Heated MultCo. Board meeting raises questions on deflection center transparency

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Multnomah County Commissioners are raising concerns about a soon-to-be-opened deflection center, saying the process for selecting the location by Board Chair Jessica Vega Pederson lacked transparency.

That deflection center is set to open on September 1 on Southeast Sandy Boulevard in the Buckman Neighborhood. The program will allow people caught with small amounts of hard drugs, like fentanyl, to be given the choice of treatment or jail.

"This is really an opportunity to provide additional pathways to treatment at this critical time for our community," Chair Vega Pederson said about the deflection center.

During Tuesday morning's Multnomah County Board meeting, the discussion about the $2 million center got heated. In the past, locals in the area have expressed concerns about "why the neighborhood wasn't brought into the public process." Now some county commissioners are echoing that sentiment, saying the process wasn't transparent for them, either.

"Whatever conversations are happening, they're not happening in public so it seems completely random, not evidence-based," said Commissioner Julia Brim-Edward.

"We don't have to have a deflection center in order to have alternatives that would be at least as effective," added Commissioner Sharon Meieran as she questioned what the county hopes to achieve with the program. "I feel like we're putting carts before horses and tails are wagging dogs because we don't have what we need for any of this."

Chair Vega Pederson pushed all questions about the deflection center to next week during a meeting that will also involve the Multnomah County Health Department on July 25.