Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Summary, Break

SUMMARY....a must read from EugeneAdvocates.....

EugeneAdvocates for a Clean City was initially created to draw the deplorable condition of downtown to the attention of public officials and key administrators. We accomplished that with Pictorial 1 and 2 found on our web site listed below. The dramatic conditions were a wake up call not only for the public officials and key administrators but also for the people of Eugene who do not go downtown because of the condition they witnessed when they use to attempt a trip to town and also to reinforce those that use downtown regularly. The City acknowledged the valid concerns of EugeneAdvocates with their numerous comments and the media finally climbed on board. EugeneAdvocates felt the need to present the taxpayers comments to the City (these can be found on the blog listed below). Even the Mayor acknowledged the deplorable condition of downtown and the Chief of Police acknowledged the deplorable and growing crime rate for Eugene.

Since the first edition there have been some advancements in programs that are designed to assist in cleaning up downtown. The solutions EugeneAdvocates supported were not totally enacted by the City even though they could have been implemented without major budget impact. However, the Council with minor exceptions appear to be working toward some solutions. Thus EugeneAdvocates will take a break to allow the process to unfold. We will be curious to see the measuring sticks to be used to gage success and will see what this summer brings. The Mayor and Council need to remember that just enticing more people to come to town will not clean up the City. As one of the commentors pointed out: " Business won't move in if they don't have customers--customers won't come downtown if it isn't safe." Therefore we will all take a break and ask the City to continue to immediately implement the work of the Police Chief's task force and the financial suggestions of the City Manager and then maybe, just maybe, we will see an improvement by summer. A word of caution must go to supporters of a Clean Eugene--be very careful if in the time ahead you are asked to sign a petition which will slow down any well intended efforts by the City Council to clean up downtown. Read the petition carefully and think of how it will effect the immediate clean up of your city.

All of us should be very observant of the actions of each of the Councilors, the actions of the Budget Committee, and the actions of the Mayor. Remember we as taxpayers and voters are the responsible parties to this City's atrocity given we have or have not voted appropriately. Several of the Councilors are up for re-election and we need to be observant on how they have addressed the downtown problems and vote accordingly. The same holds true for the Mayor in a couple of years. In addition we need to be very observant of the budget committee and voice our concerns to the Mayor, Council and Budget Committee. Here are a couple of email addresses that will allow you to do that: One email to the Mayor and Council is sufficient to reach each of them: mayorandcc@ci.eugene.or.us. One email to the Budget Committee is sufficient to reach each committee member: eugene.budget.committee@CI.Eugene.OR.US. You need not sign them to be effective.

Emails are easy and please remember it is each of our responsibility to let these folks know how we feel. Lack of doing this will result in more atrocities in the downtown area. Remember we are all in this together as in: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8h_v_our_Q. Eugene and its taxpayers deserve better. Thank you to each of you for your support and we will look forward to some positive results by summer.

EugeneAdvocates for a Clean City

email: eugeneadvocate@aol.com
web site: http://sites.google.com/site/eugeneadvocates/
the blog: http://eugeneadvocates.blogspot.com/

Monday, March 8, 2010

Focus On Solutions Now

PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS.......FOCUS ON SOLUTIONS NOW.......


DO ANY OF THESE STATS ASSIST OR HINDER OUR SOLUTIONS TO DOWNTOWN???

Hoping for Change

Reoccuring Problems still.....hopefully changing....

"Amen! My sister works at the U Of O. She has been telling me things that go on there. One big problem is they do not do drug testing of anyone. I think it's the unions and the professors that don't want it because it could expose their own drug abuse. Three workers last year went on break together and were caught on a bench on campus smoking dope of some sort. It took them a while to fire them because they are union. Unions should not have anything to do with whether these workers are tested. People could get injured or killed while on these drugs. The U of O could be sued big time. What would happen to the state budget then? The way these kid's are allowed to dress is unbelievable, they wear lingerie during class time even a street hooker would be embarrassed to wear. Then there is the promotion of promiscuity with condom fashion shows, free condoms necklaces they wear around proudly. They also have seminars on sexual positions and this in under the category of safe sex. This only promotes disease and unwanted pregnancy since condoms don't always work. Then of course there is planned parenthood to the rescue. This murder of children can and does destroy the girls lives as well as the child. These kid's future is at stake, we need to change things NOW. We need to stop drugs from coming into this country to keep them away from our kids. Drugs lead to crime when they are addicted. Many of them start using in our schools. Evenually they drop out with no job and mom and dad have left them to fend for themselves on our streets. This is a tragedy. Thank you for listening. "

Friday, March 5, 2010

Grassroots Thoughts

Grassroots thoughts.........What do you think?????

"WAKE UP EUGENE" We are getting state and national recognition for the wrong reasons. How do you feel about the trending curve toward the top for identity theft, illegal drug use, and the crimes against person and property. The clock is ticking and the bad guys are laughing!

I have said it before that we need to get tough on crime and start REALLY supporting our criminal justice system. I am mad and you should be mad too!

Advocate for the return of the decent and law abiding and well governed Eugene and Lane County that we can have back".
___________________________

"I was born on the 4th floor of the old Sacred Heart. My parents lived here as well as my grandparents and I'm getting sick seeing what is becoming of Eugene. We are becoming SO liberal that "anything goes" and there are no consequences. We need to enforce the laws that are already on the books or otherwise, they're not worth the paper they're written on.

Concerned taxpaper"
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"There is an iron law of economics: Subsidize something and you get more of it. Our programs subsidize the homeless..."
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"One of the biggest problems we as a society have is that too many of us expect “someone else” to take care of the things we don’t want to deal with. Case in point--children. As a soccer coach, Cub Scout Leader, Boy Scout Leader, and member of a school district board-related function, I repeatedly saw parents expecting/asking/hoping that someone else help raise their children. Why? Because they are too busy at their job/personal lives/working out to take a personal interest in the rest of what goes in to raising a child. First it was day-care, then the sports team, then first grade, then high school and so on. Many were single-parent households.

Several community organizations and school programs sprouted to fill these needs. As a result, parents spent too little time raising their own children and not enough time with their kids. That left little time for teaching household rules, right and wrong, and ethics. Teachers spend huge amounts of classroom time dealing with what should be family issues. We even teach non-English speaking people how to do that—at tax-payer expense! Wonder why test scores are low? Ask a teacher. The schools have become the surrogate parent. They feed kids, they test for eye sight and hearing, they provide after school care, they discipline (but not the wrong way—of course.) Our society has gone soft. Why? Some blame it on the numerous television hours (and computer gaming) time that kids are allowed (and questionable entertainment based values.) Instead of the parent deciding what the child should watch, we expect the movie industry to label each one. And when the child misbehaves or doesn’t perform as expected, it is now “someone else’s fault.” Welcome to the no-fault society.

These young people grow up and repeat the same pattern with their own children. Or, some never grow up and live on the streets. Many of these folks fail because they can’t figure out how to fit in to society as an adult. Their parents were afraid to spank them, and as they grow up they don’t understand that they are in charge of and responsible for their own actions. If we don’t start telling our kids what is right and what is wrong, we can never expect them to turn out any different. So, part of the solution starts years before they become adults.

Even our leaders (corporate, political, community) set questionable examples. We worship sports figures, and then they get arrested. Our own President lied about having sex with a woman. Right and wrong are blurred lines these days.

Compounding the problem is the fact that today’s version of punishment means nothing. Commit a crime? No big deal; you’ll be out in no time. The prisons are full—or underfunded, so they can’t hold the recently arrested. And as a result cops are laughed at; they spend huge portions of their days tracking down offenders who fail to even show up for their hearing. Until we have laws that have teeth, and meaningful punishment, crime will continue. Watch what happens to the east. With Springfield’s new jail—which does keep prisoners locked up—their crime rate will certainly fall. The bad news is that some of these offenders will move to the west and continue their un-punished crimes in Eugene. Meanwhile the rest of us are supposed to feel guilty, pay more taxes, donate more to the food bank, and live with the consequences of a too-soft-on-crime society.

