City Government

Mayor Hotline June 16 to 22

WATER PARK SHOULD GO DOWN THE DRAIN
GOOD COP BAD COP
NOISE MAKES NOT A LIVABLE CITY
OPEN THE DEPOT AND FIX THE CLOCK
NO WAY FOR HALF WAY HOUSE
SCARY STORY SAD STORY.

Lots of long winded calls from people unhappy with city hall, so be sure to “continue” at the bottom of the page.

6/18/07
Chris Davis
Park: I live in southwest Boise near Peppermint Park. I would just like to ask the Mayor why he’s giving money to a water park on the river and money to the homeless, and he can’t even put a playground in Peppermint Park, which I pay city taxes for. How much money does the homeless pay? Do they give any improvement to our city or do they just suck up all of the tax money in city services? Once again, I would like a play ground for my children and the children in the neighborhood so they can play in Peppermint Park rather than putting money into the homeless and putting a white water park on the river which already has white water rapids. Thank you.
M/CC BPR

6/18/07
Mika Holloway
BPD: I’m calling again to ask for a follow-up call regarding Don (GUARDIAN DELETED NAME). I left a terrible message earlier, and I’ve calmed down now, so I would like a call back to see what’s transpiring regarding this man in our community who is very dangerous. I feel he’s going to kill someone; I don’t think he should be carrying a firearm and he certainly shouldn’t be in the business he projects himself to be in. Please telephone me; I’ve already called Six on Your Side, and my next call is to the Statesman. This will be public record, as well as it being known that nobody is doing anything about it, apparently, because I haven’t had a call back. Please call me at your earliest convenience. Thank you.
M/CC BPD

6/17/07
Jeff Dustin
Pres. Of Mountain View Little League Assoc. in SW Boise
Boise Parks: I read in the paper the other day that he’s backing the white water park. How many people do you think that’s actually going to help? Not very many. There are absolutely zero parks that have a baseball field in southwest Boise. ZERO. Mountain View Little League has 500 kids in it; we are losing our baseball fields due to development come 2009; we are desperately looking for other places to build. The city has a couple of parks that they donated to them for this specific purpose – Mergerdio Park, Molinar Park, and they aren’t doing it; I’m wondering why. Every other little league association in the city has a city park that they play in. A lot of them were donated from Simplot but the city takes care of them. Mountain View in southwest Boise has nothing, and I stress nothing. There are no parks, no places for the kids to play; there’s nobody demanding that the developers put these parks in. It’s almost like the city doesn’t care about these kids; they don’t care about the people in southwest Boise, or they haven’t thought of it.
M/CC BPR

6/18/07
Jeri St. Clair
7154 W. State St.
Boise, ID
Depot: We were a little concerned about the Boise Depot. Supposedly it’s opened on Sunday, but unfortunately there wasn’t any release of information that it was going to be closed yesterday for a wedding. We went to the website and looked at the information, and if it’s closed for a wedding, it should be posted on the website. We had out-of-town guests that we were going to take up there, but unfortunately they were not able to enjoy the depot that we were making such a big deal about. This was a big concern for us, because if it’s supposed to be open, it should be open, and if it’s not going to be open, the public needs to know that it’s not going to be open. Something needs to be done about that to communicate to the public. I know they make money by doing that, and that’s wonderful, but you can’t say it’s open, when it’s not. Please handle this situation.
M/CC
Action Taken: contacted

6/21/07
Tracy Phillips
2440 S. Heritage Pl.
Boise, ID 83709
Police Contract: I’m calling to let the Mayor and City Council know that I’m displeased and disgusted with the way they are handling the contract dispute with the current police officers. They put their lives on the line every day for us and keep our community safe. I would really like to see the Council and Mayor step up and finalize this dispute, and if needed, concede a little bit toward the police officers for the dedication that they’ve served us, especially in this time with the terrorist issues that our country faces. I think it’s time for our city to step up and put money into providing a safe haven for our citizens locally, combating all the meth issues we’ve seen in the city, and the growing issues that we will see. I just wanted to make this public record.
M/CC BPD


