No subject

Sun Sep 13 11:38:11 MDT 2009

argeted by this ordinance. There are the destitute homeless folks who just =
plain need help. Their lives are a train wreck and many of them will probab=
ly never be functional members of society regardless of the programs and as=
sistance they are given.  Some percentage of the population will always be =
in this state.  Then there are the folks described by our downtown ambassad=
or today as "rebels." They are the younger transient crowd who choose to li=
ve on the fringe of society.
To be honest, the 'rebels' are the ones I worry about. The guy passed out o=
n the sidewalk makes me sad and a little uncomfortable, but not scared.

My amendment passed with Dave, Jason, Pam, Ed and I voting in favor. Renee,=
 Dick, and Jon Wilkins voting against.  Arguments from Jon were along the l=
ines that there are rules in society and these people need to follow them. =
We offer various assistance programs. They should avail themselves of these=
 programs. Just because they don't, doesn't mean we should let them sit aro=
und on the sidewalk. Dick's perspective was along the lines that by allowin=
g them to sleep on the sidewalk we are enabling them. I disagree with most =
of this. There would be some merit to Jon's argument if we offered adequate=
 care, treatment, or resources for homeless with mental illness and chemica=
l dependency problems. But even if we did, there would still be people who =
just would not go along with the program. So even if our society offered th=
e resources the problem would still exist, but maybe at a level the shopper=
s could tolerate. I also think Dick's argument would work with some folks. =
If we made it even harder for the homeless to exist, some of them may find =
the wherewithal to become productive functioning members of society. But ma=
ny of them would probably just sink even lower.

What I heard from the business owners is that they don't care why they are =
homeless or what happens to them. They are tired of dealing with the fallou=
t that comes from these folks being concentrated in the downtown. I expect =
to see a lot of the business owners at the council meeting on Monday. I als=
o expect to see folks from the social services community. What I'm hoping i=
s that we will also see folks who are willing to speak about how they love =
our downtown and think it is a great place to work, shop, and live. All thi=
s harping on the one negative thing about downtown can't be the best thing =
for business. If I remember right, Scott Sproull produced data that showed =
a decline in business that directly corresponded with the hoopla about the =
supposed lack of parking downtown.  So if you prefer the downtown to the ma=
ll and the box stores, please let our business owners know. They seem to ha=
ve an inferiority complex when they look to the other retail centers in tow=
n. Go spend some money and let them know they are part of what makes this c=
ommunity so great.

In Conservation we learned about a new conservation easement being purchase=
d way up Miller Creek with open space bond money.  It is the 207 acre Ander=
son Ranch. We are putting in $25,000 and the county is putting in $175,000.=
  Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is putting the deal together and will hold =
the easement.  The easement was appraised at $1,800,000. The property is a =
working ranch and a critical piece of  the wildlife corridor from the Sapph=
ires to the Bitterroots. Here are more details: http://www.ci.missoula.mt.u=
s/DocumentView.aspx?DID=3D2305

In PAZ we mostly discussed the Sonata Park findings of fact. This is a subd=
ivision up at the end of the west side of the Rattlesnake. We approved it t=
wo years ago. The neighbors sued us. The judge said we needed to specify ou=
r reasons for why we approved it based on what was in the record. He didn't=
 want to have to wade through the hundreds of pages of documents. So Staff =
waded through it all and distilled it down to about twenty pages of argumen=
ts that were made during the process. We need to review this and add anythi=
ng we can think of and then adopt it as our findings of fact.  We can't cha=
nge anything about the decision, we can only provide explanation for why we=
 made it.

In A&F we did some misc. budget stuff. Nothing too exciting.

