CC Minutes - 07/21/99 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Kelly questioned how the department knew if a substation was working. Chief Hill said prevention programs were very difficult to evaluate. He suggested the question to consider was how much worse off the situation would be without the station? He believed the question would take time to respond to, and indicated he would direct staff to research what was being done to evaluate substations in other communities. Mr. Kelly indicated that approach was satisfactory, stressing his interest was in knowing what difference substations were making. Chief Hill observed that substations were very popular in the community, as evidenced by the private support the department received to site them. Mr. Fart said that the programming described by Ms. Nathanson was likely to give the City the "biggest bang for the buck." He believed that a substation with a Community Service Officer could serve as an umbrella for youth-related activities in the Bethel area and help to leverage the services being provided in a relatively inexpensive way. Mr. Fart said that the officer in Bethel district spent considerable time mediating and facilitating, which took time from enforcement and direct prevention activities, so funding for the substations was critical. He emphasized the need to assist youth through the transition years between one level of school to another level, such as from elementary school to middle school. Mr. Fart supported Ms. Nathanson's proposal to fund two substations, and suggested the funding for l(c) and l(f) in the matrix could be redirected, although he valued the programming in 1 (c) and believed the council would find a way to fund the item. Mr. Johnson agreed. He cited the youth summer program as an example of a program that would be instituted in the budget rather than funded through contingency, and suggested that could free up some money. Mr. Meisner said he generally liked the package, and could support Ms. Nathanson's suggestion, although he was not completely persuaded of its merits. Regarding the substations, Mr. Meisner noted he was not completely satisfied with the proposal. For example, the mission statement appeared to be a vision statement. In addition, including giving the residents an opportunity to volunteer at the substation was a volunteer opportunity, not a baseline service. Mr. Meisner said that one of the services mentioned was neighborhood- based access to police, but the substation in Whiteaker had an area coordinator, not a police officer. That access was not guaranteed by the mere presence of a substation. Mr. Meisner noted that the West University and downtown substations had police officers paid for by private contributions. He cautioned against a program that was perceived in neighborhoods as an addition to the bureaucracy. Mr. Meisner agreed with Mr. Kelly that some sort of evaluation of the effectiveness of the substation was needed. Mr. Pap~ agreed with the comments about substations made by Mr. Fart and Ms. Nathanson, adding that the perception of safety often becomes a reality for many residents. He hoped to add more funding to the substations. Regarding item 4(a), Additional CAHOOTS Team, Mr. Pap~ asked if those individuals who could not be accommodated at Buckley House would go to the emergency room or to the jail. Chief Hill said that what would happen was that rather than send the CAHOOTS van the police would respond; he suggested the issue was a broader one of resources for social services such as Buckley House. Chief Hill said that Buckley House's State funding was at risk, and the decision facing the City might be whether the council wanted to direct funding toward the service. He reiterated that the bottom line was that calls would come in; the question was who to dispatch. Chief Hill noted that the CAHOOTS van provides a wide range of services beyond response to detoxification calls. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 21, 1999 Page 12 5:30 p.m.