County measures would expand jail capacity
■The measures would raise
property taxes to provide
funds for increased jail space
By Andrew Adams
Oregon Daily Emerald
Faced with an overcrowded jail
and an underused juvenile deten
tion center, Lane County is looking
to raise funds to expand its crimi
nal justice system.
Nearly 4,500 prisoners left the
county jail before completing their
sentences last year, and Sheriff Jan
Clements hopes voters will ap
prove Measures 20-38 and 20-39
this November to cut that number
back.
Stephen Carmichael, director for
the John Serbu Youth Campus at
the Lane County Juvenile Justice
Center, said the two measures will
force young offenders to face the
consequences of their crimes.
But the opposition, led by politi
cal activist Steve Kutcher, says that
if voters approve the measures,
they will provide funding for un
necessary prisons.
Ballot Measure 20-38 would
generate $10 million a year for four
years by increasing property taxes
55 cents for every $1,000 of as
sessed property value. These funds
would support a larger population
at the county inmate work camp
and Juvenile Justice Center, add
staff to supervise the increased
populations and open a female
wing of the juvenile center’s alco
hol and drug treatment center.
The accompanying bond Mea
sure 20-39 would provide just over
$8 million to build a new jail in
take center that would increase the
incoming population by 65 peo
Last year we had
about 5,000 crimes, but
we had only 36 beds.
There's no way to hold kids
responsible.
Stephen Carmichael
Director, John Serbu Youth
Campus ▲ *
pie. Like 20-38, Measure 20-39
would raise property taxes 3 cents
for every $1,000 of assessed prop
erty value.
Carmichael said the two initia
tives are vital to preserve the effec
tiveness of the county’s justice sys
tem because he said without ade
quate funding juveniles won’t
learn they can be held responsible
for their actions.
“Last year we had about 5,000
crimes, but we had only 36 beds,”
he said. “There’s no way to hold
kids responsible.”
Clements also said that it’s hard
to make inmates feel punished. By
federal regulations passed in 1986,
all jails have to keep their popula
tions at certain levels by releasing
criminals that pose the least threat
to society.
Kutcher, however, said the rea
sons to vote for the measures are
completely unsound. The local ac
tivist said he is organizing a com
mittee to oppose the measures.
“The crime rate is going down
and instead of decreasing the num
ber of prisons they’re increasing
it,” he said.
Kutcher agreed prisons are
crowded but said that’s because
the county is convicting people
that don’t need to be convicted.
“The major problem is there’s a
bunch of people in jail who
shouldn’t be there because of vic
timless crimes,” he said.
Victimless crimes, in Kutcher’s
opinion, mainly include drug pos
session. He argued the county
should look at other crimes in
stead of prosecuting the “victim
less” ones.
“Crimes against our environ
ment they don’t take very serious
ly,” he said. “There’s crimes all
over our county against air and
water that go ignored.”
City trying to find funds to build new police station - again
■A revised measure would
provide funding to build a
new police station and to buy
property for a new fire station
By Eric Martin
For the Emerald
Advocates for a ballot measure
that would fund a new police sta
tion and the land for a new fire sta
tion hope voters who rejected a
similar measure in May will sup
port their proposal this time
around.
A revised and trimmed version
of May’s Measure 20-31, Measure
20-36 calls for the construction of
an 80,000-square-foot police sta
tion — 17,500 square feet less than
originally planned — that meets
earthquake safety codes and elim
inates overcrowding. The new sta
tion would be located on city
owned property on East Eighth
Avenue, across the street from City
Hall.
The station would provide the
“same square footage other similar
size police departments in the
Northwest have,” said John
Brown, a real estate appraiser and
former member of the Eugene Po
lice/Fire Station Task Force.
“That’s what they need.”
Eugene Police Department Lt.
Rick Ziel said space in the current
police facility is cramped, and cit
ed the 12-foot by 14-foot waiting
room as an example.
“There’s no privacy,” Ziel said.
“If you’ve got a girlfriend or wife
that’s just been raped, you have to
stand in a room with other people
and tell [the officers] what you
want to tell them.”
The city formed the task force
last summer to ascertain why vot
ers rejected the original measure.
The force concluded that voters
found the levy too costly, disap
proved of the proposed location
and wanted to see design plans be
fore devoting money to the project.
The new levy would be almost
Guide available online
■The Oregon Voters
Pamphlet is posted on the
Internet to make reading
easier for voters
By Andrew Adams
Oregon Daily Emerald
With a voters pamphlet that ri
vals some Oregon phone books in
size, the secretary of state’s office
has posted all the material on the
26 state ballot measures and
dozens of candidates on the Inter
net.
Paddy McGuire, chief of staff for
the secretary of state’s office, said
the pamphlet was placed online
because of its size and to inform
voters living outside the state.
“On the very first day the site
was up, we received an e-mail
from an Oregonian living in Scot
land who found a problem with
one of the site’s links,” McGuire
said. “That’s pretty instantaneous
results that folks all over the globe
are using it.” McGuire quickly
added that the problem was fixed.
The pamphlet, at www.ore
gonvotes.com, will spare voters the
task of thumbing through the 376
page printed voters pamphlet,
McGuire said.
“It’s about as long as the Eugene
Springfield white pages, and it’s
the first voters pamphlet to be
bound like a phone book,” he said.
