickart said they had lobbied the state heavily for the funds for juvenile justice, and he is unsure if the $9.6M would be around in the future for a different plan, such as remodeling the South Lake Tahoe facility to better meet current needs. Staff has been directed to complete the design and architectural drawings, as well as cost estimates for a new juvenile hall, and, upon completion, return to the Board for further direction.

Piece 6 - Staff will come back to the Board within n 60 days with potential locations for the Registrar of Voters. They are currently in Building C which is going to be the home of the Juvenile Court. Both the Registrar of Voters Bill O’Neill and Presiding Judge Vicki Ashworth were in support of the moves that will give them better, and in the case of the courts, safer and more private, spaces.

Currently, Building A at the El Dorado County government center houses the Board of Supervisors, CAO officer, human resources and risk management. Building B has the Recorder Clerk, Surveyor, Tax Collector, IT, Auditor, Controller, and Assessor. Building C houses the juvenile court and elections.

The Volunteers of America (VOA) were selected for running the Navigation Center through an RFP process in January 2022, and their contract was approved by the Board. The County will have to work with VOA to see if still on board to run the new, temporary site, and provide 24/7 staff for the 60-bed facility. Their goal is getting people out of homelessness and into permanent housing, a goal they've been successful in obtaining. They screen weekly for substance and behavioral health. Meals and other programs including Rapid Rehousing and services are planned for first the temporary site, then the permanent one.

"We feel this is a good temporary, fairly quick solution, while 2023 will then allow the building of a permanent facility," said Maureen Dion-Perry, board president of Housing El Dorado.

Not everyone was in favor of the moves. Some expressed concern about safety with the Navigation Center close to offices used by the public. The building they will be going into is located downhill from buildings A and B. Auditor-Controller Joe Harn wrote two letters to the Board, and spoke during Tuesday's meeting. He said he was concerned about the safety of staff, County property and wanted to make sure cameras and increased security would be in the new location.

"While trying to address the homeless needs of our County, County staff should not be subjected to unneeded risk in the process," Harn said in a letter to the Board.

Supervisor George Turnboo agreed with the puzzle pieces except for Piece 4 above. He was the lone decent and was pushing a tiny home village on Missouri Flat next door to the jail on Forni Road.