HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/07/2009 00 Misc Distributed at the Meeting C OMMIiFTeEE FOR
DOWNTOWN YAKIMA
August 7, 2009 _ ° ` '
Yakima City Council 4
City of Yakima
129 North Second Street
Yakima, Washington 98902
Members of the Yakima City Council,
The purpose of this letter is to let you know that we are aware that you have
scheduled a special meeting today to discuss crime and safety issues, and to express
our support for the City Council, for Chief Granato, and the for the Yakima Police
Department, as you work on our behalf to maintain safety and security throughout
Yakima. As leaders of the Yakima business community, we understand and agree
with the principal that maintaining a safe and secure community provides a stable
foundation upon which business enterprises can grow and thrive.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
Sincerely,
.-ero sc
ames E. Stickel
President
C . mmittee for Do ow Y. k'
- o :. echte
Pre -
rt rout Stree pro - ent Association
c Cannon
President
West Side Merchants Association
To lead and implement
the renaissance of
downtown Yakima,
making it the premiere
gathering place of
Central Washington.
7 North 3rd Street !Yakima, WA 98901 1 509.225.2485 1 www.downtownyakima.com 1 P.O. Box 881 Yakima, WA 98907
iS j -ed 8/i/o q
Moore, Debbie
From: Price, Cally
Sent: Friday, August 07, 2009 8:50 AM
To: Edler, Dave; Cawley, Micah; Coffey, Kathy; Lover, Bill; Ensey, Rick; Rodriguez, Sonia;
Adkison, Maureen
Cc: Zabel!, Dave; Zais, Dick; Granato, Sam; Rosenow, Kelly; Moore, Debbie; Cutter, Jeff
Subject: FW: gang violence etc., etc.
Importance: High
-- -- Original Message
From: Beehler, Randy
Sent: Thursday, August 06, 2009 8:57 PM
To: Price, Cally
Subject: Fw: gang violence etc., etc.
Importance: High
Cally,
Here's another e-mail that I received having to do with the subject of the special Council meeting on
Friday.
Randy Beehler
Community Relations Manager City of Yakima, Wa.
Original Message---- -
From: mommy.garcia @gmail.com <mommy.garcia @gmail.com>
To: Beehler, Randy
Sent: Thu Aug 06 19:45:09 2009
Subject: gang violence etc., etc.
I have lived on the 300 block of N. Sixth Street for 22 years with my family. The crime elements have .
decreased over the past several years. I watched KIMA tonight and they reported statistics that
correlate with what I have observed in my neighborhood. You should feel "good" about what you
have done to bring about this change, with the exception of the gun crimes. There have been
numerous gun related crimes that have involved individuals between the ages of 15 -25 (shooters
and victims), yet I have never hear anyone express concern about where these young people are
getting their weapons or any outrage that they even have access to them.
know that the constitution gives citizens the right to bear arms but aren't there accountability
measures that go along with that right. Is the city enforcing all the measure possible to keep guns out
of the hands of the underaged. Do you monitor whether gun sales are conducted legally and what is
a citizen of the city of Yakima required to report when their gun
(s) have been stolen. Do they report this to the police, is there a tracking system to monitor guns
that have been stolen from their legal owners?
It seems to me that these shootings are better described as gun crimes versus gang crimes. If you
don't know who committed the crime then on what basis can you say that the crime is gang related.
It's gun crime,that you know for certain but you don't seem to have sufficient facts to label these
1
crimes as "gang" related,except that they appear that way. When you rush to conclusions and report
all shootings as gang related, the media reports them as such. This in turn inflames the community
with anti gang, hispanic, illegal alien, irresponsible parent, rhetoric that does very little to assist with
curbing the problem. Why do you as a city council nurture this attitude? What are we as citizens of
Yakima, who read the local newspaper or watch you on television, supposed to think when you call
for the National Guard to come and protect us from our own children.
Think about the message you send and the image you project as a council.
