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Downtown business owners urge council to address safety, describe threats and harassment
Summary
Two public-comment speakers described incidents of harassment and threatening behavior by people experiencing homelessness near downtown businesses and urged the council to take stronger action to protect customers and staff while also addressing service refusals among some individuals.
Business owners told the council they are worried about safety downtown and described episodes that they said threaten employees and customers.
Dave Robinson, who identified himself as a downtown building owner, said a woman outside his business verbally threatened his employees, “calling names, and threatening to kill them, calling them elephants,” and that police followed up after he reported the incident. Robinson also described seeing another person “with no pants on, bending over, picking up her other pants” in public and said those scenes make his staff and customers uncomfortable.
Another unidentified commenter described a separate encounter in which some behavior felt threatening and said that while resources exist for people in crisis, some refuse services and that the council needs an approach that protects businesses and visitors while addressing the needs of people who are on the street.
Robinson said he and other downtown businesses try to help people in need but asked the council to balance outreach with measures to keep downtown safe for commerce. Several aldermen responded that police should be called when incidents occur and that the council must consider both enforcement and services.
