CC Minutes - 08/09/10 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Kimberly Gladen, West Broadway, thanked the council for many of the improvements that helped make downtown a better place. She asked the council to extend the downtown exclusion ordinance. Ms. Gladden believed it had reduced homeless -on- homeless violence. She said that when stressed individuals were pushed together, that created problems, and the addition of a criminal element was a danger to those people as well as a disadvantage to business. The imposition of the ordinance had improved conditions downtown. She suggested that more safety for all residents, including youth, homeless, and mentally ill, was a good thing. She thought the ordinance had been good for downtown and thought the data would demonstrate that. Ms. Gladden suggested that the ordinance could be changed it if was not enforced properly. Betty Snowden supported extending the ordinance and giving the department the time it needed to complete its reporting. She shared her own family's experience with trying to run a business downtown and the physical and mental violence and harassment that her family faced on a daily basis. She had found it interesting her family never received a telephone call from the ACLU about its experience and the violations of rights that it had endured. She said the exclusion ordinance finally had an impact on repeat offenders. Ms. Snowden said the issues involved were not about youth or appearance; they were about public safety, and about people's ability to conduct business downtown without fear, walk the streets, and feel safe. She said her family could see the improvement that resulted from the exclusion ordinance. Cassandra Snowden, PO Box 5166, Eugene, said before the establishment of the ordinance, her family was subjected to racial harassment, which happened less frequently since the ordinance was put in place. She believed her family should have the right to feel safe on a daily basis. She believed the ordinance was necessary to address the problem of repeat offenders. She said it did not matter if someone was wearing a business suit, if they broke the law and victimized others, they deserved consequences. Sue Vandmeyer, Director of Energy Village, an organization dedicated to community growth through collaboration, advocated for the establishment of a center for homeless youth downtown. She envisioned a "one -stop shop" with services and a safe environment for service providers. She spoke of her efforts to put together such a facility. Ms. Vandmeyer also discussed Energy Village's intent to establish an information center downtown. Mayor Piercy closed the Public Forum and thanked those who spoke. She noted her support for extending the downtown exclusion ordinance while awaiting the Police Commission's review of the ordinance. Councilor Clark thanked those who testified and discussed their experience with the downtown exclusion zone. He believed the council should extend the zone long enough to review the data. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes - June 23, 2010, Council Meeting - June 28, 2010, Work Session - July 26, 2010, Work Session B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda MINUTES — Eugene City Council August 9, 2010 Page 2 Regular Meeting