6/18/07
Gerry Sjol
Depot: My problem is that the Boise Depot bells are off. At midnight it rings 8 times; at 4:00 a.m. it rings 12 times, and at 9:00 it rings 5 times. Anyway, this is disrupting my sleep; it’s been going on for at lest three days, and I would like to have somebody do something about it. Thank you.
M/CC BPR
Action Taken: left msj

6/19/07
Mika Holloway
BPD: I’m going to be calling every day until I get a call back regarding the home invasion from Don (GUARDIAN DELETED NAME) in my family’s home.
M/CC BPD

6/19/07
Marjorie Louise Hunt
213 Pearl St.
Boise, ID
Depot: The chimes are off on the Depot, and we’re night workers and are just going to bed at 4:00 a.m. when the chimes ring 12 times, instead of at midnight. Please get that fixed as it is very annoying.
M/CC
Action Taken: contacted

6/20/07
Gary Waymire
13426 W. Whittenberg
Boise, ID 83713
Police Contract: I’m a resident of Boise on the very west side of town. I am very concerned about this situation with the Police Department, and the fact that the Mayor has had no direct contact with the Police Union in over 15 months. I’m also concerned that they’re working without a contract, they’re understaffed, and I think that you, the Council, and the Mayor need to get on with this and get something done. You have a surplus in the budget this year; you should be using some of that money for police services. We need police help here. I moved back here after growing up here, in 2000, and the police service was certainly a lot better then than it is now. It’s gone down hill ever since, and I think you guys need to be doing something about it now, not putting it off any further. It’s been long enough already. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to leave my comments. Bye
M/CC BPD

Cathy Whitmer
Depot: Not open yesterday. The sign on the door says that they are open to the public from 12:30 – 8:00 Monday thru Friday. It wasn’t quite 12:30 so they left and came back later, but it was still locked. She said there were at least 15-20 people there who also wanted to get in to see the Depot while she was there. Some of them were from out of town were very disappointed. One lady was very angry.
M/CC BPR
Action Taken: Contacted her
6/20/07

Robin Fawcett
297 Old Saybrook Dr.
Boise, ID 83706
Sex Offenders: I’m calling to support the creation of a city ordinance restricting where sex offenders can reside. I believe that the restriction should be a thousand feet, if not more, from any schools, pre-schools, day cares, school bus stops, parks, boys and girls clubs, after school programs, or anywhere that families or children tend to congregate. I would really appreciate your support in this matter. Thank you.
M/CC Legal

6/20/07
Lyn Norris
10500 Lancelot Ave.
Boise, ID
BPD: Two nights ago, my husband’s car was written on with a permanent marker, and when we called the police department, they said they couldn’t file a report on that. My car has been egged last week, and then last night we caught kids trying to get into a neighbor’s truck. Because my neighbor wasn’t the one who called, the police department would not come out. PROBLEM! Thank you for taking this matter.
M/CC BPD

6/20/07
Roy Locklear
Misc: Mr. Locklear came to the office and gave the following suggestion for Mayor and Council: Instead of getting rid of old fire stations, make them into substations for the Boise Police Dept. The fire station on Overland is up for sale, and would be a great place to put a substation. The Key Bank next door to it is always getting robbed, so the response time would be much faster.
M/CC

6/20/07
Martha Boeckling
West Boise 83704
Half-Way House: I saw the piece on KIVI Channel 6 last night and am very concerned about what is happening to our neighborhoods on the west side of Boise, and the fact that it does have the support of the governor, the mayor, and the other departments. I’m very concerned about the fact that this operation is a for-profit operation, and that our tax dollars though are being used to fund this. So, does that mean that our tax dollars are lining the pockets of Mr. Mansfield as he goes under this self-help guise, and kind of duping people, and being very shady about sneaking into these neighborhoods and not being forthright with these people? What kind of an example is he is setting, that he cannot be honest and open about what he is trying to do. I just wanted that to be known. Thank you very much.
M/CC

