02/22/1988 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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thought so many people were present tonight to show that they were ~ responsible and that the ordinance would not work. Mikal Krummel, 2424 Charnelton, spoke in opposition to the ordinance. Mr. Krummel said his interest and background in liThe Gut" were drawn from several years of participation on liThe Gutll Task Force and on the Juvenile Crime subcommittee of the Eugene Crime Action Task Force. He said he also lived near Willamette Street, and he, too, had been affected by vandalism, noise, and speeding on his street, yet he was here in opposition to an anti-cruising ordinance. e e e e Mr. Krummel said his involvement on liThe Gut" Task Force, as well as his long-standing participation in the youth service community in Eugene, confirmed his notion that youth involvement fostered the most positive change in a community. He said he felt better participation and cooperation could be gained by doing something with people rather than doing something to them. Mr. Krummel reiterated a priority recommendation of the Crime Action Task Force, stating that lIattractive alternative activities to undesirable behavior (i.e., drug use, disorderly conduct, and vandalism) should be available for youth in order for adolescent crime to decrease." He said Recommendation No.1 stated that, in order to create a safer environment in this community for youth, the City needs to identify those areas of the city that are disproportionately affected by youth crime and those areas that provide inadequate recreational resources for youth (an area in which he believed liThe Gutll qualified), and resources should be targeted to these areas. He said Recommendation NO.3 had addressed the need to recognize liThe Gutll as an area heavily affected by youth, and The Gut Task Force, the Youth Commission, the police, and other elements of the City should continue efforts to control liThe Gutll situation and to provide safe and attractive alternative activities to gut users. Mr. Krummel said he today had spoken to a group of high school journalism students, who had conducted a survey of students on the cruising issue. He said he had been interested in hearing their feelings about the ordinance and about projected impacts on the city if the ordinance were passed. He said students had responded that the ordinance was "stupid, unfair, a ripoff, most kids don't abuse liThe Gut,1I there won't be anything else to do, and the City doesn't really care about how young people feel in this community.1I Mr. Krummel said students had predicted that passing the ordinance would not eliminate cruising in the city, that kids would start hanging out in other locations, that liThe Gutll would move to Co burg Road, the Glenwood Strip, Springfield, or further out West 11th. If liThe Gutll did not relocate completely, he said students predicted dispersement to locations throughout the community, the hills, and the parks. They also recognized that the community had a drug abuse problem, and they predicted that more kids would start using drugs because of boredom and that larger and more frequent parties on weekends would result in youth driving while intoxicated. Mr. Krummel said students also had suggested that complaints about vandalism and disorderly conduct would spread to all areas of the city, kids would MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 22, 1988 Page 7