These folks have become a huge burden on our society. 38% of costs incurred by hospitals are attributable to the uninsured. So, those of us who actually budget for and pay our medical costs are taking up the slack for those who we call “unfortunate.” In reality, many of these folks choose to live the lives they do.

Continuing the trend of our anti-responsible society, we now want to regulate what type of liquor is sold in a particular area? This is to me akin to distributing “clean” syringes to drug addicts—another practice I dislike. Rather than addressing the true problem we’d rather take sensitivity classes, feel guilty that some of these parasites don’t have it as good as the rest of us, and regulate their (and our) environment. Come on folks, wake up. Regulation only costs the law abiding segment of our society and not the others. Until you get stern with the offenders, eradicate the root problem, punish the law breakers, they will continue to adapt to our lame efforts to accommodate their behaviors. If you believe Darwin, this is a form of evolution. We’re just simply training these folks to become more cunning criminals.

“No,” we should not be banning any type of liquor sales in Eugene.

Fri, 5 Mar 2010 16:38:01 EST

Sunday, February 28, 2010

State Of Our City and County

More information on the state of our City and County.....

How much longer will we be without action on behalf of our city council, our mayor for all of eugene, our city manager and our police chief. Doesn't the buck stop with them and how much longer will they allow Our crime rate to continue to grow. Please press on your elected Representatives individually to take action to lower our crime rate in Eugene and lane county. Public safety should be our number one Priority.

EugeneAdvocates for a Clean City
____________________________

Great job and timely article. No wonder it seems like we have a problem—we DO!

(signed by a business owner and tax payer)
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Response from CIty of Eugene:

This note responds to your recent email to Margaret Harter for information from the City of Eugene.

You have asked for information regarding the Downtown Safety Committee. We believe you may be referring to the Downtown Safety Council. This group was formed shortly after the LTD station was built and began providing the physical space for the Downtown Public Safety Station (exact date unknown). The Downtown Safety Council included members of the public, businesses, library staff, LTD staff, social service agencies, Police and Parole and Probation officers. The group met monthly with the goal of creating the opportunity for the various stakeholders to share information about downtown concerns and to work mutually to create solutions to problems. This was an opportunity for two-way communication between law enforcement and interested stakeholders. In March 2009, when the downtown station closed, Police no longer coordinated the group. Two groups now exist: the Downtown Safety and Security Network is coordinated by the City through the Planning and Development Department and the City's Parking Structures/Facilities program. This group brings together various security firms and some law enforcement representatives also attend. The second group retained the name of the Downtown Safety Council. Notes and announcements for this group are coordinated by Mary Leighton, Network Charter School. This group is not advisory to the city.

Also, in response to your earlier email regarding Eugene Police Department vehicles, staff has prepared the following information:

Vehicle information The monthly rates cover costs for fuel, insurance, parts and materials, routine maintenance, all repairs and accident related repairs and replacements. Monthly vehicle rates are established based upon the class category of the vehicle. The rates are determined by the overall experience (from previous years) associated with that that specific vehicle class. The following list shows the FY10 class categories, the monthly cost for that category and the number of vehicles for that class within the EPD inventory:

Vehicle Class: Rate per Month x Number of EPD Vehicles
Sedans: $292 x 12
Sedans - Gas/Electric: $152 x 13
Patrol Sedans: $1,451 x 46
Vans - Mini: $307 x 10
Van ¾ Ton: $371 x 2
PU ½ Ton: $210 x 2
PU 4WD: $360 x 7
SUV: $386 x 6
SUV Patrol: $857 x 12
SUV - Gas/Electric: $166 x 8
Motorcycle: $375 x 9
Explosive Devices Bomb Truck: $375 x 1
SWAT Truck: $337 x 1
Armored Truck: $346 x 1
Command Bus: $937 x 1
Misc. Vehicles: $100 or less x 17

Total All Classes of Vehicles = 200

I understand that Finance staff previously provided a link to the City's website regarding the Budget Committee. I include it again here for your convenience: www.eugene-or.gov/budgetcommittee.

If you have additional information requests, please direct them to: Beth Forrest, Acting City Recorder, beth.l.forrest@ci.eugene.or.us or at 777 Pearl St., Room 105, Eugene, OR 97401. Consistent with State Public Records Law and the City's fee order for public records requests, this will allow us to determine if the requested information is contained in an existing public record and, if so, provide an estimate of the time and fees for searching for and making copies of the public records. (Public records request form is attached.)

Thank you, Beth Forrest Acting City Recorder
____________________________

" I had no idea that things are as bad as these pictures so graphically illustrate. It is hard to believe that things have gravited to the place they are. But when I look at the individuals who comprise the majority of our Eugene City Council, I can see how it might have evolved, and the fact that there is no energy, or the backbone to take the necessary 7 steps to deal with the problem, then handle the pushback that would be certain to test the resolve of everyone involved including police, city staff and elected officials.

If, like us you were to spend a great deal of time away, and travel downtown very little, only basically hear about problems, often in vague terms, this email strikes hard.

Thanks for sharing" (signed by a retired citizen and tax payer who recently viewed the EugeneAdvocates web site)
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"If you read the latest edition of Open For Business published by the Eugene Chamber of Commerce there is no problem down town, and if there is it is being handled? Get a copy, it's very interesting."

(signed by a Eugene resident and tax payer)
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"Wow—interesting. But don’t discount the value of all those social services we provide. They’ve got to count for some sort of offsetting credit!"

(signed by business owner and tax payer)
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" ...the weather has been so crappy (and in earnest, too) the bums have probably been reluctant to try to sleep in the cold and the wet."

(signed by a downtown worker and taxpayer)
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"To: Eugene Advocates
From: Jean Tate

I’ve been meaning to write you again so your “jog” is timely.

Yes, we have been meeting every two weeks and most recently every week. We have spent time with the sheriff, the district attorney, the human services folks who are readying a money measure for the November ballot, the county assessor and the county budget officer. In addition I have talked with judges, parole and probation, jail staff, juvenile justice folks, and other. Dave and I met briefly with the Public Safety Coordinating Council.

I believe that your interest is primarily with the City of Eugene. We formed to look at the larger county picture. I got to this place by realizing that the major block to anything positive happening in Eugene was the necessity for additional jail beds. That is a county function, not a city function. So we are looking at the needs from the county’s level. This week we met with Jeff Spartz, the county administrator, to talk about process if we decide to recommend some kind of ballot measure.

We see both short term and long term problems at the county level. The short term problems involve public safety staff and facilities. The long term problems concern recidivism, prevention and rehabilitation. Finding a balance among these is a very large challenge. Add to that the problem of “compression” which results from bumping up against Measure 5 limits and the puzzle complexity increases.

We don’t have answers yet; we are still learning. We will meet with the county commissioners on February 23 to discuss some possible recommendations. A big concern is how to educate the public about the needs and costs of possible solutions and then finding something that 51 percent of the voters can agree to. As you all know, there are strong feelings and not too much agreement about the relative merits of incarceration, treatment and prevention. It is our understanding that the county commissioners have asked Jeff Spartz to have a poll conducted to see what potential voters might approve. Suggestions and thoughts are welcome.

Jean Tate"

Friday, February 26, 2010

Malt Liquor Sales Ban

KVAL asks questions on the Task Force solutions:

Should malt liquor sales be banned in Eugene? Eugenean's comments:

How many ways can I say no? How about we enforce the laws we already have? Do something about the homeless problem? So, if we take away the cheap, high content beer, that's really going to stop people from drinking? Hardly. Are we going to ban cheap wine? PBR? One of the cheapest beers on the market? Take all the cheep alcohol out of the liquor stores? Let's just go back to prohibition. That worked really well. Let's just ban everything we don't like. You can't by spray paint without getting carded, did that do anything to curb the graffiti issues? We made stupid laws regarding the purchase of cold medicine to stop meth. That worked really well for us now didn't it?
_______________________________

The problem is an out of control non-local homeless-by-choice population Eugene has become a 5-Star destination to.
_______________________________

I live in a nice neighborhood where the homeowners take pride in their community, however we have a "mini-mart" just down the street and due to the fact that they knowingly sell alcohol to the homeless in the area we have a corner that is overrun with bums. I can look out my kitchen window and see a small herd of homeless people sharing paper covered cans, day and night. The availability of the cheap malt liquor is going to determine where they are going to hang out.
_______________________________

Make and/or ENFORCE laws regarding vagrancy, illegal camping, panhandling, public intoxication, etc. in Lane County and start addressing the problem at its root.
_______________________________

If you would like to see more on this subject please go to:
http://www.kval.com/news/health/85143152.html

While the solutions are not perfect it is a start and will need the budget committee to endorse it with their support of funding for Public Safety.