6/20/07
Mary Amoureux
5412 N. Pierce Park Ln.
Boise, ID 83703
BPD: My comment is this: People complain about the torn up streets, but when the construction workers try to do an outstanding job, why can’t people do what the signs say? Right now there is a little tiny project going on at Pierce Park. The people at Hidden Springs seem to think that they are out of reach of the law; however, we have no law on Pierce Park, you very seldom see an officer here unless one is called for something drastic. The poor people who are trying to put in this water line today had 284 cars, now you can’t tell me there are 284 people that live in a two-block area. Mr. Mayor, you want to get re-elected. We need to do something about our police department and their response time in taking care of the general public. Thank you.
M/CC BPD

6/20/07
Mika Holloway
BPD: Mayor Bieter, I’m calling you again because I haven’t heard from your office, or any department in the city to speak to me about Don (GUARDIAN DELETED NAME) and (A BOUNTY HUNTER), and the home invasion on my family’s home last week. I look forward to hearing from you; perhaps ATF will give you a ring, or the Statesman; I’m not threatening you, I’m just telling you all the entities that I’ve contacted beside you. ATF is interested in this, Lt. Plot of the Boise PD is investigating; we’re filing a complaint with the Police Department as well, along with several other agencies – city, county, state, and federal. This man is going to kill someone in our community, then perhaps you will answer a citizen concern. He’s a dangerous man with his rage and flashing a badge that who knows where he got it, and a gun. He’s carrying a concealed weapon and he doesn’t have a permit for that. So, I hope someone is going to take me seriously on this issue. Thank you.

By the way, on Latah and Rosehill, there are a lot of potholes in the road and it’s tearing up cars. Would you have somebody check into that? I would appreciate it. Thank you.
M/CC BPD
Action Taken: BPD contacted

6/21/07
William Hudson
400 W. Ada St.
Boise, ID 83702
Police Contract: No follow-up is necessary, but I did want to essentially reiterate what I wrote to the Idaho Statesman today. This is especially for the Police Union and I’ll just read the letter:
“Once again, I see the Police Union representatives are claiming that Jade Riley ‘has a conflict of interest on police issues’ because of past arrests. If the union continues to use this as a wedge in their negotiations, someone is bound to wonder if union members targeted Riley for arrest.” Thank you very much.
M/CC BPD

6/21/07
Anonymous Female
BPD: I’m calling to see if it would be possible if all of the police department’s wages, everything that has to do with the police department, fringe benefits, if everything was published in the paper for the public to see. I noticed that they still haven’t settled their union contract, so maybe that would be a good idea.
M/CC BPD

6/21/07
Anonymous
Police Contract: I was watching the news last night and I think it is completely hypocritical that your aide is in any way part of the police negotiation process and that you won’t pay the police what they deserve. They’re underpaid and they need to be paid at least comparatively to the highest paid agency in the state, and really need to be comparable to agencies in the Northwest. So, I hope you will do something about that.
M/CC BPD

6/22/07
Anonymous
Police Contract: I’m calling in reference to the spectacle taking place in front of city hall. I really prefer not to give my name because of possible retaliation. As a resident of Boise, I find it disturbing that the police are picketing in front of city hall. These guys carry guns and should not be intimidating the public. I help pay their salaries; I am scared of the Boise police tactics. Negotiations should be conducted in private; their behavior is extremely aggressive and there they are screaming at everybody. They are developing a reputation I associate with the mafia. I’m sorry about not giving my name, but I feel very passionately about this. Thank you so much.
M/CC BPD

