Enhanced Street Outreach Services (Project Firefly)
Summary
The city is paying a nonprofit up to $650,000 a year for downtown ambassadors and cleaning crews, funded by new parking meters. Supporters say it keeps downtown clean and connects unhoused people to services; critics, including Rev. Andy Oliver in open forum, called it a sanitized way to push homeless people out of public spaces.
At a glance
- Total mentions
- 3
- Last 30 days
- 1
Discussed at 1 meeting in the last 60 days; most recently Nov 5, 2026.
Impact analysis
Up to $650,000 annually plus $78,000 start-up, paid by new parking meter revenue rather than the general fund.
Downtown residents, businesses and visitors who get cleaner, safer streets; unhoused people get a service conduit.
Critics argue unhoused residents bear the burden of being policed out of public spaces.
Mentions & discussions (3)
City Council - Nov 5, 2026
The city is paying a nonprofit up to $650,000 a year for downtown ambassadors and cleaning crews, funded by new parking meters. Supporters say it keeps downtown clean and connects unhoused people to services; critics, including Rev. Andy Oliver in open forum, called it a sanitized way to push homeless people out of public spaces.
City Council - Sep 3, 2026
Dream Defenders returned again asking for roughly $1 million in youth outreach, navigators, and programming. Administration offered peer-to-peer school events and repurposed CSR outreach instead; several council members promised continued negotiation but no funding was added.
City Council - Aug 13, 2026
Boley's new outreach bus has engaged about 85 unhoused residents with serious mental illness since January, provided 1,000+ services and 200+ showers, and already helped get longtime homeless individuals toward shelter — with the contract set for renewal under round two RUSH funding.
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