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City Government

MAYOR HOTLINE July 7 to 14

 July 17, 2006 ⋅  Post a comment

Kill the drug users, allow booze, allow fireworks, smoking in the park, ban fireworks, no welfare for drug users.

7/7/06
Ester Cannenberg
824 E. Glacier Bay Court
Meridian, ID 83642
Parks: My concern has to do with a small park, which the city owns, between Main and Broadway down by St. Luke’s Hospital. St. Luke’s employees have to walk from their parking garage to the hospital and past this park where people are smoking. I am a nonsmoker. I don’t care to be around it at all. I can’t hold my breath long enough to walk past that park where people are smoking. The hospital says that it’s a city park so they can’t do anything about it. So, I guess I would just like to raise my concern and complaint. If you have any suggestions or ideas I would appreciate hearing from you. Thank you very much.
M/CC BPR
Action Taken: BPR

7/7/2006
Ben Shelley
2823 Capelin St.
Boise, ID 83705
Fireworks: My comment is related to the fireworks that people are setting off on the 4th of July and all of the concerns that the local law enforcement agencies, and fire and rescue services providers are becoming excited about it. The suggestion that I have had in my mind for years now is that obviously it can’t be stopped, and constricting peoples behaviors especially on a day of the year that is designed around expressing our freedoms and having enjoyment and action and activity in our lives together as a group, a community and a country is not going to work. So, when the law enforcement agents and the fire and rescue services decide, “we are going to go and put the hammer down. We are going to be tough on people who want to be free people today, and enjoy this activity.” Fireworks which have been a part of fireworks and social activity since ancient Asia, let alone here in this country for decades and decades into the last century. It’s not going to work. It’s just people being in control of other people. I understand because I study politics at Boise State. I have triple emphasis in the political science department there. So, I understand that some policies are made for the protection of people. These are important. However, my recommendation for you, Mr. Mayor, and City Council members for fireworks policy in the City of Boise is to determine a park in each area of our city that has a wide open space with enough room for people to gather as a community to enjoy barbequing or picnics and then enjoy lighting fireworks in areas where we could then have those enforcement officials, or fire and rescue service agents be adjacent to these areas prepared to assist people if necessary. You know, there are parks all over the city that have flat wide opened spaces that are not necessarily matured with large growing trees and things that would impose upon people lighting fireworks. We just can’t fight it. There is no way to stop it. People will keep doing it. So, the more we fight people’s actions and behaviors it’s almost as if the more they will go and keep doing it. Now, my family owns property in this city and I take it personally when I see someone shooting rocks and they are landing in my yard. But then I realize, “hey when I was young I did similar activities. This is one day or two days of the year”. You know, just keep an eye on things and don’t make such a big situation out of it, let it be. Try to support people’s actions by giving them a place to do it with some parameters that make it safer. The majority of people will fall in line with that because if they know, “hey we could go to Sunset park or Shoshone park in whatever region of the city, and there will be professionals there if need be. But, there will be spaces where we could light things without being in trouble for it”. People will flock to those places. They don’t want to be in trouble they just want to have a good time on the 4th of July. A lot of people don’t want to light the things around their homes, but with an attack coming from law enforcement agencies need a place to shelter themselves sited, or imposed upon, or commended, if you will. So, take a look at some of these ideas. I think they would definitely benefit the City of Boise. They will definitely benefit the people and save us some money. Give us a way to enjoy the 4th of July without trying to set one person values or the importance of safety for a few people. I mean we have a city of hundreds of thousands of people now. We had 30 something incidents of small fires that we thankfully contained by rain. These things could be better handled. You know we had one incident of a young lady being burned by a rocket. These things could be better served if we did as a community in areas that made it safer and allowed to do it without punishment. Thanks for you time. You’re doing a good job without a lot of the other policies. I loved to see you on your bike riding there on the news the other night. Thank you.
M/CC BFD
Action Taken: BFD

7/7/06
Annette Vetter
Alcohol Ban: I just wanted to voice my opinion in regards to the Idaho State Police cracking down on the downtown vendors, as far as not being able to serve complementary alcohol without a liquor license. I think it’s really unfortunate that this happened and that the IFP gave this notice on the night of ‘First Thursday’. I’m not sure if they don’t have anything better to do then to find a way to ruin something that has been going on for so long. There really have been no problems caused by it. Anyway, I am hoping that you, city council, and the Down Town Association can help resolve this. Wine and beer tasting during this event has been harmless and it’s a very large part of the fun of attending it. I feel that the mood was just terrible last night. Those who were there just had the same flavor. I know that my friends and I will probably think twice about attending this and it’s a really unfortunate because it’s normally a very fun thing. There’s my comment. I just wanted you to be aware that I am just an unhappy citizen about that. Thank you.
M/CC BPD