6/18/07
Michael (GUARDIAN DELETED LAST NAME)
Child Custody: I’m a father of three kids. I went to court today to try to get custody of my daughters who were put into foster homes due to the fact that my “X’s” father molested them, and now he’s in jail for that molestation. She’s never taken care of my kids even though she gets child support for them. My son lives with me, he has for a year and a half. When I went to court today, the judge shoots me down. I did everything I could do; they were put in foster care and I was told by the state that I had 30 days to get these kids, and if I don’t they will go back into foster care. So, I file for custody and the judge, his name is Hansen, shoots me down because the grandfather who did the molestation is in jail for it. I see that Boise can spend $750,000 on a rafting thing, but it would be nice if that money were set aside for dads like me to help with lawyers to try to get the kids. Now my kids are going to be with their mother again, who doesn’t take care of them and put them in that predicament with her parents to get molested. I have noticed in this state that a father cannot get his kids; I’ve been told that no matter what the mother does, the dad can never get the kids. My question is why isn’t there help for single dads? All we ever hear about is domestic violence against women. Well I feel as if I was domesticated; I tried to get custody of my little daughters who got molested by her dad, and I can’t get no help, I can’t get nothing. Why don’t we have any information; I can’t get a lawyer because I don’t have the money. I have a son who is living with me that I still pay child support for and she doesn’t take care of. Where is the justice in this state? I’ve lived in this state my whole life and I’ve never seen a state like this. Everything goes to the women; all we ever hear on TV is domestic violence against women. What about men? I feel like I got domesticated against. This state is so screwed up and we brag about how good this state is, well it ain’t that good of a state. If a grandfather can molest his own grandkids, and the biological father can’t even get custody of them, and the mother still retains custody. Where is the law in that? Then you go ahead and use $750,000 to put a kayak thing on the Boise River, what’s up with that? That money could be spent for other things than that. Who gets these judges, where are they from, and why is it every time you go into court, they’re always for the women. I’m tired of hearing about all these domestic things against men; there are women who domesticate men. This is an outrage and something needs to be done about it. I don’t know where to go or what to do. When I see that the Mayor wants to spend $750,000 on a kayak thing, that’s ridiculous, there isn’t even enough water in the Boise River to have something like that. That money could be put to better use for people like me to help me fight things like this, to help give kids a better chance in life. My little girls are never going to have a chance with their mother. They’re going to be affected by this molestation the rest of their life.
M/CC
Action Taken: left msj w/ his child

6/18/07
James Auld
145 W. Idaho St.
Boise, ID 83702
Noise: My apartment is on the corner of 2nd and Idaho. I’m calling regarding a noise complaint on work being done by workmen at 222 N. 2nd St. (across the street from where I live at a medical plaza). Apparently the city has granted the contractor the right to work in this residential area at night. I have been awakened frequently anywhere from midnight to 3:00 a.m. I am furious about what the contractor is doing because it could be done during the day. What he is doing is unloading metal studs that they’ve taken out of the building into a metal dumpster. It’s metal against metal which is very loud and has all the residents of the building that I live in upset, and I think neighbors on the other side (on Bannock and Jefferson) can hear this, and the Imperial Plaza residents certainly can hear it. It’s unnecessary to work at midnight in a residential area, and I’m really further quite irritated that St. Luke’s has the right to run their compactor at midnight or 2:00 a.m.; loud as hell, wakes me up every time. So, I’m going to take some kind of action on this unless it gets stopped. I would sure appreciate your help on it. Thank you.
PDS