EugeneAdvocates for a Clean City

Monday, February 22, 2010

Businesses Need Customers

Business won't move in if it they don't have customers--customers won't come...

The Eugene Police Department has instituted a computer reporting system for non-emergency crimes. It can be found on the web site listed below. Please go online and see what it covers and how it works. It appears that this is a way to record crime in your area but may not result in action by the Eugene Police Dept. Time will tell. It does provide the Eugene Police with another data base to help pin point crime spots. So if you witnessed any of the following what should you do. According to this you will file a report instead of calling the police department.

Select Incident Type There are several different incident types that can be entered using the internet. Please select one from the list below and continue. If the incident you are reporting has a known suspect, you should instead call us at 541-682-5111.

Incident Type Definition Examples
Anonymous Drug Tip LineTo make an anonymous report on a crime you have witnessed involving drugs.For example, if you saw someone selling drugs, perhaps near a school, the library or downtown.
Anonymous Tip LineTo make an anonymous report on a crime you have witnessed.Have you observed an accident, theft, someone breaking into your neighbor's home or car, someone breaking windows of a business or other criminal behaviors, that are not drug related?
GraffitiThe act of changing, modifying or defacing public or private property by using paint or spray paint.Spray painted names on walls, unauthorized murals on property belonging to someone other than the person who painted the mural, etc.
Theft of BicycleYour bicycle is taken without your permission.The bicycle is known to be stolen and missing may be reported. Lost or misplaced bicycles are not a theft.
VandalismThe act of changing, modifying or defacing public or private property.Knocking over mail boxes, throwing rocks through windows, etc.


Click on this Eugene Police Department website for more information and to report non-emergency crimes:

http://www.eugene-or.gov/portal/server.pt?space=CommunityPage&control=SetCommunity&CommunityID=474&PageID=4283

According to this if you see someone breaking into your neighbors house you are to sit down at your computer and file a report. Same applies if you see someone selling drugs near your childs school.

EugeneAdvocates for a Clean City
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Letter to the Mayor:

"Clearly something needs to be done with downtown Eugene and safety. Last week I was downtown to purchase a new pair of shoes and have lunch with a friend. I was with my 3 y/o granddaughter--Broadway and Willamette in the center of town. As I was pushing her in the carriage to the shoe store I witnesses a person who had wet himself obviously a menace--talking to two young ladies asking them for money--in the middle of the day. He had wet himself which was apparent by the looks of his clothing---this was prior to lunch so it was early in the day. Not only do I not want to see this kind of display I do not want my granddaughter seeing it and growing up in this kind of environment Public safety needs to be a priority! Laws need to be enforced. Please provide funds for public safety so that I can go downtown and enjoy our city and please please clean up down town Eugene for my grandchildren."

(signed by a concerned taxpaying Grandparent)

Mayors Response:

"While what you describe may be distasteful,it is not illegal for someone to wet himself. No officer can arrest someone for that. We will continue to work on cleaning up downtown and for social service solutions to social service problems. This sounds like a mental health issue. Mayor Piercy"
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Response from Grandparent to the Mayor:

" Kitty--in my mind you just don't get it. I am asking for the current laws to be enforced.

I was a Social Worker by profession and worked with down and out persons with "mental health issues" and "distasteful" things and behaviors, as you probably know. I am familiar with special needs I am not new to troubled folks and that is not what I would like addressed. My heart too is in the right place just as yours is--but there are mental health issues and there are laws. I would like to see the laws enforced rather than overlooked. I grew up here as did many generations of my family we were pioneers here--1842. Never have I seen or heard of so many laws being broken and property being damaged. I would like to see a town to be proud of. I would like to be able to take my grandchildren to see the sights of town just as I did not an occasional band or group preforming from time to time. Every time I go down there I get hit up for money or something by someone--- and I see the damage that has been done to buildings--no stores to speak of--I am not unique others see it too. Please look carefully at putting more law enforcement folks in town and clean it up. If we could just enforce toe current laws it would be helpful. Maybe then business will want to come back to town. Please consider my plea in the current budget process. Thank you for your time."

(signed by a concerned Grandparent)
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Mayorial Response to the Grandparents of Eugene:

We all want the current laws enforced. That is not what you were discussing in your e-mail. I would have to see real stats regarding whether this is worse than it has ever been. I am certainly aware of that the problem exists. I am proud of our city and all the work so many do on so many fronts. I too am downtown regularly and I see some things I don’t like. I have never felt threatened nor been badly treated. I understand others have had a different experiences. We have been and are looking at more law enforcement, increased social services and development and we all believe it is the combination that will finally make the difference. I do not underestimate the problem or the challenge but neither do I overestimate. I see the reality and we are trying hard to deal with it, even in this recession and with our budgetary restraints. Kitty
_____________________________

Response from the Grandparent who "gets it" to the Mayor for all Eugene:

" Kitty--to start off right I would like to ask you not to scold me or correct my paper we are both adults and I would really like you to be the "Mayor to all of the people"--not just those who support your views.

Like I said in my last email my family has been here since the 1800's---I love this city which is why it breaks my heart to see it in it's current state. My family and many others refuse to go near downtown. They do not feel safe and are accosted each time they go near downtown. We have laws why can't they be enforced?

As far as social services go--we have many-- As the presenter at a workshop I attended recently stated "if you are an addict Lane CTY is a good place to be." Many of the folks that hang around downtown use the existing social services and still beg and break the law-- many choose not to follow the regulations required to receive the the social services-- I don't think they work that well. ( My opinion) I have been attending a workshop at SHMC Campus branch on addiction. Some really good things have come out of it. 1) which hasn't changed in years--most ( 70 to 85%) relapse 2)--it ruins families and friends 3) it is very expensive and frankly I do not think we have the dollars for it. 4) Alcohol is where it usually starts and with teens. As a result most on the street do not seek out treatment. Law states that the person seeking treatment has to do it of his/her own behalf-- they can not be forced. It is only successful if the person buys into treatment. They have to want treatment. So-- the question is what would be the social services you are talking about?

My question is simple--when are we going to clean up Eugene and enforce the current laws already on the books. Business won't move in if it they don't have customers--customers won't come downtown if it isn't safe. Please consider this when working on the budget".

(signed by a Grandparent concerned about Downtown condition and Law Breakers)
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"The reputation of a police department in any given community is what insures a safe environment. New York PD is a good an example of effective.

Criminals migrate to regions where police departments are micro-managed and handcuffed by vocal minorities and city government. When Police can only bark and not bite, and the criminal justice system is not capable of delivering punishment that is detrimental from a violator’s perspective, you have a failed system. From a victim’s perspective, these elementary facts are easier to comprehend. Criminals do communicate and I’ll use Al Qaeda as an efficient example.

Until city government, the vocal minority, and local media quit condemning law enforcement and allow them to utilize their core training, this community’s reputation and safety will continue to erode at its’ already alarming rate."

(submitted by a taxpayer and voter)

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Taxpayer Comments

NOTE THESE COMMENTS COME FROM TAXPAYING CITIZENS NOT DOWNTOWN VAGRANTS...

"There is just one conclusion we can draw from these pictures and others like them: this is the kind of city Kitty Pearcy and most of the city government wants. They don't care about businesses and building a tax base. People drinking, sleeping and defecating on sidewalks? Fine with them. Unlicensed dogs pooping in front of stores? Fine.

