Salem Mayor Julie Hoy said she will direct the police chief to come up with a plan on how his department could increase police presence downtown as business owners call on the city to address concerns about homelessness, safety and cleanliness.

The mayor’s request, made during Monday’s city council meeting, came as downtown business owners and investors expressed concerns over homelessness and safety in the wake of last week’s mass stabbing at Union Gospel Mission which sent 11 people to the hospital. 

Hoy first thanked the first responders who responded to the shelter mission and pointed out police officers responded within two minutes of the call being made at 7:17 p.m. 

Interim City Manager Krishna Namburi said the city had received numerous comments and questions about downtown safety following the stabbings, and said city staff will help facilitate a discussion on the matter at the council’s upcoming meeting on June 23.  

Hoy said she will bring a motion at that meeting directing Salem Police Chief Trevor Womack to come up with a plan to increase police presence downtown. 

“Downtown Salem is home to restaurants, small businesses, and growing residential neighborhoods. But it is also a place where people in crisis go to find help. We believe everyone should feel safe in our community. Today the needs are outpacing the systems designed to serve them,” Hoy said. “As a city we have tried many approaches. Mental health partnerships, emergency housing options, downtown bike patrols, and housing navigation services. Some of these programs simply haven’t been enough. And as a city alone, we do not have the capacity to meet every individual need.”

At the beginning of the year, Salem police disbanded two teams due to funding constraints, including a unit of officers that previously patrolled downtown on bicycles. Those officers were reassigned back to patrol duties where they will continue to provide core police services.  

Salem police spokeswoman Angela Hedrick declined to comment on whether more police downtown would have changed the outcome of the incident at the shelter. She said the department won’t make additional comments because the case is actively being prosecuted by the Marion County District Attorney’s Office.

The police station is across the street from the shelter, and officers had the suspect in handcuffs less than five minutes after the stabbing began.

Hoy’s calls come as business owners are pushing city leaders to do more to address conditions downtown.

Patrick Carney, one of the real estate investors who bought the Salem Center downtown last year, told councilors there is a perception that Salem’s core is littered with human feces and needles. He said that it is difficult to get around without being yelled at by someone on the street. 

He likened the area around the mall as “Salem’s living room,” and said that the living room is unsafe and uninviting. 

“It is extremely frustrating to take a chance to try to improve downtown, and we feel like the support level is next to nothing. We are trying to be patient. We really have some great plans. The mall is doing well. Macy’s has traction,” Carney said. “But the first question that any out of area tenant asks us is, ‘What is the plan? What is the plan to clean up Salem? To make it safe? To make it inviting?”

Jerry Jones, the president of Pikes Northwest, a commercial real estate firm in Salem, called Salem’s downtown “a disgusting, dangerous mess,” during public comment, prompting some people in the audience to boo. 

Jones said he and a growing group of business owners want the city to do more to address the trash situation on downtown streets, and to enforce laws around drug use, loitering, public indecency and littering. He ended his public comment with a threat. 

“If these two simple requests are not met, I have a growing list of property owners who are encouraging me that they will withhold their very significant property taxes come November,” Jones said. 

The lack of police patrols downtown is adding to a perception that Salem is a dirty and dangerous city full of homeless people which is hurting business and development, said TJ Sullivan, president of the Salem Main Street Association. The stabbing on June 1 only adds to that perception.

“I am downtown a lot, my kids are downtown a lot, and they have never had an issue, but the perception is that downtown is not clean and not safe. And the best thing we can do to help the downtown businesses is to change that perception,” he told Salem Reporter in an interview.

Sullivan said the biggest concerns he hears from business owners is about homeless residents sleeping and using the bathroom in front of businesses. Police on bikes downtown act as a natural deterrent, and are in a unique position to de-escalate problematic situations, Sullivan said. 

“When we had the bike cops downtown, what made them so successful was that these guys were talking to the homeless population,” Sullivan said. “Really in a spot to de-escalate, and I wonder what would have happened if somebody could have connected with this gentleman (the stabbing suspect) 15 or 20 minutes prior and maybe de-escalate the tension that was arising in him.” 

Sullivan also said city support for programs like Church in the Park Safe Parking program is also part of the solution but can only go so far. 

More communication between the city and business owners is key, he said.

“Otherwise the city is going to be just throwing money at whatever the closest, flashiest thing is without necessarily delivering the biggest impact to the businesses,” Sullivan said. “Despite everything that is happening, we have $100 million in private investment that is going to be happening in Salem downtown in the next 12 months. So, I mean we’ve got to be ready for a lot more residents downtown.” 

Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected] or 503-335-7790.

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