Public Works had a couple of interesting items. We discussed a parking encr=
oachment permit for the project at 420 Nora street. The developer has made =
some changes to their project and now needs more parking to comply with zon=
ing.  So they are asking the city to essentially vacate right of way so the=
y can meet their parking requirement.  The public works department is not s=
o hot on giving away the public right of way unless we are absolutely sure =
there is nothing we will ever need it for. It turned out the developer was =
not notified that this was going to be on our agenda so we held it over for=
 another week so we could hear what they have to say.
We also heard about the plan to reduce fuel use by the city in response to =
our resolution to cut fuel use by 10%.  What we learned is that over the la=
st few years the city has done a lot to reduce our energy needs. There are =
some departments that will be easier to find gains in than others. The heav=
y equipment use is based on the weather. If there is snow, we plow and it u=
ses diesel.
We also agreed to change the target date for compliance from 1/1/2011 to 7/=
1/2011. Aligning it with our fiscal year will simplify the accounting and d=
ocumentation.
Here is a link to the report:
   http://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=3D2308

Thanks for your interest,

Bob Jaffe
Missoula City Council, Ward 3
1225 South 2nd West
Missoula, MT 59801
(406) 728-1052

Messages and attachments sent to or from this e-mail account pertaining to =
City business may be considered public or private records depending on the =
message content. The City is often required by law to provide public record=
s to individuals requesting them. The City is also required by law to prote=
ct private, confidential information. This message is intended for the use =
of the individual or entity named above. If you are not the intended recipi=
ent of this transmission, please notify the sender immediately, do not forw=
ard the message to anyone, and delete all copies. Thank you

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<div class=3DSection1>

<p class=3DMsoNormal>Greetings,<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal>In Public Safety this morning we took up the Pedestrian
Interference Ordinance.&nbsp; <o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><a
href=3D"http://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=3D2185">http://w=
ww.ci.missoula.mt.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=3D2185</a><o:p></o:p></p>

The existing ordinance restricts people from blocking =
the
sidewalk.&nbsp; The amended language we were considering would also make it
illegal to sleep or lie down on the sidewalk even if you are not interfering
with pedestrians.&nbsp; I moved to amend the language to say that people co=
uld
not lie or sleep on the sidewalk within 12 feet of the entrance to a
business.&nbsp; I thought this was a good compromise that addresses the iss=
ue
of people feeling impeded from entering a business but does not make it ill=
egal
for homeless people to exist in public. The room was full of downtown busin=
ess
owners who really want us to pass an ordinance that will make the homeless
people disappear. I sympathize with them. Retail is really challenging. The=
re
is a lot of competition and little things can win or lose customers. I do my
best to support our downtown businesses, both on council and with my wallet.
But I&#8217;m not going to vote to criminalize homelessness. <o:p></o:p>

From what I&#8217;ve seen and what I hear, there are t=
wo
groups of people being targeted by this ordinance. There are the destitute
homeless folks who just plain need help. Their lives are a train wreck and =
many
of them will probably never be functional members of society regardless of =
the
programs and assistance they are given.&nbsp; Some percentage of the popula=
tion
will always be in this state.&nbsp; Then there are the folks described by o=
ur
downtown ambassador today as &#8220;rebels.&#8221; They are the younger
transient crowd who choose to live on the fringe of society.<o:p></o:p>

To be honest, the &#8216;rebels&#8217; are the ones I =
worry
about. The guy passed out on the sidewalk makes me sad and a little
uncomfortable, but not scared. <o:p></o:p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

My amendment passed with Dave, Jason, Pam, Ed and I vo=
ting
in favor. Renee, Dick, and Jon Wilkins voting against.&nbsp; Arguments from=
 Jon
were along the lines that there are rules in society and these people need =
to
follow them. We offer various assistance programs. They should avail themse=
lves
of these programs. Just because they don&#8217;t, doesn&#8217;t mean we sho=
uld
let them sit around on the sidewalk. Dick&#8217;s perspective was along the
lines that by allowing them to sleep on the sidewalk we are enabling them. =
I disagree
with most of this. There would be some merit to Jon&#8217;s argument if we =
offered
adequate care, treatment, or resources for homeless with mental illness and
chemical dependency problems. But even if we did, there would still be peop=
le
who just would not go along with the program. So even if our society offered
the resources the problem would still exist, but maybe at a level the shopp=
ers could
tolerate. I also think Dick&#8217;s argument would work with some folks. If=
 we
made it even harder for the homeless to exist, some of them may find the wh=
erewithal
to become productive functioning members of society. But many of them would=
 probably
just sink even lower.<o:p></o:p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

