Dear Mayor Piercy,
I have lived in the Eugene area on and off since 1954 and love our City and it's surroundings in Lane County. I have watched a continual decline in our City and Lane County due to what is called "shifting values." It now has reached critical proportions in the City and I continue to hear our government elected officials indicate that they cannot understand why they are having difficulty locating investors for the downtown area and businesses who do not wish to locate in the downtown area. In addition the government officials do not understand why the populace will not come to visit the vendors in the City. Based on the premise that a picture is worth a thousand words, I offer you a pictorial explanation of the basic problems that must be corrected before various new programs such as Eugene Counts can be successful. Please enjoy the pictorial display below and after looking at each picture scroll down to find a brief list of solutions that can clean our house and get ready for invitees.
[See images at: http://sites.google.com/site/eugeneadvocates/]
There are a number of solutions that can help enhance the City of Eugene and it's ability to draw investors, business owners, and shoppers to Eugene downtown. However, before those programs can be successful(Eugene Counts), the problems identified in the pictorial display abovemust be corrected. Here are a partial listing of those solutions:
1. Create, implement and enforce a vagrancy law for Eugene and the surrounding area. Other communities have done this successfully and have withstood the court test in their state. Oregon can do the same.
2. Create, implement and enforce a loitering law for Eugene and the surrounding area. Other communities have done this successfully and withstood court tests in their state. Oregon can do the same.
3. Authorize the City Police volunteers,Lane Transit Authority, and the University of Oregon Police to issue citations for dogs without licenses, vagrancy, loitering and bike or skateboarding on public sidewalks and plazas.
4. Authorize the City Police to issue citations for dogs without licenses, vagrancy, and loitering.
5. Involve LCARA in the dog license and control matter in Eugene and surrounding area. Remove the cap on LCARA and inscent LCARA to be responsible for aggressive enforcement of dog laws in downtown.
6. Authorize the Chamber of Commerce "Red Hats" to issue citations for dogs without licenses and bike riding/skateboarding on public sidewalks/City owned plazas. "Red Hats" should also have the authority and responsibility to report vagrancy and loitering to the Eugene Police or Police Volunteers for action.
7. Enact and/or enforce a law forbidding the use of City owned property for the use of soliciting and operating none licensed businesses on City owned property. Other communities have successfully implemented such ordinances.
These seven actions will help to move the problem out of the area and remove the reputation that Eugene has received as a home for those who want to conduct themselves as those in the pictorial display. This action will lift the handcuffs from our Police force and allow them to do the job that we the citizens hire them to do. All of these actions can be implemented by the Eugene City Council and the Mayor. Then and only then can we move forward with Eugene Counts and other programs to help bring businesses, investors, and patrons back to Eugene. There will be those naysayers who will say Oregon law does not allow this. Which will you be-- a naysayer or someone who truly wants the Eugene downtown area to thrive and prosper. Skipping and/ or not taking actions to clean our house will only lead to further programs that have been expensive to taxpayers and ultimately failed. Let's go forward and make EUGENE COUNT!!!!
EugeneAdvocates for a Clean City