Kitty and her ilk see these people (maybe the dogs, too) as victims of an unjust society. We are spinning our wheels trying to get them to improve Eugene.

Kitty and her colleagues will use public funds to build bike paths and create programs that act as magnets for the homeless. Our efforts are better spent electing people who will solve the problem than trying to get Kitty and crew to change their minds."

(signed by a taxpayer expressing their thoughts)
_______________________________________

"Well according to Open For Business magazine from the Chamber of Commerce everything is under control downtown !"

(how true is it that neither the Chamber of Commerce or the Lane Metro. Partnership do not hold the city responsible for downtown but seemly condone what occurs downtown.)
_______________________________________

"I want to mention to you and your group that I think we are just getting more of the same old “feel good ideas” from the Chief of Police with his recent recommendations for dealing with Downtown public safety issues. His so called immediate or short term ideas are for the most part more of the same ideas we have been trying for the last few years and will do nothing but continue to move our problem people around downtown.

The real issue and highest priority should be more jail beds. Please read my attached to the Editor. I have been involved with these street issues for over 10 years and every cop on the street will tell you the same thing that we must have jail beds available to get the offenders off the street. Currently there is not room for downtown offenders, even with the additional 84 bed from the county this summer there is only room for the most serious crimes. Downtown offenders are only warned or arrested and released a few hours later. The Chief only recommends an additional 10 jail beds to house downtown offenders as a possible long-term idea, in other words in a few years or never.

I asked Chief Kerns directly at a Chamber Breakfast last Friday about this issue and he had no real answers except that his recommendations would make a big difference. In the same meeting the police department admitted that the vast majority of the downtown crime are committed by the same 10 to 15 people. Would it not seem logical that to be able to get these people off the street and locked up, until there trial, would reduce the crime rate considerably.

Please don’t be fooled by such suggestions of an exclusion zone for repeat offenders or limiting the downtown sale of beverages with high alcohol content( two of the Chief’s recommendations). This just pushes these problems into the nearby neighborhoods where it is even harder to deal with them.

Common sense tells us that without jail beds there are no consequences for bad behavior, we cannot keep repeat offenders off the street, we cannot keep drug addicts and alcoholics long enough for detoxing. We just keep moving these people around from Broadway to the Library to the bus depot to the nearby neighborhoods and back to Broadway.

I am one of your groups biggest fans and I applaud you for bringing attention to the downtown problems. I know it is easy to feel like the battle is won now that the Chief and hopefully the City Council is taking notice, but none of these recommendations will do much good without at least the 10 additional jail beds."

(signed by a concerned taxpaying citizen)
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"Technically the real and most effective means of resolving downtown issues is putting more cops with attitude on the streets.

Source of least resistance theory. If the people fear them, ie: knowing they'll get smacked down if they give them lip service, etc. That's how it works in Springtuckey, and the cost is minimal.

How that happens in our current environment is the challenge." (opinion of a resident and taxpayer)
_______________________________________

"Hello Eugene Advocates, PLEASE consider this anonymously submitted, but in case anyone wants to document this, I noticed today in one of the park blocks (the one without the fountain, the eastern-most block, towards the north end of it) just east of the stone wall, that there was a syringe - look for an orange cap - and a spoon not far from each other in the dirt). Pretty sad. Thought you might want to know."

(signed by a concerned taxpayer)

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:36:39 EST

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Other Reasons to Take Action

Maybe other good reasons to take action now to clean up Eugene.....

"Wow, that's quite the compilation of disgusting downtown photos. This could be a solution to our density issues. Any normal person that stumbles across this website while Googling Eugene will think twice. Maybe this will even scare off some those wealthy college parents to such an extent they'll choose other cities and other colleges.

I totally agree that the downtown is sad, the library stinks of BO, and the mayor is generally useless, but I'm concerned about advertising a visually negative image of our community to the whole world.

The biggest thing that would help downtown in my opinion is getting rid of Urban Renewal District. The URD has historically failed and done nothing other than artificially inflate real estate values in an area that doesn't deserve it. A good example of what can happen if the city wasn't always sitting around picking the downtown scab is what is currently happening on Blair. You have an area that the city has neglected, prices were low, and now true capitalism is flourishing. The same thing could happen on Broadway if the city would stop meddling.

Just my two cents..."

(signed by a citizen who has a genuine concern for the condition downtown)
------------------------------------------

"I should point out that line workers often provide their supervisors with clever programs that could save the city/county money, but nobody tends to listen.

To give you an example, I heard of this program being implemented by another city as a cost-saving measure. This city decided they wanted to save money on overnight training where travel and housing expenses were rising. Eugene has a huge training budget. What this city did was they started a program where a worker could earn money by helping the city save money on travel/hotel expenses. If the city gave him/her $100 a night for motel, and $20 a day for food, he could earn half of the money he saved. For example, if he found a cheaper motel on his own, or even found a friend who lived in the area to stay with, the worker would get 50 percent of the savings and the city would get the rest. If I'm staying for three nights at $100 a night, and I stay with a friend, the city just saved $150.00 just for that one employee. Often times multiple employees are sent to training at the same time. If I went out to eat at McDonalds and only spent half of my meal stipend, the city gets half of that back as well (providing receipts of course). This is just one example that came to my mind, but I have heard of many great plans, brought up by line workers, who were just ignored because we don't have anyone in place to help us implement these plans. Supervisors are either too busy with their normal duties, or just don't care. I'm not speaking about any department specifically, but all of them. Another example would be motion sensors in rooms/bathrooms etc. that don't have people in them 24/7. Bathroom lights stay on all day long in most city buildings. How much would it cost to put a motion sensor in there to turn the lights off when no one was inside? The ides are endless and we could literally save hundreds of thousands of dollars if not millions. There are many many great ideas, but no one to bring them to get them implemented."

(signed by a concerned citizen with a good idea)
------------------------------------------

"The people downtown can throw their ticket in the trash, not show up in court, and they will not spend very much time in jail. Maybe and hour or two. Long enough to book them in and the jail to let them out the back door. The people on the street have come to the realization they can get away with anything because we don't have the jail resources to punish them.

Go back to Rudy Guiliani's reign in New York. He brought crime stastistics WAY down just by creating jail space and arresting criminals for outstanding cases. Simple as that.

Get the politicians, city and county, to stop spending money on BS things and fund the jail and your problem will go away."

(signed by a concerned citizen with their views)
------------------------------------------

"Way to stay on this! Keep it up."

(signed by a previous person who posted)
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Another suggestion from a concerned Eugene business person and citizen regarding the budgeting process and where to look for savings:

"Fire department vehicle$ City staff Prius' Metermaid dept. expense vs. Revenue. Taylor's actual travel expense.

Look for the less obvious categories, there are probably a large number that add up to even larger numbers. Pennys to dollars cliche."

Monday, February 8, 2010

City Council Work Session

City Council Work Session on Public Safety Funding..

It is our understanding that the City Manager will be announcing a new funding program for Public Safety to fund the long term goals of Chief Kerns including the additional 10 jail beds on Wednesday, February 10, 2010,at noon, in the McNutt Room of the City Hall. We encourage you to attend to support the forward motion of the Council and City Manager in the Clean Up of Downtown. Hopefully, we will not be disappointed and hopefully the proposal will be specific and have specific dates for accomplishment of this portion of the project along with a measurement system to determine success. These were lacking in the short term proposals and hopefully the Council will address those matters with both the short term and long term proposals.

EugeneAdvocates for a Clean City
Mon, 8 Feb 2010 16:57:07 EST

Sunday, February 7, 2010

To the Eugene Budget Committee

Thoughts for the Budget Committee to Ponder while setting budget priorities....

Members of the Budget Committee:

Our Web site (http://sites.google.com/site/eugeneadvocates/) and blog (http://eugeneadvocates.blogspot.com/) graphically illustrate and describe the problem in Eugene which is Public Safety. We hope that you will set your priorities to properly fund Public Safety to help Clean Up Eugene. With a major deficit facing you the safety problem will only grow without funding. Resist the special interest groups and fund what is important to all citizens of Eugene.

