CC Minutes - 06/13/11 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Eugene would see any more money if the wars stopped tomorrow given all the debt faced by the United States. Eugene would have to learn to live on its own, and needed to stop raising taxes for such things as street projects when people had no money. He said if taxes increased more, he would merely pass it on to his tenants, who would then face losing their home. He advocated for job creation and downtown business support. Mr. Baptist acknowledged conditions downtown had improved over the last year but he thought more could be done. Tom Kamis, 856 Lincoln Street, said many concerned downtown business owners and residents had asked the council in the past to take action to fight criminal behavior downtown. He suggested that council tolerance of such behaviors helped to explain the recent overdose of a high school freshman girl in a downtown public bathroom. The girl in question was well -known to the Eugene Police Department (EPD) but had been given free rein downtown to panhandle and was suspected of prostitution. Mr. Kamis had personally encountered her half - dressed, smoking methamphetamine with a 40 -year old man behind the Atrium Building. He asked how such behavior could be tolerated and suggested that if a councilor's daughter was involved something might happen. Mr. Kamis said that the issue downtown was not about homelessness, but about behavior that seemed to be deemed good by the council. Eugene was a destination and sanctuary for criminal travelers, homeless people, and mentally ill individuals prone to violence. The fact that the tools given to the EPD were not supported by the City and the City's lawyers gave more power to offenders than to law enforcement. Mr. Kamis cited a range of criminal activities witnessed by residents and said that the council and the City's lawyers appeared to believe such behaviors represented protected free speech. He said the council's inaction on what he termed assaults on its citizens was a crime. Mr. Kamis proposed a different approach: that the City actually does something about the problems he discussed. He suggested the City consider the approaches used in cities such as Albuquerque, Berkeley, and Austin to limit panhandling in high crime areas of such as at automated teller machines, churches, transit stops, restaurants, sidewalks cafes, food carts, and bars. He said that Medford and Roseburg had adopted traffic ordinances that prohibited panhandling at traffic stops. Other communities, such as Dallas, Cincinnati, Minneapolis, and Greensboro issued licenses to panhandlers. Mr. Kamis said he continued to believe in downtown but he also believed the council had a duty to act, and its actions would speak louder than words. He said the councilors stated their support of downtown businesses at election time, but when it came time for action, noting happened. He said that coming downtown on First Fridays did not give the councilors a good idea of what happened downtown the rest of the month. Mayor Piercy closed the Public Forum. She thanked those who spoke but pointed out that while anyone could address the council about any subject, those remarks were not always factual or true but were reflective of their opinions and values. Addressing the remarks made by Mr. Kamis, Mayor Piercy acknowledged there were public safety issues downtown but the council was working diligently on them. She cited data -led policing and the addition of police officers as real actions taken by the City to reduce crime downtown. Mayor Piercy solicited council comments. Councilor Ortiz indicated interest in further information about the allegations made by Gary and Maria Jenkins. She shared with Mr. Ford that policy changes meant that the incident he described could no longer occur. MINUTES— Eugene City Council June 13, 2011 Page 4 Regular Meeting