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MEDFORD Downtown Medford businesses see increase in bad behavior Comment By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Follow @@reporterdm MailTribune.com By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Follow @@reporterdm Posted Jun. 4, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Follow @@reporterdm Posted Jun. 4, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News McKenzie Villanueva was working at Lotus Hair, Body and Soul on Main Street in downtown Medford last Saturday when an intoxicated woman walked in and demanded a hair coloring. After sizing up the situation, Villanueva asked the woman to leave the salon. “She threatened to have my head chopped off,” said Villanueva, who called Medford police to report the threat. That type of unsavory behavior is a growing problem downtown, according to Medford police, who have responded to 2,100 calls for service in the downtown this year. Lotus owner Meghan DeAngelo says her 13 employees have been sexually harassed and are often confronted with the remnants of unsavory behavior, including vomit, urine, feces or blood, both inside and outside the business. “We’re basically on guard all day down here,” DeAngelo said. “The girl that threatened to kill us — that’s a common occurrence.” DeAngelo has installed panic buttons and other security systems to protect her employees, who work late into the evening and come in early in the morning. One of her employees went to her car on the third story of the Middleford garage around 10 p.m. recently and was menaced by three men, DeAngelo said. Luckily, the employee was able to get in her car and leave without harm. She said the problems have increased markedly over the past six months since nearby Hawthorne Park was cleaned up, which she thinks pushed the homeless problem to the downtown. DeAngelo, who has operated Lotus for nine years, also said she started noticing an increase in problems when Jackson County opened a new health services building next to City Hall at the beginning of 2015. Jackson County officials hired security guards to patrol the building. Other downtown merchants have reported similar issues but stress that during the daytime hours the area is safe. Merchants expressed concern about publicizing the problems but are also convinced that it's past time to deal with the issue. “It’s kind of clear right now that the downtown has a problem,” said Darcie Maassen, owner of Little Feet, a children’s shoe store on Bartlett Street. “I think we should arrive at some kind of practical solution.” She said the situation would improve markedly if more police patrolled the downtown and if the city fulfilled a promise to install security cameras in the neighboring Middleford parking garage. Because the bathrooms in the garage have been vandalized so frequently, the city has closed them, opening them only for special events. As a result, vagrants and others come into her store requesting the use of Maassen’s bathroom. Maassen, who said she often notices unsavory types outside her store, hasn’t witnessed the extreme behavior that employees at Lotus have experienced, but she said potted plants, tables and other items that dress up the front of the store have been vandalized. While she said she appreciates the work the police have done in the downtown, she said it can take up to two hours to get an officer to her business after she’s called to report an incident. Like other merchants, Maassen cites the Middleford garage as an ongoing issue because it is a hangout and because it separates Pear Blossom Park from the rest of downtown. “The great wall of downtown,” she called it. Medford police have made downtown's Beat 5 a priority, with a least one officer on duty patrolling the area night and day. “We’ve responded to a lot of calls downtown,” Medford police Lt. Kerry Curtis said. He said most of the problems in the downtown aren't necessarily associated with the homeless but are likely a combination of factors, including intoxicated people who come from the many bars in the downtown area. “There’s vomit at times,” he said. “But it’s probably not stemming from transient activity. They (transients) conduct a lot of their businesses under the bridges or in dark places.” Curtis said the city has dealt with vagrancy in Pear Blossom Park, including issues with graffiti. He said officers and city crews have been addressing these concerns and are working with Lithia Motors to monitor the situation. Stacy Fowler, who works at Lotus, said she’s had some dicey encounters. Recently, a woman came in around 8 a.m. and said she had an appointment, but it turned out she didn’t. The woman then asked if she could just sit and wait until the bank opened. Fowler said she asked her to leave. “She cussed me out, and I told her I would call the cops,” Fowler said. DeAngelo said she has told her employees to keep the doors locked in the evening and early morning hours. She said three types of people cause the problems: drunks, the mentally ill and the homeless. “With the drunk crowd, we really get a lot of harassment, particularly in the parking garage,” DeAngelo said. DeAngelo said she and other merchants have signed trespass agreements with Medford police so that officers can enter their premises without a warrant if they see suspicious behavior. “The Medford police are pretty delightful to work with,” she said. “It’s hard for them because they are pretty frustrated as well.” City Manager Pro Tem Bill Hoke said he’s not sure that the city ever promised to install video equipment in the parking garage as Maassen suggested, but he said the city is currently working on a contract to install cameras to keep an eye on bad behavior. “We’re addressing it, but we’re not sure somebody promised it,” he said. Hoke said the city hasn’t considered installing panic buttons in the parking garage, noting they could be subject to vandalism. Hoke said the cameras would be expensive, but he wouldn’t have a dollar amount until city staff has a better idea of the type of equipment that will be installed and how the cameras will be protected from vandalism. “We’re looking at potentially a wireless solution,” he said. That would allow city crews to change the locations of cameras to make sure they’re getting as much coverage as possible, Hoke said. “It’s not that we have ignored anything,” he said. “We’re working on a solution. We just don’t have it yet.” Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/reporterdm . By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Follow @@reporterdm MailTribune.com By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Follow @@reporterdm Posted Jun. 4, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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