EugeneAdvocates for a Clean City

Friday, February 5, 2010

Let the Budget Process Begin

Let the Budget Process begin with a goal toward making some tough decisions.....

"Sorry, but I think that $133,333 per officier is a little pricy. I agree something should have been done years ago! What is the total assessed value of the down town corridor in question?

Thanks"

(a concerned citizen and business owner)
__________________________________

"Don't let their words remove the effective pressure that's been brought to bear. Keep the painful pressure on. This is no time to reward good intentions. They've always had good intentions. FOLLOW THROUGH...ADD to the pressure now...don't lessen it! These bureaucratic idiots will stroke you till the cows come home. Their PROMISES mean less than nothing!!!

The only reason they're acting at all, is that citizens have finally had enough, and are making them pay for their foolishness."

(a frustrated citizen and taxpayer)
__________________________________

"Simply put from my perspective funding public safety comes down to:

Logic
Common sense
Obligation
Prioritization
Commitment
Productivity
Sacrifice

Safety, utilities, and transportation are the backbone of a healthy society.

The neglect over the years and the resulting reputation Eugene has on the West Coast will take years to rebuild.

It needs to start now and aggressively move forward.

Considering there are no budget committee members residing north of the Willamette river something needs to be done to establish balanced and non-biased representation."

(observations and suggestions from a taxpayer and citizen)
__________________________________

Serenity Lane says:

"Although most patients relapse (estimated to be 75-85%), and those with dual diagnosis tend to relapse more frequently, they will get better if they keep coming back for help...treatment works!" "Continue Treatment Despite Relapses."

(question is who should be responsible for payment for these continued services per individual?)
__________________________________

"By the way, I thought I should mention that "Data Led Policing" is just the city getting a new software program and trying to lead people to believe this is something new.

Police Officers have been directing their efforts in areas of high crime for decades. This is nothing new, just a new name and a new software program to get people to shut up about crime problems for a while.

That's my humble opinion. I don't think it's right. We need to be more honest with citizens. Sure this new program might help the Police get the data a little quicker and help to be a little more efficient, but if you don't have the officers to support it, it means nothing.

But it sure sounds good on the news and with the citizens!"

"If I were the Chief of Police, I would tell the citizens this is what we can do with the resources we have. We are happy to continue to provide this level of service. If you want this higher level of service..this is what we need and this is how much it will cost. If not, we will continue doing what we are doing and try to make some modifications to do it more efficiently. But buying a software program and ...well I don't need to go over that again. "

(a concerned citizens' viewpoint)
__________________________________

"To the Eugene Budget Committee

I believe that the first priority of any government is to provide public safety for its citizens. The situation in downtown Eugene that has been publicized over the last few months is an example of what can happen when too little attention is paid to small problems. These small problems that have not been addressed have grown and festered and have become bigger and bigger problems. The crime statistics show Eugene's crime rate is leading Oregon and most of the other similar size cities.

If the goal of the City Government of Eugene is make the downtown area a vibrant and economically important area, then the issues of panhandling, begging, public drunkenness, public urination, unchecked graffiti and the like must be contained.

As a business person I will tell you that investment in an area like downtown Eugene is not a smart move unless these problems are addressed in a meaningful way,. This does not mean lip service.

Solving these problems,of course, will cost money for more police, prosecution and incarceration facilities. I strongly urge that the Budget Committee put significant funding into the cleanup of downtown Eugene."

(a concerned taxpaying citizen)
__________________________________

Did you know that last years City of Eugene budget included approximately $200,000 to feed staff, council, Mayor, and volunteers who chose to meet during the noon lunch hour or during dinner time. That equates to almost two additional police officers to work crime in Eugene. This does not seem to be a prudent use of taxpayers dollars given our current economic crisis. We are hopeful that this years budget committee will be more prudent and will focus on zero based budgeting and that the Council will provide a list of priorities for spending and when the revenues no longer cover the priority list then the remaining expenses are discontinued. Seems simple but the results have not been very positive in the past. Perhaps this Council, this Mayor and this Budget Committee can work harder to make those difficult decisions and that our Safety will be the first priority.

EugeneAdvocates for a Clean City

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Budgeting Starts This Evening

Budgeting for Eugene starts this evening......

The City of Eugene budget process starts this evening. Sorry for the short notice but we just received it. There is time at 5:30pm to give public testimony. If you support the actions of the Council and Public Safety it would a good time to voice your concerns. Below please find the information.

EugeneAdvocates for a Clean City
____________________________

"Attached please find a copy of the City of Eugene Budget Committee packet for the meeting that will be held on Tuesday, February 2, 2010, from 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm at the Bascom-Tykeson Room of the Downtown Library. An electronic version of the packet is also available on the City's web site at [http://www.eugene-or.gov/budgetcommittee].

Citizens are encouraged to express their views on the City budget and funding priorities. Public testimony will be taken at the beginning of the meeting starting at 5:30 pm. Each speaker has up to three minutes to share his or her views on the budget. You may also provide your feedback to the Eugene Budget Committee at [http://www.eugene-or.gov/budgetcommittee].

The meeting will be televised on MetroTV, Channel 21, and the webcast recording will be available the following business day on the City's website at http://www.eugene-or.gov; however, there will be no live webcast available.

Pavel Gubanikhin
Budget Analyst"

Monday, February 1, 2010

More Open to Business Soon

Eugene may soon be more open to business than in the past......

On January 28th as most of you know the City Council unanimously voted to direct the City Manager Jon Ruiz to enact six short term proposals and to seek funding for six additional long term proposals to help in reducing the crime problem in downtown that has existed for years and to clean up the downtown. A couple of notables about these actions include the fact that the Council and Mayor unanimously demonstrated support to clean up downtown and that they approved some "baby step" actions to help with a long established problem in the downtown area. The recommended short term and long termed action items include the following:

Recommended crime fighting short term ideas:

1. Better coordination with Downtown Eugene Inc.'s red-capped guides, private security firms and parole and probation officers.

2. Develop downtown ordinance to restrict sale of cheap beverages with high alcohol content.

3. Expand use of video cameras to prevent vandalism and other crimes. Cost: $100,000.

4. Develop downtown proposal to assess fees on vacant buildings; include more properties in business improvement district.

5. Review exclusion zone ordinance for possible changes.

6. Downtown work crews for offenders. Cost: $28,000.

Possible long-term ideas:

1. Collaborative public-private approach for downtown security. Cost: $100,000.

2. Hire nine officers to work downtown. Cost: $1.2 million.

3. Add 10 jail beds to house downtown offenders. Cost: $420,000.

4. Develop overnight facility for alcohol/drug abusers. Cost: To be determined.

5. Add lighting. Cost: $100,000.

6. Improve response for people with mental health problems. Cost: $325,000.

We all acknowledge that this has been a very long time in coming but are pleased to see some action on the part of our elected officials and now turning it over to the paid staff to implement. As one resident said," It is about time." We are all excited to see results from the implementation of the short term and eventually the long term solutions identified by Chief of Police Pete Kern's task force. It is nice to see that the studying is over and action can now begin. One resident stated: "They didn't take the handcuffs off the police totally but they gave them the indication that they can do their job."

There is a word of caution however. In order for short term and long term action items to be successful they need to be specific in nature so all understand what is expected and required, they must be date specific (in other words have a specific date when they are to be accomplished), and they must have a measurable result to determine if the action has been successful. The action items did not posses these important items so we can only hope that the Council will review those in their February 10, 2010, work session on public safety to be held at noon on Feb. 10th at the McNutt Room. Time will tell. Until then EugeneAdvocates would like to thank the City Council, the Mayor, the City Manager, the Police Chief, and the Planning Director for taking these courageous steps to help clean up Downtown Eugene. There remain many other non-budget impacting solutions that can be enacted without the Council but this is a "baby step" forward and we will all take it.

