UPDATE 9.27- Frtiz sharp rebuke, Brunberg eloquent and stedfast reply

UPDATE 9.25-Ongoing conversation between Mississippi business owner Jim Brunberg and the larger business community about posters on telephone poles.  This exchange is an open letter to city council and mayor and the response from Randy Leonard.

FROM EMAIL   EMAIL EXCHANGE

"Dear Sam, Amanda, Randy, Dan, and Nick,
I ask for your assistance in finding a cooperative solution to the posters-on-poles debate.  The discussion is a cooperative one; the community is aligned on all sides in an attempt to offer a more controlled venue for postering near public right-of-ways, on kiosks that protect the poles.
If the city shines a little “love” on this issue and helps us find a solution to the pole/poster conundrum, it will cost very little and prevent ill will all around.  If the status quo continues, however, there are potentially expensive property law and constitutional law issues.

I know there are a lot more important issues on your desks, but I’m concerned that issues of freedom of speech and over-reaching government control/prosecution are raised by the poster/anti-poster phenomenon.  Please glance at the background below (this email string).

Most notably, the laws cited in threatening and prosecuting posterers are inapplicable, and will not hold up in court. As it is now, aesthetic and moral motives are driving arbitrary enforcement of inapplicable and unconstitutionally employed laws.  The city office of Graffiti Abatement sends letters to potential offenders citing laws that pertain to the city’s granting of easements to utility companies (and vice versa) regarding the erection of structures, signs, etc. on city property.  The poles are not the city’s property, and posterers are not violating any laws except perhaps general trespass laws, which do not seem to concern the utility companies.   Yet the “Pole Litter Letter” wrongfully cites offenders, inexplicably, as Class 3 Misdemeanors.

Poles covered with posters promoting arts events (and campaign posters, garage sales, lost dog fliers, etc.) are no threat to civil society, and are in fact an indication of vibrant community, not to mention a conduit for commerce (advertising).  Kiosks would preserve this cultural institution while protecting poles and providing a more controlled, safe venue.

All we ask is that the city facilitate a discussion between postering interests and the utility companies, with whom we understand there are complicated franchise and contractual agreements.  I agree with Amanda Fritz that we shouldn’t spend many tax dollars on this.  So instead of spending tax dollars on fighting a losing battle against concert and garage sale signs, we’d like to see the city spend fewer dollars on a sensible kiosk solution.

Thanks a lot for your attention to this.

We’re big supporters of what you are all doing and appreciate how hard you work for the good or Portland.  We know you’ll see a cooperative, proactive way to help solve this little kink in the social tapestry of NoPo.

Jim Brunberg
Owner, Mississippi Studios
Producer, Live Wire Radio
Father of two adorable girls"

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Randy Leonard responds 9.26

"Thank you, Jim.
 
I am not sure why we could not use existing resources to facilitate the discussion you are requesting.
At Commissioner Fritz's urging last budget cycle, the council adopted the so called "right budget" for the Office of Neighborhood Involvement that was supposed to fully fund their operations including mediation and facilitation services.
Thus, we have funded existing staff that do facilitate discussions on matters of importance to the community.  We even have on contract mediators who are also currently funded.
I would support the Office of Neighborhood Involvement leading such a discussion regarding posters on utility poles that could use kiosks or some other medium instead.
If there is anything I can do to support that effort you can count on me to help.
Thank you for your thoughtful email.  I appreciate it.....Randy"

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Amanda Frtiz chimes in 9.26.09

"Dear Jim,
 
I didn't say we shouldn't spend "many" tax dollars on this.  I said we should not spend any.  Particularly, I am not willing to commit resources either in the Office of Neighborhood Involvement or in the Office of Cable Communications and Franchise Management, for mediation and staff time to find "a cooperative solution", unless there is widespread support of business districts, Neighborhood Associations, and citizens and business owners citywide, that such a process is desired.
 