6/18/07
Joe Edwards
700 Cunningham
Boise, ID 83702
Noise: I’m calling about the amount of noise on Cunningham (approx. _ block from the intersection of Fort St. and 8th St.). On Friday’s, Saturday’s, and Sunday’s, when it gets this warm, the cars going by make a lot of noise with their boom boxes turned up and whatever that other device is that makes the cars make a lot of noise – whether it’s a rez muffler or whatever it is, it’s really hurting me; it’s hurting my ears and keeps me awake all hours. They go by at 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning, and the way my apartment faces Fort St.; it’s just like a sound trap. Of course the people, who designed it back in those days, didn’t think there was going to be that much noise, but the boom boxes are a lot worse, and the mufflers are not adequate because they don’t work. A rez muffler does not help other people; it makes the cars sound louder. Then there’s the gas station on the corner of 8th and Fort St.; I believe it’s a Shell Station. Those people are really nice when we’ve talked to them, but there’s nothing they can do. The guy told me that if he told those people to turn their boom boxes off when they pull in there, they would punch him out. He said they could put up a sign, but that hasn’t done a lot of good. I’ve called the police department several times and they’ve been very helpful, but they also want me to sign a complaint, which I would be willing to do, but the problem is that the cars are moving by and you don’t have time to identify them and write their license plate numbers down unless I was going to sit out there on 8th and Fort like a traffic cop waiting for a noisy one to come by and write his license plate down, and I would be willing to do that if I knew it would help the city out. I believe this kind of noise is violent and it’s a gateway to letting people be more violent. I think when you ignore other people’s rights and just flat out make a lot of noise or cause a lot of pollution one way or another, you’re really letting yourself do things that you know better. As life goes on, if you let yourself do things that are wrong, you would know this isn’t good for society, like being loud, polluting, and different things, you know this instinctively, and I know the Mayor know because he’s a Basque Catholic, and I know his brother down at Boise State because I’ve taken a taste of Basque Culture and really loved it, and I love Boise, but the noise is just really hard on some of us. I’m 62 and I’m trying to be understandable, but this noise is getting worse and I’ve noticed the police do help when they patrol the area. I know the Police have more important things to do than patrol my neighborhood, but I know when the see the police car, they turn their stereo down. Please call me back. I know what you want me to do as far as getting out there and signing a complaint against somebody, but I’m scared to do it, but if it comes down to it, I will. I’m really looking forward to the weekend, and I hope you guys have a good weekend. I just hope we can not make too much noise for each other.
M/CC BPD

6/18/07
Joe Edwards
700 Cunningham Pl.
Boise, ID 83702
Noise: I’m just calling in even though I called in earlier, but I’m just really pissed off about the damn noise. They can’t be adults because I can’t imagine that somebody over 20 would be so thoughtless. The people have been going by down Fort St. the last hour and 99 out of 100 of them are really polite, but it just takes one bad one out of that many to ruin it. My apartment is on the 5th floor, and the noise comes right in like it would in an amphitheater the way my balcony is. If the cars and music are loud, it just pounds the hell out of this place. It’s just the abnormal noise that bothers everyone here. If people want their music that loud, keep it inside their car or wear a device in their ears. I’m very thankful for the hotline, because I can’t say anything.
M/CC BPD

6/18/07
Anonymous To Councilman Bisterfeldt:
Police Negotiations: If you don’t know who rejected the offer, then maybe you ought to do your job and stand up from your chair and take a look. That might not be too difficult; I can’t imagine why you all can’t figure out who rejected what offer. And to you Mayor, you should do the same – treat our police officers the way they should be treated – like the people who protect you and me and everybody else. Just find out the facts; that’s all we ask as citizens of Boise. Thank you.
Vern
6/18/07
Steve Luke
City Clerk: I guess the only complaint I have is that I’m trying to get hold of the business licensing section of the city, and every number in here is the same exact number, and that number does nothing. It doesn’t allow you to actually get in and leave a message or talk to somebody, and I have noticed that many of these phone numbers that are listed in the phone book are exactly the same number and it gets you no where. You might want to come up with a better system of ways to get hold of these different departments, instead of listing the same number and not being able to get anywhere in the automated system. It seems like a faulty way of doing the city government phone system. I just would like to know how I can get hold of the city business licensing section.
Action Taken: left msj