EugeneAdvocates for a Clean City

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Thoughts to Ponder

"The big attraction? How about headlines that scream "NO ROOM AT THE JAIL?" Or the free lunches, dinners, etc. Or the many people who hand money to the corner jockeys. Or how about the LTD hub, the public library and the empty hole being a central meeting area. Or the Broadway Plaza? My family and I could not enjoy many of the downtown attractions this summer because the drunk and drugged took over Broadway Plaza and other areas. Nothing like sitting down to enjoy the glorious flowers on a warm sunny day while some guy is puking up his Steel Reserve.

There was a bicycle officer in front of the library one day who sat and watched people jaywalk, fight, do a drug deal, and an LTD bus run a red light. All in a few minutes, directly in front of him. What was he doing that he didn't notice any of this? Talking on his cell phone.

I live downtown and love the thriving arts scene and the amazing music and community. But we have had to call Cahoots more times than we can remember for the people who are passed out, pooping in our yard or wandering in the street aimlessly. We've taken people to detox (Buckley) ourselves when the police and/or Cahoots could not respond.

Everyone talks about the "rights" of the homeless and drunk, but why not about the "rights" of the taxpaying homeowners and people who work? When the homeless start paying taxes to support the police dept and fire dept and Cahoots and detox and the ER....well, then, maybe their voice should be heard. In the meantime, the many dollars and resources that are expended on the behalf of these people who are able to sustain irresponsiblity because we take them on will continue to support irresponsible drunkeness."

(a concerned citizen and taxpayer)
____________________________

"I agree with Jean Tate that our city problems with crime and crime prevention need to be addressed on a county wide level. Money, no surprise to anyone is the key to all the various programs needed. I suggest the campaign, when put on the ballot, be a "shock and Awe" advertising and media approach. The only methods that will wake up and shake the city and county voters out of their mediocrity and compel them to part with their hard earned money is a campaign that reveals the deterioration in other "crime over the top" cities. There are plenty of examples and plenty of city leaders who will openly tell about the consequences of run away crime. When the people that live here feel safe and comfortable and look the other way and then next month or next year they tremble that their neighbor has been attacked in their home or their wonderful new truck has disappeared out of their lighted driveway overnight, guess what. It does not take long for a beautiful city and wonderful county to get to a place where no place is safe. Smell the roses and open your wallets so we can enjoy the paradise we live in. "

a concerned citizen and taxpayer
____________________________

"...thanks for the work you are doing, "

a concerned tax paying citizen
____________________________

" I was also downtown a bit ago and saw a derelict who had wet his pants harassing a couple of gals. What a city--they then charged me $1.50 to park and see empty buildings. Something is wrong or have I said that before!!!"

signed by a taxpayer and downtown visitor

Monday, January 25, 2010

Downtown Safety Meeting 1/27

Downtown Meeting of City Council/ Mayor/City Manager

Hi Everyone,
The City Council agenda has been updated for Wednesday, January 27th - Downtown Public Safety is now the only item on the agenda and begins at noon. ~Brenda

Brenda Schmidt
Executive Assistant
City of Eugene
Planning & Development Department
99 West 10th Avenue
Eugene, Oregon 97401
541.682.8817
http://www.ci.eugene.or.us
____________________________

If you can attend it would be important to hear the recommendations of the Chief of Eugene's Task Force on downtown Eugene Wednesday at noon in the McNutt Room on the City Hall complex. This is your downtown and they need to see who supports a fix for downtown. If crime in downtown is off your radar screen then please delete this message. Thank you.

EugeneAdvocates for a Clean City
Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:14:15 EST

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Update on CAPS progress

Update on CAPS progress thus far from one of the Co-Chairs....



To: Eugene Advocates
From: Jean Tate

I’ve been meaning to write you again so your “jog” is timely.

Yes, we have been meeting every two weeks and most recently every week. We have spent time with the sheriff, the district attorney, the human services folks who are readying a money measure for the November ballot, the county assessor and the county budget officer. In addition I have talked with judges, parole and probation, jail staff, juvenile justice folks, and other. Dave and I met briefly with the Public Safety Coordinating Council.

I believe that your interest is primarily with the City of Eugene. We formed to look at the larger county picture. I got to this place by realizing that the major block to anything positive happening in Eugene was the necessity for additional jail beds. That is a county function, not a city function. So we are looking at the needs from the county’s level. This week we met with Jeff Spartz, the county administrator, to talk about process if we decide to recommend some kind of ballot measure.

We see both short term and long term problems at the county level. The short term problems involve public safety staff and facilities. The long term problems concern recidivism, prevention and rehabilitation. Finding a balance among these is a very large challenge. Add to that the problem of “compression” which results from bumping up against easure 5 limits and the puzzle complexity increases.

We don’t have answers yet; we are still learning. We will meet with the county commissioners on February 23 to discuss some possible recommendations. A big concern is how to educate the public about the needs and costs of possible solutions and then finding something that 51 percent of the voters can agree to. As you all know, there are strong feelings and not too much agreement about the relative merits of incarceration, treatment and prevention. It is our understanding that the county commissioners have asked Jeff Spartz to have a poll conducted to see what potential voters might approve. Suggestions and thoughts are welcome.

Jean Tate

--------------------------------------

So please feel free to send suggestions or thoughts to EugeneAdvocates and we will be happy to forward them to the committee. They have seen the suggested solutions of EugeneAdvocates already. They are all working as we are on Public Safety improvements in Eugene and Lane County. There are a minimum of three groups currently working on this task--this includes the Police Chief Task Force, the Citizen Advocates for Public Safety, the various Downtown groups, and the EugeneAdvocates for a clean City. Perhaps our decision makers will soon tackle the well documented problems of Eugene by implementing solutions instead of continuing to study what is a well defined problem by the media and these groups. Ask your councilor about solutions!!

EugeneAdvocates for a Clean City

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Task Force Report Announced

CITY MANAGER ANNOUNCES POLICE CHIEF TASK FORCE REPORT...

"The recommendations of Chief Kern’s Task Force will be discussed with the City Council at their Jan. 27 work session. Some of the recommendations can be implemented without additional funding, while others require funding. As part of their Feb. 19 work session, I will present the Council with funding options and a recommended course of action.

Thanks,

Jon "(Ruiz, City Manager)
__________________________

"The Jan. 27 meeting is at noon in the McNutt room. I noticed I sent the wrong date on the second meeting. It is the Feb. 10 work session, not Feb. 19. This meeting is also at noon in the McNutt room.

Thanks,

Jon" (Ruiz, City Manager)
__________________________

Poll shows dissatisfaction with downtown

The annual survey conducted by the city of Eugene assesses residents’ views on city issues and services:

By Edward Russo

The Register-Guard
Appeared in print: Tuesday, Jan 19, 2010

Downtown Eugene merchant Kaz Oveissi understands why seven out of 10 residents are unhappy with downtown, an all-time low for public opinion about the economically sagging city center.

An annual poll taken for city government shows that 71 percent of residents are very or somewhat dissatisfied with downtown, a trend that has grown steadily since 2005, when 44 percent of respondents said they were displeased with the area.

At the same time, more residents support the idea of the city helping downtown businesses.

The poll conducted by Ad-vanced Marketing Research of Eugene asks residents dozens of questions each year on several topics, ranging from how they feel about public safety and economic opportunity to their use of city services and what they consider Eugene’s top problem.

Oveissi, the owner of Oveissi & Co., an Oriental rug store at Broadway and Willamette Street, said the poll results on downtown reflect residents’ frustration about the lack of improvement in the area.

“People are a little upset about the fact that we set out certain goals for downtown and we can’t accomplish them,” said Oveissi, who also owns Cafe Perugino on Willamette Street in the historic Smeede Hotel building. “In the 15 years that I have been downtown, we were in better shape then than we are today. It’s just this sense of frustration that we can’t make anything meaningful happen in the downtown core.” ... more

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Meter Matter Update

Information on the Meter Matter!!!!

Thank you to a member of Citizen Advisory for Public Safety(CAPS) for sharing this information from the City Manager and thanks to the City Manager for finally sharing the city's perspective on the meter matter:

------------------------------------------

"Colleagues,

I hope you are anticipating an enjoyable weekend. Some of you have heard or read about the downtown parking meter incident. The information below may fill in some of the gaps.