7/11/06
Joe Villereal
Code Enforcement: I own the emission testing station that is located at Cloverdale and Fairview in Boise. I have just gotten notice that they are taking one of my signs down that was on my van. I have complied prior with this. I have taken all the signs down, the flags, the sandwiches signs, everything. I have complied with all the rules that I could. The only sign that I had left was an open sign that was on my van. That was the only thing that I have that would keep me in business. Now I had a lady come down and make me take that sign off. This is absolutely ridiculous. It has gotten to the point where it’s just not right. There is no way I can stay in business. I have done everything possible to comply and do the right thing. This is just to a point where it’s just not right. I can’t stay in business without any kind of signage or open signs. Something just has to give.
M/CC PDS

7/11/06
John Johnson
Welfare: Okay, I was just reading this ad on the Channel 7 website about the new Drug Czar, and how methamphetamines are putting a real strain on the state for welfare and all that. Since, the money comes from people’s taxes and everything, why don’t they require drug testing to get on welfare? And, if they can’t pass they can’t get welfare. Why should these people be benefiting from illegal activities plus take money out of regular tax payers pockets for these people using drugs? It’s just a f***! Have a good day.
M/CC

7/11/06
Zoe Lammer
1716 N. 10th St.
Boise, ID 83702
Youth Commission:
I was calling about a position on the Boise City’s Art Council Commission that I applied for and I was interviewed for a couple weeks. I was just wondering whether I got it or not, or what the deal is with that.
Action Taken: contacted

7/11/06
Relbert Clark
1249 Grand Avenue
Boise, ID 83702

Community House: My concern is that I keep the old community house over here, that you guys are still trying to sell it to the rescue mission. I have no complaints, today; about the way it’s being run. But I will have complaints and I will get signatures if you guys keep trying to sell it to them. Because that means that there will be sexual predators staying there. At this point I know they stay downtown. I know also, that you guys own the property in front of the Rescue Mission and that is given to you by ACHD, or however that transcribes. I know they can sell it and a hotel or office building will go up because I know some developers want to develop that. I feel that’s a bad mistake for you trying to keep trying to sell the building to the Rescue Mission. The other thing is that, then it becomes privately owned and then it’s their way and you have no control. There are too many children in this area. There are a lot of new condos going up in this area and there is a lot of other stuff going on in this area. There is a school right down the street. There are all kinds of stuff. I want to keep sexual predators away from this area. If you guys can’t help, I will gladly vote you out.
M/CC PDS
Action Taken: PDS

7/12/06
Roger Malm
Parking Ticket: He stopped by because he was frustrated about a parking ticket that he had received. On Tuesday, July 11, he had a meeting downtown at Farmer’s & Merchants bank to close a loan at 2:00pm. He arrived for the meeting around 2:15pm and found a parking spot downtown. He said he pressed the button on the parking meter to receive the free 20 minutes and then put two quarters into the meter so that he would have 50 minutes. When he returned to his car after his meeting he had a ticket on his car, but there was still time left on the meter he had put money in. He said he had eye witnesses from the bank that saw that he still had time left on his meter. The ticket he received was issued at 2:22 p.m. He believes that the parking attendant looked at the wrong meter and accidentally gave him a ticket. He went and spoke to the people at Clerk’s Office about this and he said they were very cordial to him but that they said there was nothing they could do for him unless he wanted to appeal it in court. He said that his problem is not about paying the bill, it’s the principal of the matter. He said he was very frustrated because he felt as if no one will talk to you about this issue unless it is in court. He doesn’t want to take the time to go to court because it is too much time and money for a $10 ticket. What he doesn’t understand is why there isn’t someone below the courts and above Clerk’s Office who can mediate and talk to citizens about their issues like this. He said he is frustrated because things like this are so black and white. He doesn’t understand why the Clerk’s Office won’t listen or try and understand. He said that he doesn’t come downtown very often because of the parking. He said that because of things like this he just wants to stay on the West side of town. He wondered if the reason he received the ticket was because his car had an Oregon license plate. He said that if he was from out of state visiting Boise or thinking about coming here, this kind of thing would weigh heavily on his decision. He said he doesn’t mind paying the bill but his time on the meter wasn’t up so he doesn’t think he should have to. He said that he voted for Mayor Bieter and thinks he is doing a great job. He just wanted to stop by and let us know his frustration.
M/CC F&A

