Council moves homeless committee to ad hoc, names Morrison county representative and explores economic development committee

The Aberdeen City Council voted to convert its standing homeless committee into an ad hoc committee meeting quarterly and formally named Council Member Morrison as the city’s representative to the county’s homeless task force.

City Administrator Clemens proposed the change, citing the county’s robust task force and existing city participation there. Council members discussed that county resources and interagency coordination made a standing city committee less essential; the motion to move the homeless committee to ad hoc status was approved by council vote.

Council then moved and approved a motion to name Council Member Morrison as the city’s representative on the county homeless committee. Morrison said she would represent the city’s official views and offered to pursue an additional county seat for Aberdeen if the mayor and council preferred broader representation.

In place of the standing homeless committee, administrators proposed creating an economic development committee. The mayor would make the final determination on the committee’s structure, but council directed staff to return with options, including suggested numbers of council and community representatives. Council members discussed having one to three council seats on such a panel and asked for staff options to consider before formalizing the committee.