County updates riverbed cleanup, pauses additional shelter funding while forming city–county working group

County staff and sheriff’s deputies reported progress on an ongoing cleanup of encampments and debris along the Pajaro River corridor on June 10, saying phases 1 and 2 are largely complete and phase 3 is underway. The board paused a request for additional general-fund support for shelter expansion and directed staff to form a city–county working group to address animal-shelter coordination and long-term cleanup plans.

County outreach and cleanup teams said they have removed 29 encampments so far, cleaned roughly 13 large (40‑yard) containers of trash and identified about 40 vehicles; several require heavy equipment to extract from soft riverbed terrain. The county’s contractor, Tucker Construction, has handled much of the heavy clearing; county staff said they are now seeking a more local partner to handle ongoing maintenance and smaller cleanup tasks. The county reported that 36 individuals were offered services during the outreach effort; six accepted shelter placements and four were placed in hotels.

Health and Human Services staff recommended converting a shelter computer lab into sleeping space to expand capacity from 50 to 62 and requested a one‑time purchase and minor renovations (bunk beds, mattresses and limited IT work) plus ongoing operations funding. The board paused approval of the operations funding and a $20,000 set‑up request pending more budget review and after supervisors asked staff to prioritize other potential funding sources including state and nonprofit grants.

Several public commenters and supervisors also raised a separate but connected issue: what to do with animals surrendered during cleanups. County staff said an animal-shelter operator in Hollister had been unable to accept a group of surrendered animals during an earlier phase because county staff had not followed the shelter’s appointment procedures; the county and city have since discussed better coordination. Supervisor Currow and others urged the county and city to work together and consult local rescues and the nonprofit community to design a humane, documented process for animals surrendered during cleanups. County staff reported outreach to the Monterey SPCA and other organizations and said 16 animals had been processed during the effort (some were transferred to rescues or fostered, some returned to owners after spay/neuter).

County staff reported about $135,000 spent to date from an existing $215,000 contract with Tucker Construction and said the county is awaiting word on a pending $200,000 grant application that could offset cleanup costs. The board voted to pause the requested extra shelter operating funding and asked staff to bring back a formal agenda item to create a Brown‑Act ad hoc with the City of Hollister to address shelter‑and-animal-surrender coordination and cleanup operations.