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was not certain that much could be learned about the effect of a single strategy, particularly in the current <br />economic environment. <br />Mr. Zelenka said that the public had identified property crime as a major concern and agreed that no <br />single strategy was going to solve the problem. He supported the work of the task team and looked <br />forward to its recommendations, but any strategies would be coupled with development that changed the <br />downtown environment and attracted more people into the core. He was interested in more information <br />on the Portland model. Chief Kerns said he heard from downtown residents and business owners that one <br />of the first steps to a vibrant downtown was making it safe. He said Eugene had fewer social services and <br />police per capita, and fewer jails cells, than other comparable communities across the country and as a <br />consequence had the fastest growing crime rate. <br />Mr. Pryor agreed with Mr. Poling that problems downtown had existed for some time. He was willing to <br />take action to address those problems, rather than pass them on to future councils. He looked forward to <br />the task team's recommendations and hoped they represented actions that the council could take. He felt <br />there was more that could be done to address illegal behaviors and behaviors that were legal, but <br />threatening and intimidating and kept people away from downtown, such as aggressive panhandling. He <br />said public safety was part of the infrastructure and would need to be addressed in order to attract <br />development and people to the downtown area. <br />Ms. Solomon concurred with Mr. Pryor that it was time for the council to move to implementation of <br />solutions. She asked about use of zones in which smoking was banned and whether that would apply to <br />the plaza at Broadway and Willamette. Street. Ms. Medary said the zones applied to public facilities <br />where there was youth- specific programming, such as the library, and inclusion of the plaza could be <br />explored. <br />Mr. Clark asked if the task team recommendations would include leveraging other resources to assist law <br />enforcement beyond the Portland model and a ban on certain liquor sales. Ms. Muir said the task team <br />was considering a comprehensive package of options and determining which should be recommended for <br />downtown. <br />Mr. Clark said the council had pursued a number of initiatives to improve downtown, but unless the public <br />safety environment was addressed it would continue to be difficult to attract or retain viable businesses. <br />He felt it was an enforcement problem and EPIC needed to have the officers and enforcement tools <br />required to do the job. He asked how many additional officers were needed to adequately deal with public <br />safety downtown. Chief Kerns estimated that a total of 10 to 12 officers were necessary to cover the days <br />of the week and hours of the day when there was the greatest need and conduct proactive community <br />policing efforts. He said that presumed that the problem could be resolved only with enforcement, which <br />he did not believe was the case. <br />Mr. Clark asked if the task team was looking at whether the location of certain services downtown was <br />unintentionally drawing certain undesirable behaviors to the area. Chief Kerns said the task team was <br />examining that question. <br />Mr. Zelenka agreed with Chief Kerns that a holistic approach that was not limited to increased enforce- <br />ment was needed. He said simultaneous actions on several fronts were needed to create a safe and <br />inviting environment. He pointed to a number of projects that were already in progress. <br />MINUTES Eugene City Council November 23, 2009 Page 4 <br />Work Session <br />