You and those before you worked very hard to improve downtown Yakima, it is beautiful, not much
business, but at least it's a pleasant area to walk through. I would like to suggest that you invest the
same time, energy and resources to end the shootings and curb the deaths of our young people in
this community, your community as well as mine, in the same way that you did to make Yakima
APPEAR like a nice, safe place to live, all of Yakima, not just where you live, but where I live too.
Yakima county hired a grant writer. Can you hire a grant writer to focus on funding sources that
relate to gun crimes, gang violence etc.
There appear to be many groups already dedicated to working on the "gang"
problem, what more do they need, can you assist with expanding those already existing projects.
How about going directly to the source.
Police say they know who these gang members are....start building a bridge
there. Work with the school districts, counseling agencies, not just
CMH. These problems impact business potential, you can't keep looking at this as a separate issue,
it impacts your dreams for thriving economy.
Here's a most recent example. Three weeks ago I was attending school at CWU in Ellensburg, a
fellow student who lives in Moses Lake asked me if it was safe for her to come to Yakima. I asked
her why she would think it wasn't and she told me she had heard about a woman who had just been
shot in a crossfire of gang violence. She had this bit of news before I could get home and learn
about it myself. I assured her she would be safe and so she traveled to Best Buy and had no
problems. She made a joke over not being shot as she drove through Yakima, but I know that she
was truly concerned for her safety. By the way, how many cameras do you have in the gang
neighborhoods?
Let me know how I can help.
Pat Garcia 304 North Sixth Street, Yakima Wa 98901
2
604 8/ 09
T Presented to. the Yakima City Council Emergency Study Session - Aug 6.2009
By: Nick Hughes
1509 McKinley Avenue.
Yakima, WA 98902
509 - 895 -7666
I was born 67 years ago, and raised in Yakima, where I also raised my own family. My two
sons do not want to come back here. They left some years back, and now refuse to return,
mostly because of the influences of crime that have been an ever - increasing problem.
My business life and that of my father before me here, was centered in the agriculture
business. I understand the importance of the Hispanic contributions to that industry and
admire, greatly, their general work ethic. I believe the vast majority of Hispanics living and
working here are upstanding members of the community.
However, I cannot ignore, nor do I support, the huge majority, according to an email I
received from Senator Patty Murray's office some time back, of an estimated 75% of that
population demographic that consists of illegal aliens, employed also illegally, by local
businesses including farmers, contractors health agencies, hospitality related businesses
and even local governments.
While 1 don't believe that fact is the sole reason we have gangs here, I believe it is
significantly contributory to the large population of Hispanics who live here now. In THAT
respect, the two issues go hand -in hand, if nothing else than based upon sheer numbers.
In our local case, the crime issues have been growing, in my opinion, primarily due to the
rapid growth of the Hispanic population here. I am NOT saying that all Hispanics are
criminals, because they are NOT. I AM saying that, while not all gangs are Hispanic in
membership, in our area they are definitely, by far, the leading demographic of our local
gangs.
I DO blame our early lack of border security and enforcement of Immigration Laws by our
Federal and local governments for this out of control problem. I also blame the greed by
employers who offer a job- magnet to these people, solely for their contributions of cheap,
almost slave -rate labor.
Since I have retired, I have plenty of time to offer my personal help. So far, I have offered it
to the YPD VIP program, after having completed the YPD Citizens Academy as a brush up
course since I retired after 14 years on the YPD Reserve, as a Sergeant. My prior experience
in that field of interest leaves me dismayed by the recent tolerance given our juvenile crime
here, but I do NOT blame local law enforcement entirely.
I DO blame our state legislature for gutting our hard -won recent gang legislation that was
supposed to have addressed this issue with some authority once and for all. Thanks to one
activist Hispanic Senator from Renton, Ms Margarita Prentice, chairman of the State Ways
and Means Committee, who is solely responsible for removing as an example of "racist
Profiling ", by a last- second amendment, nearly all the funding that was to support and
enforce that legislation, including the primary provisionary clause that allowed police
agencies to stop and question known and suspected gang members when they were
observed wearing their "colors" in certain, known, telegraphic ways. Similar to a football
team suited up for a big game, the gangers wear their colors in certain specific ways that
indicate an imminent action - usually criminal in nature, and most often violent as well.