7/12/06
Eugene Stewart
2618 W. Idaho St.
Stewarts Gem Shop
BFI: His dumpster was stolen. He contacted BFI about it 4 days ago and they still haven’t replaced it. They continue to stall him. He thinks it is at a construction site in the 2500 block of Bannock in the alley. He hasn’t been able to dump his garbage since Friday and just wants a dumpster w/ a lid.
M/CC PW

7/12/06
Adelaide Crowne
377-0758
Humane Society: Adelaide contacted the office and explained the following: She adopted a sheltie dog from the pound 4/06. They dog was never quite right. She made a few trips to the pound vet, they did some tests and found nothing wrong. She then went to an ER and they diagnosed the dog w/ cancer. It died 7/4/06. During her time at the pound she got acquainted with another dog. A male Pomeranian # 526183. She would like to adopt this dog. This dog had a problem with a leg. He is currently in foster care until the surgery can be done. She spoke to Dee Fugit who told her she would need to wait for the surgery. She would be more then happy to adopt the dog now and get the surgery done by her vet but was told no by Dee. She is upset that the dog could be in a loving home getting the treatment he needs but the humane society won’t allow her to adopt him.
M/CC Humane Society

7/12/2006
Drug Czar: I was just reading something about Jim Tibbs being put into the Drug Czar and I thought of something humorous you might appreciate if you want to transcribe this and pass it on to him. When Barbara Bush, I think her husband had been the ambassador to China. I think when he was president she was at a dinner with a leader of China. She was sitting next to maybe the head of China or one of the really important people. She started to converse with him at dinner. She turned to him and said, “What do you do about your drug problem here in China?” He looked at her coldly and said, “What drug problem?” And she said, “Well I assumed every country had a drug problem.” And he said, “Well we made it against the law to have drugs on your person whether you are using or selling.” He said, “We made it a capital offense. We executed whomever we found with drugs. And, we only had to execute 10 or 20 and our drug problem disappeared.” Now that is sort of a paraphrase but she said it was an interesting way of handling drugs instead of imprisoning them like we do in our country. Anyway, he might actually be able to track down that story somewhere. I’ll try and do it tomorrow when the library is open. Anyway, Jim Tibbs said he wasn’t sure they could solve the problem. I say, well maybe China solves it in a way that we should be exploring. Anyway, my name and all of that isn’t important. Anyway, I just thought that information might be of use to you.
M/CC

7/13/06
Charles J. Warren
923 Linden Parkway
Boise, ID 83706
Fire Truck Concern: Mr. Warren called the office today to express his deep concern for the stress and nervousness that occurs when a fire truck is right behind you at an intersection with its sirens on and you are not in a position to move and get out of the way for them. He felt that is was very dangerous for seniors, like him, who may become so stressed that they may suffer from a heart attack or worse during those moments. He assured me he was fine and was strong enough to get through one of those moments but was concerned for others. He experienced this incident today at the intersection of University Drive and Capitol Blvd. He was turning left to get onto Boise Avenue and he was jammed between a few cars with the fire truck directly behind him. He would like to speak to someone about this as soon as possible.
M/CC BFD

7/13/06
Peggy Mundota
2702 East Gloucester
Boise, ID 83706
Fireworks: Mr. Mayor and City Council, I just had a comment and a request that all of you take up the matter of fireworks. They have been a problem in our neighborhood. From reading all the letters to the editor in the newspaper, I think the problem has been city wide. I just wanted to ask you to please work on changing the laws and ordinances regarding the firework because of the noise, the pollution, and the fire danger. My pet is very adversely affected. Anyway, I am just hoping that something can be done this year. Thank you for your time and feel free to contact me anytime.
M/CC BFD

