Tent sites at Wallace Marine Park on Wednesday, May 27. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
People using two of Salem’s city parks should expect to see a new sight: security guards.
The city of Salem has begun paying a security company $312,000 to patrol Marion Square and Wallace Marine parks. Salem City Council approved the contract Sept. 14 and funds are expected to last until June of next year.
The contract follows an emergency declaration by the council at the start of the Covid pandemic that paved the way for camping in “unimproved areas” of Wallace Marine and Cascades Gateway Park. Earlier in the pandemic, city officials feared the virus would spread among those living in cramped conditions under downtown awnings earlier this year.
The city installed portable toilets and handwashing stations at all three parks and had security patrolling them to make sure they weren’t damaged, and people weren’t camping in Marion Square Park.
Security, provided by DPI Security, was expanded to include Wallace Marine Park as the number of campers grew there. Security services weren’t expanded to Cascades Gateway, according to a staff report from Chief Financial Officer Robert Barron.
City spokeswoman Kathy Ursprung said managers in parks operations, Public Works Director Peter Fernandez, City Manager Steve Powers and the Salem Police Department came to a collaborative decision that the security was needed to prevent park vandalism and provide park visitors a feeling of added security.
Jennifer Kellar, Parks and Recreation Services manager, said the unarmed security guards, working in pairs in from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m., are intended to “apprise the city of unsanctioned activity that may be occurring” and to notify Salem police if needed.
The security guards will also escort city staff or park patrons who are in the park after hours, she said.
The city didn’t go out to bid for the contract and instead used a price agreement with the state of Oregon for a program run through the Department of Administrative Services for companies that hires people with disabilities. DPI is a nonprofit agency that hires people with disabilities.
Parks staff estimated there were between 600 to 700 campers in Wallace Marine Park based on a “visual assessment” on Sept. 10 – a figure more than three times what homeless advocates say are residing there.
Jimmy Jones, executive director of the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency, said there are about 200 people each camping in both Wallace Marine Park and Cascades Gateway Park. He said there are approximately 1,200 people experiencing homelessness scattered around the city.
News tip? Contact reporter Saphara Harrell by email at [email protected].
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