[MissoulaGov] Committee Update 9-30-09

[Jeremy Hood]

Thank you for the realistic unoffensive take.  

> Date: Sat, 3 Oct 2009 11:45:25 -0600
> From: kjerrim at missoula.com
> To: missoulagov at cmslists.com
> Subject: Re: [MissoulaGov] Committee Update 9-30-09
> 
> As usual no news is good news if you are marginalized low income and  
> possibly exeriencing homelessness.  Between the newspaper article last  
> week and comments here and else where I don't see a whole lot of  
> community building going on. All this lumping together of different  
> populations of people and different problems is always unfortunate.  
> Individuals who are experiencing homelessness, chronic alcoholics and  
> counter culture kids passing through town cannot be held responsible  
> for the "ruin" of downtown.  That seems like a real stretch to me. And  
> as mentioned in Bobs original update, lets all quit saying how awful  
> it is downtown because thats certainly not good for business  
> regardless of ones experience there.
> 
> It is clear that a number of downtown business owners are experiencing  
> problems with behavior some of which is illegal and that the behavior  
> does need to be addressed. I believe their are also many downtown  
> business owners who are not having problems with behavior. Likely it  
> depends on your location. One thing I have found in life is that its  
> very hard to curb bad behavior in other people be they children,  
> friends or strangers. It is not however difficult to mitigate illegal  
> behavior. As I have mentioned several times in the course of the last  
> several months we have a law- the states disorderly conduct law- that  
> could be used to address most of what is plaguing business owners and  
> those who find downtown to be a "gauntlet." But that means you have to  
> call the police and report the behavior. Not call a downtown  
> ambassador. I am perplexed by that whole phenomena. Why are people  
> calling BID about this. Is BID an arm of the police? Further, why are  
> the proposal of these ordinances-panhandling and ped interference  
> relying on stats from BID?  I want to see the raw data from the  
> police. How many unduplicated complaints about how many unduplicated  
> individuals were received. Was the states disorderly conduct law used  
> to deal with it. If not why. Jim Nugent wrote a very extensive opinion  
> on the disorderly conduct law and how it might be used. Its on the  
> citys website for anyone interested. Now that the Panhandling  
> ordinance is passed, data should be collected and culled so that as we  
> move forward we can evaluate if that ordinance effects any relief for  
> the businesses experiencing problems.
> 
> Another thing I have learned in life is that we all find different  
> things irritating and in this regard one cannot ordinance their way  
> out of not irritating someone. Both ordinances will be ineffective in  
> curbing the actions of individuals who are downtown passed out on the  
> side walk or sleeping on the side walk who are chronic alcoholics. It  
> would be more cost effective to house these individuals using a  
> transitional housing voucher until they can get a federally funded  
> shelter plus care voucher. Alcoholism is a disease. The current real  
> change monies could be used to do this or the city could put forth  
> some money. As for those kids passing through each year on their  
> Hunter Thompson voyage who want to be seen and perceived as counter  
> culture, whats the problem? They have a right to hang out on the side  
> walk as long as they are not doing something illegal. Just because  
> some find it offensive is mute. If they are doing something illegal or  
> harrassing call the police. Otherwise live and let live. This is  
> present in all major metropolitan citys and it doesnt dissuade me from  
> walking down 1st ave in seattle.  I do not feel that current direction  
> of some of the changes downtown is in keeping with the Missoula that  
> people come to visit. People come from around the world to see James  
> Crumley's Missoula- to experience Charlies, to see the Lee Nye  
> "Missoulacana". To be in an eclectic environment. Trying to make  
> Missoula the next Vail or park city is not going to be productive in  
> the long run. Were a college town and haven of free thinkers. Having  
> all this flap going on introduces an atmosphere that it neither  
> conducive to the sense of community nor reflective of Missoula's  
> unique, eclectic attributes. Lets move on and use the laws we have to  
> curb illegal behavior.
> 
> Incidently, from a historical perspective I find it interesting that  
> this "problem" with "vagrancy" hasn't changed much since the late  
> 1880s. One city council members conclusion at the city council meeting  
> that passed the panhandling ordinance(I'll paraphrase here) that the  
> ordinance wasnt just about aggressive panhandling but about people not  
> wanting to see it while they shop really opitimizes the primary intent  
> of the ordinances. This isn't much different then the intent of the  
> original Poor Farm that was created by the city and operated between  
> 1886 and 1936 on the site of the current Pine View Park and  
> Rattlesnake school. Historical documents indicate that the Poor Farm  
> was created because vagrancy wasn't good for business.  So all this is  
> nothing new.  But we could use a new approach. Let’s go back to the  
> drawing board on this one and collect some data and look at long term  
> solutions that will creatively address problems downtown, rather than  
> voting in a ineffective ordinance that could possibly set a tone that  
> is not part of the traditional inclusive spirit of Missoula.  Kate  
> Jerrim Ybarra
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