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<br />Kimberly Gladden <br />, West Broadway, thanked the council for many of the improvements that helped make <br />downtown a better place. She asked the council to extend the downtown exclusion ordinance. Ms. Gladden <br />believed it had reduced homeless-on-homeless violence. She said that when stressed individuals were pushed <br />together, that created problems, and the addition of a criminal element was a danger to those people as well <br />as a disadvantage to business. The imposition of the ordinance had improved conditions downtown. She <br />suggested that more safety for all residents, including youth, homeless, and mentally ill, was a good thing. <br />She thought the ordinance had been good for downtown and thought the data would demonstrate that. Ms. <br />Gladden suggested that the ordinance could be changed it if was not enforced properly. <br /> <br />Betty Snowden <br /> supported extending the ordinance and giving the department the time it needed to complete <br />its reporting. She shared her own family’s experience with trying to run a business downtown and the <br />physical and mental violence and harassment that her family faced on a daily basis. She had found it <br />interesting her family never received a telephone call from the ACLU about its experience and the violations <br />of rights that it had endured. She said the exclusion ordinance finally had an impact on repeat offenders. <br /> <br />Ms. Snowden said the issues involved were not about youth or appearance; they were about public safety, <br />and about people’s ability to conduct business downtown without fear, walk the streets, and feel safe. She <br />said her family could see the improvement that resulted from the exclusion ordinance. <br /> <br />Cassandra Snowden <br />, PO Box 5166, Eugene, said before the establishment of the ordinance, her family was <br />subjected to racial harassment, which happened less frequently since the ordinance was put in place. She <br />believed her family should have the right to feel safe on a daily basis. She believed the ordinance was <br />necessary to address the problem of repeat offenders. She said it did not matter if someone was wearing a <br />business suit, if they broke the law and victimized others, they deserved consequences. <br /> <br />Sue Vandmeyer <br />, Director of Energy Village, an organization dedicated to community growth through <br />collaboration, advocated for the establishment of a center for homeless youth downtown. She envisioned a <br />“one-stop shop” with services and a safe environment for service providers. She spoke of her efforts to put <br />together such a facility. Ms. Vandmeyer also discussed Energy Village’s intent to establish an information <br />center downtown. <br /> <br />Mayor Piercy closed the Public Forum and thanked those who spoke. She noted her support for extending <br />the downtown exclusion ordinance while awaiting the Police Commission’s review of the ordinance. <br /> <br />Mr. Clark thanked those who testified and discussed their experience with the downtown exclusion zone. He <br />believed the council should extend the zone long enough to review the data. <br /> <br />2. CONSENT CALENDAR <br /> <br /> A. Approval of City Council Minutes <br /> - June 23, 2010, Council Meeting <br /> - June 28, 2010, Work Session <br /> - July 26, 2010, Work Session <br />B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda <br /> <br /> <br />Councilor Clark, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved to approve the Consent Calendar as <br />presented. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—City Council April 14, 2010 Page 2 <br /> <br />