What I heard from the business owners is that they don=
&#8217;t
care why they are homeless or what happens to them. They are tired of deali=
ng
with the fallout that comes from these folks being concentrated in the down=
town.
I expect to see a lot of the business owners at the council meeting on Mond=
ay.
I also expect to see folks from the social services community. What I&#8217=
;m
hoping is that we will also see folks who are willing to speak about how th=
ey
love our downtown and think it is a great place to work, shop, and live. All
this harping on the one negative thing about downtown can&#8217;t be the be=
st
thing for business. If I remember right, Scott Sproull produced data that s=
howed
a decline in business that directly corresponded with the hoopla about the =
supposed
lack of parking downtown. &nbsp;So if you prefer the downtown to the mall a=
nd
the box stores, please let our business owners know. They seem to have an
inferiority complex when they look to the other retail centers in town. Go
spend some money and let them know they are part of what makes this communi=
ty so
great.<o:p></o:p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

In Conservation we learned about a new conservation ea=
sement
being purchased way up Miller Creek with open space bond money.&nbsp; It is=
 the
207 acre Anderson Ranch. We are putting in $25,000 and the county is puttin=
g in
$175,000.&nbsp; Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is putting the deal together =
and
will hold the easement.&nbsp; The easement was appraised at $1,800,000. The
property is a working ranch and a critical piece of &nbsp;the wildlife corr=
idor
from the Sapphires to the Bitterroots. Here are more details: <a
href=3D"http://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=3D2305">http://w=
ww.ci.missoula.mt.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=3D2305</a><o:p></o:p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

In PAZ we mostly discussed the Sonata Park findings of=
 fact.
This is a subdivision up at the end of the west side of the Rattlesnake. We
approved it two years ago. The neighbors sued us. The judge said we needed =
to
specify our reasons for why we approved it based on what was in the record.=
 He
didn&#8217;t want to have to wade through the hundreds of pages of document=
s.
So Staff waded through it all and distilled it down to about twenty pages of
arguments that were made during the process. We need to review this and add
anything we can think of and then adopt it as our findings of fact.&nbsp; We
can&#8217;t change anything about the decision, we can only provide explana=
tion
for why we made it.<o:p></o:p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

In A&amp;F we did some misc. budget stuff. Nothing too
exciting.<o:p></o:p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

Public Works had a couple of interesting items. We dis=
cussed
a parking encroachment permit for the project at 420 Nora street. The devel=
oper
has made some changes to their project and now needs more parking to comply
with zoning.&nbsp; So they are asking the city to essentially vacate right =
of
way so they can meet their parking requirement.&nbsp; The public works
department is not so hot on giving away the public right of way unless we a=
re
absolutely sure there is nothing we will ever need it for. It turned out the
developer was not notified that this was going to be on our agenda so we he=
ld
it over for another week so we could hear what they have to say.<o:p></o:p>=

We also heard about the plan to reduce fuel use by the=
 city
in response to our resolution to cut fuel use by 10%.&nbsp; What we learned=
 is
that over the last few years the city has done a lot to reduce our energy
needs. There are some departments that will be easier to find gains in than
others. The heavy equipment use is based on the weather. If there is snow, =
we
plow and it uses diesel. <o:p></o:p>

We also agreed to change the target date for complianc=
e from
1/1/2011 to 7/1/2011. Aligning it with our fiscal year will simplify the
accounting and documentation. <o:p></o:p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal>Here is a link to the report:<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a
href=3D"http://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=3D2308">http://w=
ww.ci.missoula.mt.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=3D2308</a><o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal>Thanks for your interest,<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal>Bob Jaffe<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal>Missoula City Council, Ward 3<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal>1225 South 2nd West<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal>Missoula, MT 59801<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal>(406) 728-1052<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

</div>

Messages and a=
ttachments sent to or from this e-mail =0D
account pertaining to City business may be considered public or private rec=
ords =0D
depending on the message content. The City is often required by law to prov=
ide =0D
public records to individuals requesting them. The City is also required by=
 law =0D
to protect private, confidential information. This message is intended for =
the =0D
use of the individual or entity named above. If you are not the intended =
=0D
recipient of this transmission, please notify the sender immediately, do no=
t =0D
forward the message to anyone, and delete all copies. Thank you=
=0D

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