6/21/07
Richard Lamm
3400 Catalina Rd.
Boise, ID 83705
Allied Waste: I have been dealing with Allied Waste on a billing that I received from them that was almost $300 and I have called the Mayor’s Hotline about this, but I don’t seem to be able to get this resolved. What they gave me is a price list is completely different than what I was charged for. They’re saying that I did a demolition and the types of things that I threw out were in fact demolition, and they weren’t, they were household items. I had someone from Allied Waste call me, and I’m not able to resolve this problem. I would like a letter from you explaining to me why their price list they gave me is completely different as far as the charges go, that I have received. It’s very, very misleading because these were household items, and the guy from Allied Waste says they consider that a demolition, and that’s wrong. I would like the City Council and the Mayor to look into this problem. Would you please send me a written letter explaining your actions on this? I would very much appreciate it. Thank you.
M/CC PW

6/21/07
Richard Lamm
3400 Catalina Rd.
Boise, ID 83705
Allied Waste: I do not want Allied Waste contacting me any more on this issue, and I don’t understand why when I objected to it when I originally received the bill from them, that it hadn’t gone into some kind of a suspend until this was resolved. I’m incurring late charges on this; you have a lady who works in the Utilities Department, I think her name is Catherine, and she needs to be commended for trying to help me resolve this. She’s been very professional and very nice to me, and I think the Mayor and City Council need to say thank you to her. Please, do not have Allied Waste contact me any more on this. I think that the City Council and the Mayor need to look into their charges, as far as what they gave me in the list of charges, and what they charged me were completely different. Thank you.
M/CC PW
6/21/07
Addie Haas
1285 N. Astor Pl.
Boise, ID 83704
Half-Way House: I live directly across the street; I’m totally impacted by this half-way house that Dennis Mansfield so secretly put in here. I think it is a great problem that the prison system is emptying their prisoners out into our neighborhood. I think it is a state problem and they’re making it a local problem. I no longer feel safe in the neighborhood, and I want my life back. Thank you.
M/CC PDS
Action Taken: unsuccessful in contacting

6/21/07
Merelyn Hodge
1301 N. Gawaine Pl.
(North Hampton Subdivision)
Half-Way House: My back yard is next to 1286 N. Astor Pl., which is my concern that Dennis Mansfield has moved in 8 recovering drug addicts and alcoholics recently, unannounced. As a neighborhood, we are concerned. We’ve had a meeting and want to call it to your attention, and hope that you will do something about it if you can. We are having another meeting Tuesday night at 7:00, June 26th and we would appreciate it if somebody from the Mayor’s office could be there to hear us out. We are all concerned that we had a nice quiet neighborhood of two cul-de-sacs back-to-back, and up till now we’ve been very settled and unconcerned. Right now we’re very disturbed and angry. This was done without us knowing, and it was planned that we not know. I would appreciate a call if you know anything about this, and to see if there’s anything you can help us with.
M/CC PDS
Action Taken: left msj

6/21/07
Stillman Anderson
11337 Aldershot Dr.
Boise, ID 83709
Billboard: Currently I am on State St. headed east and I just crossed Glenwood intersection, and just prior to crossing that west of Glenwood, I noticed a sign, a billboard, and it really kind of upset me because it’s a billboard that says Boise, but the “I” is a beer bottle that is used as a stand-in for the letter “I” in Boise. I’m kind of perturbed that Boise is now wanting to be known as the City of Booze instead of the City of Trees. I really think it would behoove the city to get a hold of LaMar Advertising and have them take those signs down because that is not what Boise is; Boise is a nice place to live; it is not a drunken brawling place. I would appreciate you doing whatever you and the City Council can to get those signs taken down. Thank you very much, I appreciate your time.
M/CC PDS