Every registered voter will still
be receiving a copy of the voters
guide so there won’t be any re
duced cost from posting the pam
phlet on the Internet. But McGuire
said the secretary of state’s office
received non-profit bulk rate
postage from the Post Office and
will save money through that re
duced rate. He said the state saved
approximately $700,000 through
the rate, which reduced mailing
costs from $1.2 million to about
$450,000.
Annette Newingham, Lane
County elections manager, said the
that information online will help
voters understand the issues, but
couldn’t say whether or not that
will improve voter turnout.
“I’m not really sure if that’s go
ing to be a factor,” she said.
Information on the two Lane
County bond measures — 20-38
and 20-39 for a forest work camp
for minor offenders and jail im
provements — is available at the
Lane County Web site:
www.co.lane.or.us.
Brian Tanner, the state affairs co
ordinator for the ASUO, said the
Web site should help students find
voter information. He added that
the ASUO will be putting together
its own guide about measures that
will have a direct effect on higher
education, but for other state meas
ures, the Web site would be a bet
ter source than the bulky pam
phlet.
“I don’t think any student in
their right mind with all the other
reading they have to do anyway
would look through [the voters
pamphlet],” he said.
$6 million cheaper, would use
city-owned property and includes
plans for the police station. The
measure also provides funds for
the purchase of property for a new
fire station that could be built
within the next two years, Brown
said.
Opponents of the measure say
the $21.1 million cost for the pro
posed municipal facilities is too
expensive and unnecessary. They
argue that taxpayer dollars could
be saved if the city were to better
use the office space it already has.
“There are other, less expensive
options they’re not looking at,”
said Gary Kutcher, citizen activist
and opponent to the measure. “I
think they’ve become fixated with
the idea of a fancy new police sta
tion.”
But Brown said though some
disagree with tactics employed by
Eugene police officers, they de
serve safe facilities taxpayers
would want themselves. He said
seismic studies conducted by three
outside architectural consulting
firms showed that a minimal
earthquake could flatten the exist
ing police station, an unacceptable
possibility for essential services
like police because they must be
on call during disasters.
“The city has not paid much at
tention to it, but it’s a fact they’ve
known for 10 years,” Brown said.
“In Western Oregon there have
been 10 moderate earthquakes —
measuring between 2.0 and 6.3 on
the Richter scale — since 1993.”
But Kutcher said there were
seismic studies completed a year
ago that concluded existing facili
ties could be updated and made
earthquake resistant with a cost of
$3 million to $5 million.
He also said taxpayers aren’t get
ting what they pay for in Measure
20-36 because only property for
and the design of a new fire de
partment facility are funded by the
measure — not the facility itself.
“I’m really troubled by the ballot
title [in the City of Eugene Voter’s
Pamphlet],” Kutcher said. “I be
lieve they’re trying to fake voters
out by implying they will get a fire
station.”
The line in question, printed on
page six of the voter’s pamphlet,
reads: “Shall City of Eugene issue
up to $25,120,000 general obliga
tion bonds for downtown police
facilities and a fire station?”
Kutcher said the line is biased
rhetoric attempting to sway voters
to cast their ballots for the meas
ure.
But Brown disagrees and said
the City Council drafted the lan
guage in question.
“It’s not misleading to me,” he
said. “I know what [the general ob
ligation funds] are for. If you read
the ordinance, you’ll see a fire sta
tion is not included in this meas
ure. But let’s say we build [the po
lice station] for $22,500,000. The
excess money will go toward a fire
station.”
Local Measures
Eugene Ballot Measure 20-36
The measure would give the city a maximum of $25.1 million in local tax dollars to build a new police station
and purchase land for a new fire department.
Supporters say the city’s police and fire facilities are outdated, cramped and need to be replaced to accommo
date the city’s growing population. They also say the police station is seismkally unsound, raising concerns that
the Eugene Police Department could be crippled in an earthquake or other disaster.
Opponents say the price tag is too big and that cheaper options, such as better managing the city’s existing facili
ties, should be explored.
Eugene Ballot Measure 20-37
A proposed levy, this measure would grant the city $1.75 million per year for two years for neighborhood-based
youth programs. Property taxes would increase about 3 percent.
Supporters say the programs funded by the levy would give kids productive after-school activities and could
keep children supervised and out of trouble.
No organized opposition
Lane County Ballot Measures 20-38 and 20-39
Measure 20-38 would generate $10 million a year for four years by increasing property taxes by 55 cents for
every $1,000 of assessed property value. These funds would support a larger population at the county inmate
work camp and Juvenile Justice Center, add staff to supervise the increased populations and open a female wing
of the juvenile center’s alcohol and drug treatment center. The accompanying bond, Measure 20-39, would pro
vide just over $8 million to build a new jail intake center that would increase the incoming population by 65
people. Like 20-38, Measure 20-39 would raise property taxes by 3 cents for every $1,000 of assessed property
value.
Proponents say there is dire need in Lane County for the two measures. They cite prisoner releases from the
county jail and what they call an under-staffed and ineffective juvenile justice center. The funds could mean
more people would pay for their crimes, and more juveniles would receive the attention their crimes deserve.
Opponents argue that the prisons are overcrowded because they’re packed with people arrested for crimes that
don’t need to be prosecuted. They believe jail beds should only be used for serious offenders. They also argue
that the county should use more rehabilitation methods, rather than just resorting to incarceration.