Since then, the gangs and others involved in criminal activity have been able to thumb their
noses at law enforcement in general. Thanks also to strict CPS interference with family
issues, the juveniles also threaten their parents with retributive actions if they are
disciplined for their bad behaviors by the parents. This leaves the average family in
disarray and wondering what to do next.
My proposed solution is simple: That we institute an IMMEDIATE "0" tolerance policy on
crimes, In particular, gang, or suspected gang activities, juvenile crimes of the smallest
nature, and even to the extent of allowing the prosecution of SOME parents for their lack of
parental supervision for really young offenders. A curfew would do no good, since these
crimes happen at any and all times of the day or night.
I say we should do all this in spite of and in the face of possible ACLU protests or
threatened lawsuits. We simply MUST get our community under control. It has gone too far
for too long.
Thank you
bU-I -e t a /7 /o7
Moore, Debbie
From: Price, CaIIy
Sent: Friday, August 07, 2009 8:51 AM
To: Edler, Dave; Cawley, Micah; Coffey, Kathy; Lover, Bill; Ensey, Rick; Rodriguez, Sonia;
Adkison, Maureen
Cc: Zabell, Dave; Zais, Dick; Granato, Sam; Rosenow, Kelly; Moore, Debbie; Cutter, Jeff
Subject: FW: Gang Violence..State of emergency
Importance: High
This message was received in the council inbox.
CaIIy Price
Executive Assistant
City of Yakima - City Manager's Office
Original Message-- -
From: bonlenderr @charter.net [mailto:bonlenderr @charter.net]
Sent: Thursday, August 06, 2009 7:49 PM
To: City Council
Subject: Gang Violence.. State of emergency
Importance: High
Council members
Don't be complacent about a so called drop in our crime rate when so many gunshots are being fired
in our city. This IS an emergency that requires you to act. Funding extra police patrols would be a
part of any solution but creating an environment to bring gang members to the table for truce talks
would be helpful. You should not be afraid to use money in reserves to help with the costs of any
action. That is what the reserve is for.
Emergencies. The reserve will be built backup. We can't sit still and watch our neighborhoods being
shot up.
Ron Bonlender
1
i s-f-fi by /7/o9
YEARLY COMPARISON
120 109 ®_
cn
Z 100 - -92 88
W
80
U
Z ❑ Aggravated Assaults
0 60 44 ■ ASSLTS W /FIREARMS
-33 33 ❑ MURDER
ff., 40
m
20
Z 2 1 I1
0 --
2007 2008 2009
YEAR
* * *To date, there have been two homicides within
the City of Yakima. One homicide occurred
outside the comparison data. * **
Jun•07 Jun -08 Jun•09 ¥TD % Change
AggravatedAssaults 109 92 88 •19.3 °l0
ASSTS N/HREAMS 33 44 33 0.0 °l0
MURDER 2 1 1 •50,0 °l0
TOTAL PART 1 CRIMES 3956 3519 •11,05 °l0 3294 E6.4 °la
5Year
120
100 92
Z
u, 80 73 76
60
44
0 40 35 33 33
W 21
20 - 5
3 2 1 1
0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 o Aggravated Assaults
_20 .
YEAR ASSLTS WIFIREARMS
o MURDER
YEARLY COMPARISON AND % CHANGE
Jun•05 JunO6 Jun•07 Ju•O8 Jug9 YT % Chane
AGGIAVATEDASSAUTS 13 16 109 92 88 1193
AS$TS/tEAIMS 21 35 33 44 33 0.0 ° l0
MURDER 5 3 2 1 1 •50,0 %