7/13/06
Doug Wisdom
Utility Billing: I am calling regarding the Boise City utility billing. I have an interest on a pass due charge that I have received previously. I use internet bill pay. The bill was due on May 8th. It was sent on May 2nd by the bank and I still got a late charge. This has happened several times. The utility billing does not use electronic payment so the bank sends the check. When I called utility billing, they say they charge it late from when they say they receive it, not from the postmark date. It’s not a lot of money but it’s an annoyance and I think their accounting is improper. This is the only bill that I have a problem with. I never have paid any of my bills late and I keep getting late charges on these bills. That’s my problem. I know that I am not the only one affected by this. Most people probably just pay the money, but it’s a matter of principal. I would like to see that they take proper accounting.
M/CC F&A

7/13/06
Tyler Walker
12051 West Lewisberg Court
Boise, ID 8370
Youth Commission: I was looking in the paper and I noticed an ad for a Mayor’s youth council. It just sounded really interesting about maybe teaming up with the Mayor and talking about youth problems. If you could call me back and I could get some more information on it that would be great.
M/CC
Action Taken: contacted

7/13/06
Army Reserve: I am a family member of an army reserve soldier because and I would rather stay anonymous. I know if this gets back to him there could be repercussions to him and the family. I don’t think it is fair that there are 2,000 National Guard soldiers leaving in the next week and the community is not behind them. We had been told that the state is not going to be supporting these families because there is no economic impact to the state of Idaho to loose 2,000 Army Reserve soldiers to the Iraq war. And that the VIPs like the Mayor and the Governor are not going to be coming out to tell them goodbye because what thy’re doing is not near as dangerous or as important as what the Army National Guard did two years ago. And that we do not have to have family support system while they are gone because the community doesn’t feel that what our husbands are going to be doing is all that important either. I think this is very unfair, very wrong, and very two-faced because I think that loosing 2,000 soldiers in this area regardless of whether they are National Guard or Army Reserve does have an impact in this area.
M/CC

7/14/06
Beverly Barker
ROW:She has property on Front St. between 5th and 6th. The strip has tall dry weeds growing on it and she would like it maintained.
M/CC BPR

7/14/06
Phillip Sansotta
PDS: There is a wedge of land next door to him and everyone uses for parking but no one claims as their property. It is trashy and has tall weeds. He would like someone to please see who it belongs to and have it maintained.
M/CC PDS

7/8/06
Ruth Neal
2024 Cataldo
Boise, ID 83705
Graffiti: I am a volunteer on the greenbelt for the police department. I called a week or so ago about some graffiti that was on the bridge that starts at Park Center and heads north across, right where the old Shakespearean festival used to be. Anyway, I don’t know whether this is the same graffiti or new because I don’t go on the same path on the greenbelt everyday. I just went across again this morning to see if it was gone, and I don’t know whether it is the same graffiti or new. But, I do know this time it’s in big red letters, and it’s either a D or a P, A, K. Like I said, I’m not sure it may be the same since I don’t walk the same path everyday. Thank you.
M/CC Graffiti Team

7/8/2006
Kevin Clifford
1824 N. 19th Street
Boise, ID 83702
Graffiti: I am calling the graffiti hotline. There is graffiti in the alley. There has been an increase in the amount of graffiti in the north end and especially around the 19th and Irene intersection, over the past several weeks. I just wanted to let someone know. Thank you very much.
M/CC Graffiti Team

7/9/2006
Sandy
Graffiti: You don’t need to call me unless you absolutely have to. There is some new graffiti on that old ‘Sunset’ store that is closed down, on Curtis and Fairview. It’s on the back side of that store, right next to Curtis. If someone could take care of it I would sure appreciate it.
M/CC Graffiti Team

7/11/06
Gary Slee
321 E. Highland View Dr.
Boise, ID 83702
Graffiti: I was actually calling the graffiti hotline, not the Mayor’s Hotline. It looks like both those numbers are the same. I have reported to the police department a couple weeks ago about graffiti across from my residence on Highland View Dr and asked that it be removed. It’s on a power station there. I guess Idaho Power owns the power box but the graffiti is on that. If someone could give me a call back or come up and remove it, I would really appreciate it. Once again, the graffiti is right across from my residence at 321 Highland View Dr.
M/CC Graffiti Team

7/13/06
Melinda Rippy
586 East Gentle Wind Court
Graffiti: I am calling this number because it says it is the graffiti hotline. That is what I wanted to report today at the corner of Geckler and Bergeson. Graffiti has been painted on the traffic light control box at that corner. And also on one of the bus stop benches, right across the street from that. So, anyway that is what I am reporting.
M/CC Graffiti Team

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