Enjoy Life!

Jon (City Manager)

Background from Police and Parking staff Earlier this week, a parking control officer was out working near 5th Ave. and Willamette. She was writing a ticket on an expired meter. Because it was raining, she was in her cart completing the ticket. A man, Benjamin Burns Bond, parked in an adjacent spot and put money in his meter. He then also plugged the expired meter after the ticket was already in progress and was angry when the parking officer placed the ticket on the vehicle. He followed the female parking officer for three blocks in his truck, intimidating and threatening her. She was afraid and took the unusual step of calling 9-1-1 and staying on the line because she feared for her safety. A witness reported seeing Mr. Bond red-faced and animated, yelling and gesturing towards her from his truck.

Two police officers were dispatched, per regular practice because there were two involved parties. However, a third police officer driving near the scene responded because of his proximity and because it is rare for parking control to ask for back up. Mr. Bond was handcuffed at the scene and placed into a patrol car without any resistance. At that point, he could have been taken to jail, but police offered him a citation if he would only leave the area and stop threatening the employee. Mr. Bonds then was allowed to go with the citation for Harassment and Obstructing a Government Agency. Police were not called to respond because Mr. Bond plugged meters. They were called because he was intimidating and threatening the employee."

(provided by a city leader)

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"I would like to add a comment regarding the parking meters! I had to venture downtown last week, and parked in one of the parking meters that accept credit cards now. My complaint is that being a shorter person, I couldn't even see if there was any time left on the meter, and took the chance it was OK. HELLO, all of the citizens of Eugene are not 5' 8', that is what I figured you had to be to see the meter. The business I went to said they have had complaints regarding the height of them and most of the time the credit card function does not work. In regards to the gentleman who was trying to pay parking meters, I am deeply embarrassed that I tell people I live in Eugene! Whatever happen to going a good deed will be thanked by others? What goes around comes around!!"

(signed by a concern taxpaying citizen)

------------------------------------------

"Today’s paper quotes John Ruiz “It is wrong and intolerable for any city employee to be intimidated, threatened and prevented from doing his or her work on behalf of city of Eugene citizens.” I guess as nonemployees of the City we do not have the same rights when going down on the mall or pulling up to intersections and locking our car doors. I wish just once our elected officials would travel the city with small children for the day and experience the fear they have from strangers coming up to car windows with signs."

(signed by a parent, business person, and taxpayer)

------------------------------------------

"Major Piercy,

I don’t always listen to Lars Larson (an afternoon AM radio talk show host), but sometimes when driving around in my car after lunch I find his program entertaining. Partially because it’s refreshing to learn what life outside of Liberal Lane (County) is all about. Mostly, his shows cover such topics as law abiding citizens being taken advantage of by ridiculous building permit issues, hard working people taking responsibility for their actions—rather than suing others for falling down, the common sense attached to purchasing health insurance (voluntarily) rather than arriving at the emergency room without coverage, respecting the duty of sworn police officers who do the jobs they are hired to—without the fear of public double and triple scrutiny, using common sense and the like.

Earlier this week I tuned in one day while driving around town and happened in on a discussion about parking meters. It reminded me of a story I’d heard reported some years ago about someone who had actually gotten in trouble for adding coins to the expired parking meter of someone else’s car--so that they wouldn’t get a ticket for parking past their allotted time. Then, as I listen further, I realized this story was not only about the same thing—but also a local one. “Ha”, I thought, “What are the chances of that happening in this day and age?” The economy (still) sucks, people are mean—not kind, etc. Then I blushed—as I realized that Lars was talking about downtown Eugene—our city which is in desperate need of “revitalization.” Reddening my face further was the realization that thousands of listeners (most of whom must certainly reside outside of Democrat-ruled Eugene) were listening to the same story. Then I heard the fine levied on this guy ($800) I about crapped. A whole bunch of questions come to mind including the following:

“Where is the logic? How does a twenty five cent meter deposit get one an $800 fine? Why penalize this guy at all? This goes completely beyond reason. Who is it in the parking meter department that’s training meter enforcers to fine good Samaritans for these actions? What message does this send? If we question cops for tasering citizens, why don’t we question meter maids for fining good guys? Many other questions come to mind, but the biggest one is

“Do you want people to come to downtown Eugene, or don’t you?”

The last one is a rhetorical question, but the absurdity is that it’s even being asked. The answer should be obvious—but it’s not. The city’s actions do not speak louder than words. In fact the actions are actually working in reverse of what the rhetoric says. We say we’re open for business, but in fact we do all we can to discourage it. I’m getting really frustrated by the trend displayed here. And you know what? There are a lot of others like me out there. “No’” like prairie dogs, we don’t stick our heads up really high—and we’re ridiculed for that—but we’ve learned that doing so is a good way to get it shot off! That’s a metaphor—on case you read anything more in to it.

Okay, so President O., who realized after the Christmas Day bombing attempt that his airport security service wasn’t quite up to snuff—it may be time for you too to call a press conference, admit Eugene’s downfall, weakness, mistake, and tell us all (conservative and liberal alike) what you plan to do to fix this mess. Just a suggestion, I’m sure you’ll do what’s right —instead of what you know will appeal only to the vocal liberals who voted you in to office.

And like the bumper stickers say: Honor Diversity (mine too!)

What’s next? Meter maids with tasers? At the rate we’re going, the ACLU will take away all the cops have, so maybe we should arm the meter maids!"

( A conservative, tax paying, and voting business owner(who is quite frustrated)

------------------------------------------

ART WANTED

Eugene is seeking proposals for art to be placed on or around the new Delta Ponds bicycle/pedestrain bridge. About $60,000 of the $6.2 million project is reserved for art.

Proposals due: Jan. 7

Apply to: Central Services Purchasing

(provided by a questioning taxpayer about the timing of such expenditure and asks if the funds could have a better use at this time?

------------------------------------------

"We just had the Ladder Truck show up to support an ambulance at the methadone clinic.

When money is tight the logic/practice of sending vehicles with that GVW on routine drug user babysitting calls is rediculous.

Can they even spell efficient at city hall?

(signed by a business owner and taxpayer who questions these practices--maybe procedures need to be reviewed)

Friday, January 15, 2010

Are solutions near?

City Manager/ Mayor:

Interesting approach to Police deployment is the new program that Chief Kerns announced called data-led policing. How will the results be measured as to the success of this and any new program that results from the Chief's task force. That should be the first question that the media and Council ask--"How will we measure success of the program?"

Below City Manager and Mayor please find more quotes from frustrated and concerned citizens of Eugene about our downtown condition and crime in Eugene. These folks are wanting you to do the job you were given to protect our citizenry. We all have been waiting for Chief Kern's Task Force to complete their review. Now that the study (again) of the downtown matter has been completed what will be the course of action next and how will we know if it is successful or not? Hopefully that is not another study group to study the task forces results. EugeneAdvocates has projected many potential solutions and yet none have been acted on, studied or implemented. Why not? How do the recommendations of the Chief's Task Force vary and where can one find them?

EugeneAdvocates for a Clean City

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"Why would the mayor care about who you are when she can simply walk outside and verify exactly what you were saying? I could understand if it was a complaint that couldn't be substantiated because it was his word against hers. But really, anyone can walk over into the downtown area and see examples of what you guys are talking about."

(signed by a another concern citizen and taxpayer)

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"Get rid of politicians who cater to the vocal minority! Okay okay, I know that's a pipe dream but.........in the next election all of us need to show our support, volunteering or donating money to get someone in office that isn't afraid to do the right thing."

(signed by a frustrated citizen and taxpayer)

----------------------------------------------

"The reason government doesn't have any money is because they are wasteful. I cannot believe the money that is thrown away by the city, or at least not prioritized in times like these. In a time of recession when this city's crime stats are leading the nation, why are we spending money on things like:

-Paying someone to water flowers downtown.