It is clear from the recent emails between those copied on this list that even on Mississippi Avenue, different business owners have differing views on whether posters on poles are desirable, whether on kiosks or directly on poles.  We have 35 neighborhood business districts in Portland, and 95 Neighborhood Associations.  Changes to the ways we share public spaces in business districts affect every one of those organizations.
 
In my opinion, posting posters on utility poles is not the most pressing problem facing Portland's neighborhood business districts at this time.  If you think it is, then I suggest you see if there is support for a motion from the Historic Mississippi Business Association that could then be circulated to the other Business Districts for review and support/opposition.
 
If there is significant support for changes to the current policy, franchise agreements, and Codes from Business Districts and Neighborhood Associations, that would be the appropriate time to approach the utility pole owners to ask if they are interested in revising the franchise agreements to allow poster-posting structures on utility poles.  If they agree, I would then ask my colleagues on the Council whether they are willing to commit staff from Transportation, Planning and Sustainability, Development Services, Parks, and the City Attorney's office, to work on the project with Office of Neighborhood Involvement and Office of Cable Communications and Franchise Management staff.  In the current financial crisis, especially, the Council must use staff time wisely, to work on the services most needed by taxpayers.
 
Amanda Fritz
Commissioner, City of Portland"

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Jim Brunberg's reply 9.27

"Dear Amanda,

At this point, all we ask it that you refer us to the appropriate offices/attorneys of the utility companies with whom the city does business.  This is publicly available information, and I’m officially asking for it.  There are 18 poles on Mississippi between Skidmore and Fremont.  Who owns them?    No cost, no tax dollars spent.

But in the process, please help us adopt a leadership position on this.  It will save the city money and satisfy those who want to clean up the poles.  If this is not a perfect use of your staff, then how about one of your mediators, who I understand are currently funded for just such neighborhood conundrums?  I’d love to have a real conversation with all parties about this, as I have heard no resistance to the kiosk idea.

You are already committing city resources to the problem, but without posing any solution.  Marcia Dennis’ office leads the cleanup efforts, which now have been expanded to include posters, above & beyond the graffiti raison detre.  Threatening letters are distributed to suspected posterers.  The cost to prosecute a posterer is much higher than the cost of holding a meeting or putting us in touch with the utility company attorneys.  And the long term costs of arbitrarily restricting freedom of expression for unconstitutional reasons is immeasurable (your email describing your fear that offensive material would be posted has been duly noted).  

No one claims that this is “the biggest issue” that Portland is dealing with.  It’s a little, teeny, tiny issue.  But the way the city deals with it is very important, since the issue has huge constitutional implications (extra-jurisdictional criminal prosecution, freedom of expression, arbitrary prosecution).  We’re really not asking for much, and I believe it’s important that you rethink your approach.

I’m confident that we can pull together as a neighborhood to actually build the kiosks, once they’re ok’d.  I’ll adopt some of them myself, and build them to the satisfactory specifications of the utility companies.

You refer to resistance to the kiosks, but I have not seen any, except from people who are accepting of the posters’ being on poles as is.  I’d like to see where the resistance to the kiosks is coming from and why, because I haven’t been privy to those emails.  Even the most poster-phobic neighborhood person understands that the posters will keep coming, and that some cheap solution would be better than the status quo.  I went around and visited with the business owners who had voiced problems posters on poles, and they told me that they felt that kiosks were a good solution (Roger, Kay, Sarah).

The Kiosk solution could be local, as a trial.  Mississippi loves to lead the way; we’ve had some success with that as a scrappy little upstart neighborhood.  There is a general feeling here that we do not want to follow exactly the same trajectory as every other “up and coming” business district.  We want to retain some of the flavor of the hood.

Help our neighborhood take a leadership position on this, Amanda.  The current situation is unconstitutional (city prosecuting beyond its jurisdiction), annoying to some (those who don’t like posters on poles), offensive to a few (your story about seeing an offensive DJ poster), and a wet blanket on promotion of the arts.  If you continue to prosecute/threaten prosecution, then you will continue to see posters on poles, but only the most renegade element, which is probably the sector that will offend you.

Again, we don’t ask for much.

Thanks for your time.

Jim"