September 2008
1. Clean
& Safe drums up support, tests green cleaning products
2. Clean & Safe Officer Woodard helps change
downtown, for the better
3. Alliance staff volunteers with Project
Homeless Connect
4. Clean & Safe August statistics
5. West Side Community Court
6. Sidewalk Ambassadors assist Trimet with
Steel Bridge closure
7. Holiday Lighting program update
8. Banana Republic celebrates 30th anniversary,
recognizes Portland
1.
Clean & Safe drums up support, tests green cleaning products
In August,
Central Precinct Commander Mike Reese obtained $500,000 in
additional overtime funds from City Council to add a greater
uniformed officer presence, as well as undercover officers,
to the streets of downtown in order to lessen the impact of
livability crimes.
Also last
month, the Director of Clean & Safe and the Homeless to Work
Program Cleaning Supervisor at Central City Concern met with
Portland Development Commission staff to develop a cleaning
plan for underneath the Burnside Bridge when the renovations
for the area are completed.
Workers
are also evaluating new and different cleaning agents that
may allow for quicker and less labor-intensive cleaning processes,
directed at every corner of the BID. The goal is to switch
to biodegradable and completely green cleaning agents.
Clean
& Safe maintenance workers received in excess of 300 positive
comment cards in August for their work cleaning in the BID.
Cleaner John Decker received more than 100 alone!
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2.
Clean & Safe Officer Woodard helps change downtown, for the
better
Clean
& Safe Officer John Woodard has been making a positive difference
in the downtown area. On a routine patrol in August, the officer
came across a man having a seizure, and he immediately assisted
the man. Officer Woodard soon noticed that the man's backpack
strap had become entangled around his neck, and he cut the
strap allowing the man to breathe and recover from the seizure.
Again
in August, Officer Woodard assisted with a group of homeless
people during morning wake-up calls, working with them to
organize a clean-up of the garbage often left behind and developing
a plan for how to keep the area free of refuse. As a result
of Officer Woodard's efforts, the area is now clean and a
great example of how one individual can make a simple change
for better livability downtown.
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3.
Alliance staff volunteers with Project Homeless Connect
 Alliance
staff and hundreds of other volunteers spent Friday, Aug.
22, helping homeless people and families. Through Project
Homeless Connect, which provides an opportunity for members
of the community, civic and business leaders to aid homeless
people, about 1,000 clients received support services including
medical, dental, addiction and employment services and other
assistance.
Project
Homeless Connect puts the energy and commitment of individual
volunteers and professionals to work to find creative solutions
to end homelessness, providing homeless clients with individual
attention and an array of support services. For more about
Project Homeless Connect visit the City of Portland Web site
at www.portlandonline.com/phb/index.cfm?c=43395,
or contact Project Homeless Connect Coordinator Ruth Benson
at 503.823.2392.
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4.
Clean & Safe August statistics
In August,
Clean and Safe security officers contacted 12,200 citizens
on the streets of downtown Portland's Business Improvement
District. These contacts included 2,595 business assistance
and referral contacts, 7,301 pedestrian contacts, 100 arrests,
231 exclusions and 97 non-enforcement problem-solving contacts.
There were an additional 35 exclusions and 4 arrests out of
the Smart Park structures under the Alliance's security contract
with the City.
The Neighborhood
District Attorney Legal Assistant reported reviewing and issuing
223 criminal cases in August.
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5.
West Side Community Court
The defendant
work crews kept busy cleaning up weeds and sweeping the Business
Improvement District. Clean & Safe frequently receives compliments
from out-of-town visitors about how friendly and clean the
downtown area is, and our work crews play a big role in that
success. As we move further into the summer season, crews
will cover an increased number of block faces.
In August,
189 defendants performed 816 hours of work removing 79 bags
of trash from 378 block faces, and spent eight hours at Loaves
and Fishes.
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6.
Sidewalk Ambassadors assist Trimet with Steel Bridge
closure
 Ambassadors
spent time in August assisting TriMet during the access restriction
to the Steel Bridge. The Ambassadors assisted in several ways,
including distributing a blast throughout areas within two
blocks of MAX stops and distributing verbal and printed information
regarding the expected changes.
August
Statistics:
- Business
Modifications: 4
- Business
Visits: 319
- Publications:
1,349
- Information:
8,453
- Service
Calls: 7
- Total
Interactions: 10,132
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7.
Holiday Lighting program update
The Holiday
Lighting program for 2008-2009 will include more than 700
trees in downtown Portland; contractors will begin working
in September to restring all trees included in the program.
All old incandescent holiday lights strings will be removed
and sent to appropriate recycling facilities, and the program
will be "going green" this year with all trees installed with
new LED lights strings. The Alliance was able to source new
LED light strings with watertight cords and connecters that
hold up well in our inclement winter season. These LED lights
strings will use 80 percent less electricity than the incandescent
strings used in the past, conserving energy and saving money.
The new lights will be turned on Nov. 1 to coincide with the
retail holiday shopping season.
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8.
Banana Republic celebrates 30th anniversary, recognizes Portland
Celebrating
its 30th anniversary, Banana Republic published 800,000 in-store
guides in August for distribution at stores throughout the
U.S. In addition to coupons for discounts at the store and
other retailers, the publication highlights several major
cities including Portland and its landmark businesses Powell's
City of Books, Rogue Ales & Distillery and others. Pick up
your copy at the downtown store while it's still available!
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