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made a great deal of sense. Speaking to the issue of involving the Police Commission, he said that he spoke <br />to downtown business owners and residents who objected that they were not included in a review of the <br />ordinance. He suggested that the chief consider forming a subcommittee of commission members to publicly <br />process the parade ordinance. <br /> <br />Chief Lehner reminded the council that it had directed the City Manager to revise the ordinance and he had <br />received clear directions about the clarifications being sought. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly suggested Chief Lehner consider involving the downtown neighborhood association in the <br />development of the parade ordinance. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey asked how things were going downtown in general. Chief Lehner said it was his understand- <br />ing that criminal activities downtown were generally weather-dependent. There was a spike in hate speech <br />and hate crime recently in downtown, which created a problem. That appeared to be an emerging trend but <br />could be associated with the weather. With regard to crime levels, he said those issues continued to be a <br />major concern for Downtown Eugene, Incorporated, and for downtown residents. He had met with groups <br />with a downtown presence to discuss those issues, and was meeting soon with the downtown neighborhood <br />association. Chief Lehner said the department's ability to provide policing services downtown was <br />somewhat affected by its definition of service delivery. A conversation about that topic needed to happen. <br />The neighborhoods wanted to discuss appropriate levels of service delivery throughout the community. He <br />promised the council an inclusive process would occur, likely in the context of the next budget. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey said that several people in the Broadway Plaza area indicated to him that they did not feel as <br />comfortable at night downtown recently as they had in the past. Chief Lehner said he heard the same, and <br />passed those comments onto staff. He said that the department needed to work with the downtown in an <br />inclusive way; that process had started and would continue. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner observed that the forums on downtown policing were occurring but they had not been well- <br />advertised. He suggested the department may have to repeat the process to get the public involved. <br /> <br />The meeting adjourned at 7 p.m. <br /> <br />Respectfully submitted, <br /> <br />Dennis M. Taylor <br />City Manager <br /> <br />(Recorded by Kimberly Young) <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 12, 2004 Page 9 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />