She was addressing Councilman Joshua Pedrozo at his first meeting as a Council member since being installed on November 30^th. 

Pedrozo, during the debate over whether two portable toilets for the homeless should be provided at their present campsite on Black Rascal Creek near Santa Fe in Merced, had asked, pointedly, “Where is the money going to come from?”

Davenport, who had initiated the request for the two toilets and hand washing facilities and had submitted a cost estimate of $270 per month per toilet, stepped up to the podium indignantly. 

After her offer to pay, a 4 to 3 vote in favor of allowing the porta-potties as long as the faith-based community would pay ended the lengthy discussion in which some Council members acknowledged that homeless people at the campsite are using Black Rascal Creek as a bathroom but expressed opposing viewpoints about providing toilets. 

Running until almost midnight, Monday night’s Merced City Council meeting also decided several other issues involving the city’s homeless: (1) A citizens advisory committee will discuss homeless issues brought up in the staff report and make recommendations to Council within 120 days on these issues and whether the creation of a homeless campground in Merced is warranted; (2) a previously-proposed site for a homeless campground at Mission Avenue and Tyler Road will no longer be considered by the Council; and (3) $25,000 in CDBG funds will be used for professional services to prepare the 2009 Continuum of Care Plan which will request a $579,947 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for homeless programs. The HUD offers funds to help the homeless transition to permanency, and the city has contributed $25,000 in the past for a homeless tracking system currently in place. There are two new projects being requested: A permanent supportive housing project for six chronically homeless adults with supportive services by Turning Point, and supportive services for a transitional housing project for homeless women and children to be operated by Community Social Model Advocates.