6/21/07
Jennifer Grimes
1321 N. Gawaine Pl.
Boise, ID
Half-Way House: I’m calling because of the rehabilitation home that has been opened right behind my house. We had a neighborhood association meeting last night and Channel 6 covered that. I’m very concerned and wondering what the city can or is doing, or what steps we can take. It’s very scary, as I’m sure you can imagine, to have 8 adult men who have an addiction problem, or some type of problem, that are living right behind you. When you are a mom of 2 it concerns you, especially when your kids are outside playing. Anyway, I just wanted my voice to be heard; we’re scared, upset, and frustrated. I feel like a prisoner in my own home, my kids feel like prisoners now, and it’s very frustrating. I understand that there are some legality issues, and 10% federal funding for this, and qualifying these individuals as people with disabilities, and their rights are superseding ours, etc. You know, when it comes down to it, I’m sure that any City Council member wouldn’t want one of these homes next door to them. I would expect the compassion, support, and assistance from the Mayor office.
M/CC PDS
Action Taken: left msj

6/21/07
Monty Gamble
1274 N. Astor Pl.
Boise, ID 83704
Half-Way House: I’m calling concerning a group home that has been installed in my neighborhood without any knowledge or anyone knowing about it. We have rights as citizens; this is unfair for a for-profit company to do this. The city should be involved and get hold of this. This is unfair to its citizens who pay their dues also. If not, and I’m speaking on behalf of a number of homeowners in the association, we will be asking to re-evaluate our homes because we believe it will lower our values, but we need the city’s assistance to resolve this issue.
M/CC PDS
Action Taken: left msj

6/22/07
Monty Gamble
1274 N. Astor Pl.
Boise, ID 83704
Half Way House: I still continue to be concerned about the neighborhood with these group homes. You will receive a phone call every day from me until some action is taken. I know that it is very political, but things need to work their way out, and it looks like the city is trying to find out if it will just go away. This will not go away; I’m trying to take care of it for our neighborhood, but I’m also trying to work to help the city. I would appreciate any help in doing so, realizing that it is a very touchy subject. Thank you.
M/CC PDS

6/21/07
Brian Rash
1304 N. Astor Pl.
323-8132
Half-Way House: My concern is about the faith-based for-profit housing for recently released inmates, and how they’re going about coming into neighborhoods that are nice and quiet; they just kind of sneak in. Well anyway, they’ve done the house next to mine and I don’t think they’re doing it right. I’m very concerned about this at this time. Thank you.
M/CC PDS

6/21/07
Ms. Shifler
River of Life: I’m calling to express my concern that the City of Boise is charging the Boise Rescue Mission $44,000 for a sewer impact fee just because they’re going to remodel their kitchen so they can feed the people in what used to be the Community House. You know, Community House, Inc. turned that over to the city in good faith and they never did properly fund it. For a while there, people were almost starving to death even when it was Community House. Boise Rescue Mission was having to feed people in both facilities. Now since they bought that facility and they own it, they’re closing their other facility. It just seems terribly unreasonable. I understand that the 50 years the Boise Rescue Mission has been in operation, they have never asked or taken any government money; it’s all private funding. So, why don’t you give them a break; do you want these people just out sleeping in alley ways or in the park or something? We need to give them a break, they’re doing good work. Anybody can end up homeless; there are no guarantees in life. Thank you.
M/CC

Joe Edwards
700 Cunningham Pl.
Boise, ID 83702
I’m just calling about the noise because it’s really way too loud. I live on Cunningham, and the cars that go down Fort St. are a half-block away and they’re still louder than my radio. There are other people in the building here who are in wheel chairs or sitting outside trying to enjoy the weather, and those people drive by and there’s really not much we can do. I guess we a drive-by beating or something like that and we can try to get the license plate number because the radio is way too loud. They’re over 75 ft. away and it’s too loud. How can they enjoy something that is that loud? It doesn’t make sense; if it’s too loud for us and it’s hurting our ears and our hearing, what’s it doing to them when they’re right next to it? I know there are all kinds of devices that people can buy – headphones that also let in the outside sound. Then if people wanted to have loud music when they drive around in cars, they could use those. I know that’s not the message; they’re trying to draw attention to themselves. It’s probably the rudest way to draw attention to yourself other than maybe the person making the same noise with their human parts. It’s a really ugly sound and they amplify it so damn loud. It’s impacting our health; whether kids want to admit it or not, it’s causing a lot of stress in the community. It seems to get worse every summer, and it gets worse here on Fridays when it’s a beautiful afternoon and we want to sit outside.
M/CC BPD

Comments & Discussion

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  1. ‘Someone’s going to kill us!’
    ‘oh, and by the way… the potholes are bad.’

