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Downtown livability, alarm noise and alleged meth house raise public concerns; council acknowledges but cites limited code avenues
Summary
Residents raised complaints during public comment about loud alleyway alarms at the Stuart Drew Building and an ongoing meth house and broken windows downtown. Councilors acknowledged the issues and said staff and police are working on livability and patrols; the speaker said no existing code presently stops the alarms.
During public comment at the Sept. 2 Klamath Falls City Council meeting, residents urged the council to address downtown livability and public-safety concerns.
Art Belsky, identifying himself as a property owner and property manager in Klamath Falls, said the Stuart Drew Building at 733 Main Street operates two motion-triggered alleyway cameras that produce loud audible alarms. He said one of his tenants faced sleep deprivation from repeated alarms and later died; Belsky told the council he had contacted the Stuart Drew Building owner and received no cooperation. "All you have to do is walk down the alley, drive a car down the alley, go past the 2 camera alarms ... and the alarms go off," Belsky said. He provided packets and letters to the council and asked the city to intervene, noting that the city encourages mixed-use buildings but currently has "no code to stop it." Belsky said he viewed the council as his last recourse.
Stuart Wopley raised two concerns: an ongoing meth house near his residence in Precinct 35 that he said had persisted and driven neighbors away, and repeated broken windows on downtown buildings at Eighth and Main. Wopley said he had observed overdoses and described limited police patrols downtown.
Council response: After public comment ended, Councilor Kelsey (first name not specified in the transcript) acknowledged the comments and said councilors cannot respond during public comment but wanted to confirm they had heard the concerns. Kelsey said the police department is "working very hard to make sure that downtown has a livability officer" and that patrolling had increased, though she conceded increased patrols are not always a complete solution. She also expressed sympathy for the tenant who died and acknowledged the city's behind-the-scenes work on livability issues.
The meeting transcript records residents’ complaints and council acknowledgment but does not record any immediate code change, enforcement action, or formal referral taken during the meeting. Belsky stated the city currently lacks a code provision to stop the audible alarms; councilors did not identify an ordinance or statutory authority in the meeting to compel removal or modification of the alarms.
Next steps: The transcript indicates staff follow-up and policing adjustments have occurred or are underway (council comment), but no formal direction, ordinance reading, or binding council action related to the Stuart Drew Building or the meth-house concerns was recorded in the meeting transcript.
