Downtown Modesto district runs into ballot problems, private security questions

The effort to form the Downtown Modesto Community Benefit District has run into a couple of issues.

First, technical problems were discovered with the original ballots. And now questions are swirling about whether the assessments will fund private security to deal with homeless people downtown.

On July 9, the city of Modesto mailed a second ballot package to the 214 property owners who may participate in the vote on district formation. The letters said the original ballots were in error – or “may have not provided the opportunity to cast a vote reflecting a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ position.” In addition, some individual parcel assessments were not correct.

Participating property owners are advised to disregard the first ballot and mark their corrected ballots. The new ballots must be returned by Sept. 1. The city clerk won’t count the 39 original ballots that were received, the city said.

Proponents want to establish the community benefit district in an area from Seventh Street to Needham Street-Downey Avenue and G Street to L Street. About $700,000 in annual assessments paid by private owners and local agencies would cover services such as steam-cleaning sidewalks, sweeping gutters, providing private security and promoting downtown.

Tuesday, questions about the security component surfaced at the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors meeting. As major property owners, the city, county and the city’s former redevelopment agency control about 15 percent of the votes, which are weighted based on assessments property owners would pay.

During public comments, a speaker cited a June 3 email from city Downtown Planning Manager Josh Bridegroom to Kole Siefken, general manager of the DoubleTree hotel at Ninth and K streets. The DoubleTree contributed $1,000 toward the costs of forming the district.

Bridegroom wrote that funds would be available to pay for eight security guards to patrol downtown, and the security could be beefed up during heavy activity. His email suggested that assessments could cover the district attorney’s costs for prosecuting “serial inebriates, aggressive panhandlers and others who create an inhospitable environment to our downtown guests.”

Bridegroom said the downtown Sacramento property owners association enhances security by paying for district attorney salary costs.

Bridegroom explained to Siefken that part of the sidewalk component of the Modesto district’s 2015-16 proposed budget includes safety and security. According to the email chain, Siefken had said the DoubleTree cleans its sidewalks every day but its guests complain about security and “the homeless approaching them even as they are walking downtown.”

Siefken wrote that hiring additional security, “due to the lack of service we get from the police,” is costly for the hotel but necessary for guests to feel safe.

Modesto resident Emerson Drake, who obtained the emails through a public records request, told supervisors that “sidewalk operations” represent 60 percent of the downtown district’s proposed budget.

“Bridegroom is telling them that the line item for sidewalks is going to be actually used for prosecuting the homeless,” Drake said. “They think they can use private security to make the decisions about who is desirable and who is not desirable to be downtown. I think that is wrong.”

The district’s management plan says $425,000 would be allocated in the first-year budget to “sidewalk operations, beautification and order.” Besides sidewalk cleaning, graffiti removal and beautification, the services may include private security and surveillance cameras, the plan says.

Later Tuesday, Bridegroom said the private security would not necessarily target the homeless.

The intent is to deal with people who disturb others with aggressive panhandling or other behavior, he said, noting that aggressive panhandlers may not be homeless. The security guards would coordinate with police to bolster a sense of safety during the evening hours, give directions to visitors and handle other duties, Bridegroom said.

Although Sacramento’s downtown association pays for district attorney costs, those decisions would be made by the appointed board that manages Modesto’s district, Bridegroom said.

Keith Boggs, assistant chief executive officer for the county, told supervisors he had attended steering committee meetings on district formation and had not heard conversations on targeting the homeless.

The county has yet to cast its ballot. Boggs said the county’s annual assessment would be $37,000 or about 5 percent of the total.

Supervisor Bill O’Brien said he wanted a report on a possible agreement to cover district attorney costs.

David Gianelli, a steering committee member for the district, said security is a high priority for property owners downtown. It could take the form of private officers in patrol cars, but he has not heard discussion about funding for district attorney prosecutions, he said. “We have talked about the homeless and having ways to deal with that. But we have not talked about arresting them or things like that,” Gianelli said

Siefken said Tuesday that the number of transients going in and out of the DoubleTree is a security threat to the business and its guests. The homeless people use the restrooms and even knock on guest-room doors, the manager said.

“We have employed and added security to combat that so our guests feel safe,” Siefken said. The hotel supports the goals of the community benefit district but the owners will decide if the overall cost to the business is acceptable, he said.

Problems with the original ballots have pushed back a public hearing on district formation to Sept. 1 at 5:30 p.m. The Modesto City Council will hear testimony and could create the benefit district for a 15-year period if votes against the proposal are less than 50 percent. Ballot results will be announced at the close of the hearing.

This story was originally published July 14, 2015 at 5:26 PM with the headline "Downtown Modesto district runs into ballot problems, private security questions."