  2. So we have the Depot open on Sunday – except for weddings, anniversary parties, graduation parties, or anything else the city can make a buck at – – doesn’t soound very “open” to the public to me.

  3. That Chris Davis is a real compassionate dude ain’t he?. Screw the homeless, my kids need monkey bars. I’m sure those people are homeless on purpose anyway, right? (insert sarcasm)

  4. Our Tax money should not be spent on a water park without a vote. The vote will show that we dont want it. Let some private person build it and run it if it must be done, but our beautiful river should remain beautiful and not defiled by someone’s dumb idea. I’ve never seen an eagle fishing for it’s breakfast at a water park.

    Tax money should be used to serve all the people, not just a few. Use the money for police and roads.

  5. To all you whitewater park detractors.

    Whitewater Park is a misnomer. There is a lot more to the River Recreation Park/Esther Simplot Park than kayak waves. Yes, there will be kayaker features but these new features will also make it safer for tubers, rafters, fisherman, photographers, you name it. Please go to the cityofboise.org website and read all about the RR/ES parks. Links at bottom if the editor will kindly allow them.

    The canal operators will benefit as well, by means of easier operations (no more dangerous walks into the river to place diversion planks) and less debis going into their strainers.

    Fish and eagles will benefit. Part of the plan is to connect 3 of the 4 ponds and the river with a side channel. This will greatly improve spawning habitat for fish, which in turn will feed more eagles. The near canal-ization of the Boise River is the exact opposite of what fish need.

    Also part of the plan is to “green-up” the dirt areas that used to be the concrete plant which will be known as Esther Simplot Park. This 2-parks-in-one combo will be second to none in the world and we should all be proud and eager to have such.

    I will disclose my bias of living in that neighborhood, but least I don’t go around saying, “we don’t need any parks in SW Boise, I want to vote on my money being wasted in SW Boise.”

    Here’s an idea I’ve had for a long time. Parking meters in the parks. $1.00, no time limit. I would gladly pay, I would even stick a buck in when I ride to the park on my bicycle. The money could be used for maintenance and free up money for construction of new park amenities in other areas.

    Here is the link to the most detailed document about the whitewater features prepared by the engineering firm out of Boulder. I have read all 49 pages of this.
    http://www.cityofboise.org/parks/caring/whitewater_design_903.pdf

    And here is the Esther Simplot park synopsis.
    http://www.cityofboise.org/parks/parks_facilities/parks/index.aspx?id=es_park_facts

    Here is a huge jpeg of the ES Park. It takes a while to load even on my high speed connection.
    http://www.cityofboise.org/Departments/Parks/Images/page12536.jpg

  6. Boise cynic, Don’t you think a couple of your points are a little bit of a stretch? The canal workers?? Gee, I must have been out of town when they were dropping like flies in the river.

    The problem is that the city hasn’t seemed to make good on all the promises they have already made. Where are the parks and athletic complexes that the citizens of south west Boise were promised when they were annexed a couple of years ago? Why are the police still without a contract? Why does our traffic suck? Why is the air we have unfit to breath 1 out of every 8 days? Sure, another park along the river would be nice, but let’s make good on the “promises” all ready made!

  7. Robert Blurton
    Jul 3, 2007, 11:52 am

    Whitewater parks have been super successful additions to cities around the world. Successful with a huge dollar sign since they pay for themselves in 2 years on average. This occurs because of the revenue spent in the host area on food, lodging and tourist recreation. Whitewater Parks benefit all users, wildlife habitat and create a much safer river environment.

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