-Street Sweeping during summer months (I often see the streetsweeper cleaning streets that are already clean). They do it "just because"

-Building a skate park

-The Police Department use to bid out police car work to local mechanics. Did you know the police department pays the city $1200 a month, to Public Works Vehicle maintenance, for every police car they have? Some of that is for replacement cost, but the rest is just in case the car might need work. Where does that money go.

-Does the police department really need all those substations? The public thinks they are getting better service because they have a station in their community, but the fact of the matter is that officers are assigned certain areas, and they are going to be in that area whether there is a substation or not. That has to cost a million dollars or more if you count staff. Do we really need all those people working in those substations? No. It just makes people feel good.

-I wonder how much it cost for those new parking meters that take credit cards? How much does the city make on parking as opposed to wages/benefitsof the people writing the tickets, vehicle maintenance costs/judges?

-Downtown needs a loitering law"

(signed by a downtown employee and concerned citizen)

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"I need to point out that I don't live in Eugene. Eugene is a beautiful city, but I wouldn't EVER raise my kids here in the condition it's in."

(signed by a parent who is concerned for their childrens' environment)

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"Unfortunately many of the people who hang out around the Mission, do not stay there at night because they don't like the "rules".. In an earlier e-mail, I forgot to mention St. Vincent de Paul as another resource for the homeless. They have a multitude of resources. But the ones who don't want to abide by the rules, don't have anyone stopping them from committing crimes.

Mayor Piercy should be ashamed. An anonymous group pointing out the MAJOR problems downtown is besides the point. ANYONE can go down there at any time of the day or not and see that your group is NOT exaggerating. In fact, they would probably find it much worse than what you've described. Piercy is merely using your anonymity as a means to deflect from the problem she doesn't want to deal with."

(signed by a tax payer and concerned citizen)

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"One key observation from people who attended(the public safety work session) and I've spoke with is they were unaware of how bad key members of the council really are. There's a lesson to be learned but first one must experience the circus."

(signed by a frustrated business owner and tax payer)

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"This city is divided. In any normal city, most of the citizens are like-minded. Take Springfield for example. The vast majority of it's citizens are conservative. In Portland,the majority of citizens are liberal. Each city usually leans one way or the other. In Eugene, we have a divided community. This happens in most University towns. 1/3 of Eugene is staunchly liberal, 1/3 very conservative, and there is 1/3 that go either way depending on the issue, but they lean more liberally. That is a problem. Why? We can't ever get anything done without pissing off 40-50 percent of the population. We don't stand united on almost ANY issue. In cities like Springfield, a great majority of the population think alike and their city runs more smoothly. In most years the council is divided this way too, but more often than not, there are a great amount of city councilors who cater to the vocal minority."

(signed by an observant downtown citizen)

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Referring to the latest crime statistics comparing cities in Oregon a concerned citizen and taxpayer writes:

And let’s just bet that Mayor Kitty’s response will be, “Well, at least we’re not Gresham. *They* really suck!”

(signed by a concerned citizen who sees a pattern)

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Did you hear the latest?

So all we see downtown and has been documented is ok with the Mayor, City Manager, City Council, and the Police but a random act of kindness is not. Is this part of the disconnect we have been speaking about. Mayor, how did you respond to the citizen who said:

"Dear Mayor Piercy, I was absolutely OUTRAGED to arrive home from my job this evening and hear about the 6 pm news story regarding the arrest of a man commiting random acts of kindness by updating his fellow Eugenians parking meters. My significant other and I are both EXCEEDINGLY ANGRY!!!!!! All that matters is the hungry meters are kept fed, not who feeds them.

The fact that a meter maid cited him and then called police after he rebelled and had him arrested just goes to show myself , my partner and many scores of others that these parking meters are all about making the city a buck. You wonder why downtown is dead... DUH , BIG RED TRUCK.... Who wants to be a slave to a parking meter and stress about a ticket? Downtown is made unapproachable by these parking meters. We will not frequent a downtown we already support through our property taxes, by being forced to pay or be penalized with a ticket! People conducting business or pleasure cannot always make it back in time to re-feed the meter.

That Gentleman was only being kind and thoughtful... these are the virtues that once reigned in Eugene... AND NOW EUGENE OFFICIALS ARE PUNISHING PEOPLE FOR KIND GESTURES. I bought a home here because Eugene used to represent, diversity, equality, mutual respect, and warmth. I am ASHAMED.. the meters were kept paid! The meter maid was upset by this was she, WELL THAT ONLY PROVES THE CITY WANTS TO TICKET THE CITIZENS AND MAKE MORE MONEY OFF OF US. Then to have police come and arrest this man.

I think the entire police department, and meter maid, and her superior, and you as the Mayor, and all other officials who made this attitude and arrest legal for such actions on behalf of the thoughtful Eugenian, should be reprimanded, and should make a formal and public apology to this man and to all of us OUTRAGED citizens. And while you are at it. TAKE THE STINKING PARKING METERS OUT OF DOWN TOWN, FIRE THE METER MAIDS, HIRE SOME EXTRA POLICE FOR THE PUNKS RUNNING AMOK DOWN TOWN THAT SHOULD BE ARRESTED, AND THEN, HOW ABOUT A NICE FEATURE STORY ABOUT THE GENEROSITY OF THE METER FEEDING MAN AND HIS RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS WHICH SHOULD BE APPLAUDED AND APPRECIATED NOT PUNISHED!!!!!

SHAME ON EUGENE AND THE IGNORANT WAY IT IS BEING RUN!!!! EUGENE AIN'T WHAT SHE USED TO BE! I JUST MAY MOVE ELSEWHERE AND BE A HOMEOWNER AND TAXPAYER IN A TOWN WHERE THE CITIZEN'S COME FIRST AND I CAN BE PROUD OF MY CITY!!!!

SIGN ME ONE ANGRY HOMEOWNER!!!!! (concerned citizen) ______________________________

Not only was the action by the meter maid incorrect but it was elevated to new heights by the police department and now seems to be condoned by our Mayor with her no comment. We have many problems downtown and this is not one of them. When can we expect to see the Mayor, City Manager, City Council and Police Department turn their attention with such enthusiasm toward the major problems of downtown.We don't need more words just more action like Mr. Bond encountered only with the real law breakers downtown.

EugeneAdvocates for a Clean City

Monday, January 11, 2010

Any Progress?

ANY INTERIM PROGRESS TO REPORT?????



Is there any interim progress to report from this distinguished committee? How many meetings have they had and what have they identified as their goal? Each day we continue to suffer crime at rising rates. When will their committee have their final report? How will they measure the success of their program???

On a separate note what is the result of the Police Chief's task force which completed their last meetings in 2009? When can we expect their report and implementation of their suggested solutions? How will we measure their program success?

It would seem we have had input from several other citizen committees. When will we start seeing the results with a lower crime rate??? PUBLIC SAFETY IS THE NUMBER ONE GOAL FOR REDUCTION OF CRIME IN EUGENE!!!!!!!!!!!!

EugeneAdvocates for a Clean City

P.S. What has our local media discovered in all these citizen gatherings including the Downtown Safety committee???

Thursday, January 7, 2010

New Year Calls For New Solutions

A NEW YEAR CALLS FOR A NEW SET OF SOLUTIONS TO DOWNTOWN EUGENE!!!!!

This article will open your eyes. Oregon is less safe than New York and Lane County and Eugene lead the way to the highest crime rates in Oregon. Scary. When will the Mayor and City Council take actions to stop our rising crime rates. The City Manager is not apparently doing anything to help by implementing any suggested solutions or coming up with his own solutions. What is happening and when will the media publish a report of actions to be taken. The media holds the key to success of a clean up program and hopefully will step forward soon to explain to all the citizens of Eugene as to what will be implemented. Maybe the Mayor for all of Eugene can shed some light on what she expects?? 2010 should be the year to stop our crime growth and clean up Eugene.

EugeneAdvocates for a Clean City

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Red Hats On Patrol

RED HATS ON PATROL LOOKING FOR????????????



What progress is being made on delegation of citation authority to others to help the eugene police department with the downtown clean up of crime?

When will the media make an investigative report on the completed police chief report and findings and more importantly the implimentation of some corrective actions