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Dozens of speakers at a public meeting Wednesday said they or people they know have been subject to verbal abuse and sexually explicit language and witnessed public marijuana and alcohol use, urination and defecation at various Ashland locations by young homeless men.  The danger of wildfire due to campfires and cigarettes was also addressed by multiple speakers. Multiple people described confrontations in which they were physically threatened. Others related that they have heard from tour groups that have said they will not return to Ashland and people who have changed their minds about moving here, all because of what was repeatedly described as a worsening situation with people — variously described as travelers, transients, homeless or homefree — hanging out on the streets. More than a hundred people packed the City Council chamber for a listening session about "the people passing through." In a meeting that ran nearly an hour over its scheduled two-hour timeframe, about 40 people spoke on a range of issues the community is facing, some calling for action to reduce the number of homeless on the streets, while a few blasted the forum as thinly veiled discrimination against the poor. At the outset of the meeting, Mayor John Stromberg said that, while people might hold strong opinions about the behavior exhibited by homeless people in Ashland, the goal was not a philosophical debate, but rather to hear about people's experiences to help inform development of a city-wide plan to address the community concerns. “I’m not so concerned with moral judgments on the people who are doing this kind of behavior,” said Stromberg, “but if the behavior is affecting our quality of life that is so central to our community, we have to do something about it.” The first speaker, Josh Gross, said he found the very idea of the forum offensive. Gross said he felt that a civilized community would not hold what he called a "referendum" on groups of people to decide what to do about them. “The Department of Justice has repeatedly said that policing of the homeless violates various amendments of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and that it opens cities up to costly litigation," Gross said. "So I want to ask people, what exactly is it that you want to be done? Don’t like the people talking to you? Too bad. First Amendment, freedom of expression. Don’t like the way they look? Too bad. First Amendment yet again.” Many people expressed feelings ranging from discomfort to fear about encounters with street people. Some expressed frustration with the level of law enforcement responsiveness when they've called for help. Trina Sanford, who owns property near Shop'n Kart, said she waited over an hour in her car for the police to come enforce a trespassing violation when people were camping and drinking on her property. She said her family, whose property houses several small businesses, has regularly had to clean up garbage, refuse and feces left by transients. But she said it is the physical intimidation that is particularly unnerving. “A while back I had a transient, whom I must have upset, taunt me at Rite Aid,” said Sanford. “He jumped onto my car. He was holding onto my car and an employee of Rite Aid finally came and pulled him off of my car so I could drive away. This is unacceptable behavior. I’ve lived here my whole life. I used to go down to the Plaza with my friends. We don’t allow our children do that now. It’s sad. It’s pathetic. And something needs to be done.” Janet McCartney said she was injured when a pack of five dogs belonging to transients at Garden Way Park surrounded her. McCartney was walking her dog with neighbors at the park when the group of dogs, leashed but not controlled, encircled her and she became entangled in their leashes. When her neighbor yelled at the owners to come control the dogs, she said the group cursed at them and said “they’re just dogs.” McCartney showed pictures of her lacerated legs at the forum as she described the police response. “As I leave for Valley Immediate Care, there are four police cars and two SPCA trucks," McCartney said. "When I return an hour later, the police and the trucks are gone. But the people and their dogs are still there and they have moved over to the corner under a tree and parked.” McCartney said despite APD instructing the group to move on, they remained at the park for five days. Potential economic impacts on tourism were raised by hotel owners and by Cynthia Ryder, executive director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Ryder read from a letter OSF received from a visiting school group that said they no longer felt safe bringing students to Ashland. The letter cited an incident where a homeless man jumped on a student in the group who was the recent recipient of a kidney transplant and "rode him like a horse." Ryder also spoke of what her teenage daughter has experienced. “She is often sexually harassed, even when I am with her.” Ryder said. “And she is surprised when I am upset, because she said to me, ‘this happens four or five times every day.’ So she is growing up thinking that in her community, we will absolutely tolerate consistent harassment of young women.” Several potential solutions were brought forward during the session. The idea of community ambassador volunteers to help create a culture of harmony received several mentions, as did the creation of additional ordinances to ban certain types of behavior. Multiple speakers encouraged the city to define the code of behavior that is expected in the city; however, an equal number of people questioned how the city could legislate good behavior. Susan Grant, who works near the library, questioned whether creating public spaces for some activities might ameliorate the problem of those behaviors taking place openly. “You have got to have public bathrooms open 24/7, in convenient and reliable places," Grand said. "You have to have places where the homeless can engage in these activities, including newly legalized marijuana use, because they don’t have a private home they live in, but they are still going to want to engage in something that is now legal. And they should not, by virtue of being homeless, be cited again and again and given 'three strikes you’re out.'” Brigieta Balsimo, a self-described homeless, unemployed, transient said those who would try to correct the behavior of some of the homeless in the community did not understand the culture they were dealing with. She said many are traveling because they reject the idea of material wealth and the debt that comes with it. She described herself as part of a generation in revolt that is trying to create a culture they can believe in. “They don’t want to be off the streets," Balsimo said. "They don’t want your privilege. They want to disrupt your society. Your entire existence is a threat to them and that is why they disrupt your day-to-day activities. It is misplaced unhappiness, and that is OK. What is not OK is obvious illegal behavior. But these people don’t live by your rules. That’s the point.” The forum, hosted by Stromberg and Councilor Stefani Steffinger, was intended as an opportunity for citizens to voice and document concerns. The City Council plans to discuss the issue during a study session Monday (5:50 p.m., Council Chamber, 1175 E. Main St., live online at http://ustre.am/Ntzy) and as part of consideration of a number of related ordinances at its regular business meeting Tuesday (7 p.m., Council Chamber, 1175 E. Main St., live online at rvtv.sou.edu or Charter Cable Channel 9 or 180) Alec Dickinson is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]. null null null