SAMPS updates: permanent signage, rangers and declines in encampment debris

City staff from Utilities and Parks described operational work under the Safe and Managed Public Spaces (SAMPS) program, focusing on outreach, abatement logistics, and urban ranger duties.

Joanna Bloom, utilities deputy director, said the city made SAMPS an internal program in 2021 to improve response times and standardize abatement and storage practices. She told the board permanent signage was posted along a mile of the Boulder Creek corridor late in 2025 to set consistent notice expectations. "The amount of debris collected from encampments has decreased by 36% between '24 and '25," Bloom said, and staff cited a separate 54% reduction in encampments that caused access issues to buildings or multi-use paths.

Allie Rhodes and other parks staff explained the urban-ranger pilot evolved into ongoing funding: a small year-round ranger core supported by temporary staff in peak months. Staff described the rangers as limited commission officers who cannot make arrests or carry lethal weapons but are trained in outreach, education and some municipal ordinance enforcement; staff also emphasized coordination with police, open-space rangers and outreach teams. Board members asked about cleanup frequency (staff: the public-space management team covers many reported areas at least five days a week), how permanent notice interacts with the 72-hour removal practice (staff: permanent mapped notice clarifies areas but does not eliminate notice procedures), and how SAMPS coordinates with service providers and permitted feeding or distribution activities.