Ideas pitched for behavior issues
As published on page one of the Oct. 27 edition of The Keene Sentinel, and online.
A Keene police substation downtown is the first priority, but a range of other ideas for mitigating bad behavior in the heart of the city should be considered, a City Council committee suggested Wednesday night.
After a public hearing on behavior downtown attended by about 60 residents, the municipal services, facilities and infrastructure committee voted to recommend to the City Council that city staff investigate establishing a police substation downtown -- possibly in the city-owned former transportation center at the corner of Main Street and Gilbo Avenue -- and report back to the committee in 30 days.
In a second motion, the committee also voted to recommend the mayor appoint a subcommittee to consider a broad range of other suggestions related to management of the downtown, including implementing foot patrols and creating a youth center.
Comments from the public as well as city officials and councilors showed there is still a lot for the proposed committee to talk about, as people expressed differing views on how the city should respond to residents' reports of vulgar language and intimidating behavior on the part of young people who gather in Central Square.
A number of residents have made a point of spending time in the square and getting to know the park regulars over the past month.
"In the beginning of all this I could not stand those kids. ... Now I walk through that park 10 times a day and say hi to most of them," said Dorrie O'Meara, a resident and City Council candidate.
Nonetheless, O'Meara said she believes the city should implement a dusk-to-dawn curfew on the park.
But others questioned what that would achieve.
"It seems to me more like you're trying to remove an eyesore than do anything about any problem," one young woman said.
Police Chief Kenneth J. Meola told the committee he does not think the city needs to pass any new laws to address the concerns.
The idea of a police substation downtown got a lot of support, with some people pointing out the whole police force was based downtown not that long ago.
"When the City Council moved the entire Keene Police Department lock, stock and barrel to the end of Marlboro Street, that was probably the stupidest decision the City Council ever made," resident Bradford Hutchingson said.
Creating a downtown substation has been considered before and may be possible in a city-owned building at little cost, said City Manager John A. MacLean, who told the committee the report on that topic could be ready in 30 days.
In contrast -- even though Keene police officers already periodically walk through town on foot -- creating a formal patrol zone downtown is a "very expensive proposition," MacLean told the committee.
That idea, along with suggestions contained in the city's recent report on downtown behavior, "Whose City is This?," would be considered over a longer period of time by the proposed subcommittee.
> The City Council will take up both recommendations at its next meeting on Thursday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
tagged with: Keene City Hall, Keene N.H., Keene's Central Square, public space
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