In the summer of 2015, I sent an e-mail to the Oxnard City Council and the City Manager requesting city help in curbing the night time problems we were experiencing on Violet Way, a neighborhood street. On an almost nightly basis, trash that included fast food containers, beer wine and whiskey bottles, broken as well as whole, urine in the gutters as well as used condoms in the street. We needed increased patrols to mitigate the issue.
To this date the city has never responded to that e-mail.
As the partying continued into 2016, I sent the following e-mail, which contained graphic photos.
May 16, 2016
700 W. Violet Wy.
Attachments 5/16/16
to TImothy, Carmen, bryan.macdonald, dorina.padilla, bert.perello, Greg, chief, bcc: Phillip, bcc: Bert
The attached photo 003 shows some of the trash left by late night party-ers on 700 W. Violet Wy.
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| 003 |
Attached photo 002 shows dark spots on the pavement caused by the above urinating on the street (several locations).
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| 002 |
The yellow liquid puddles in 008 is not beer but urine collected in the gutter.
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| 008 |
To cap it all off, me004 - me006 is the used condom left behind in the street.
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| 004 |
This is not an isolated incident but is a frequent ongoing problem.
Bio-hazardous material is turning the street into an open sewer, a serious health risk for the children and adults alike that frequent the area.
Broken glass in the grass on the north side is also a hazard to children, adults and pets.
Eugene D Hubbard
The only response I got was from one council member,- who wrote,,,
it “unfortunately happens in many areas of the City,” Read into that response what you want. He then turned the entire matter over to the OPD.
So much for honesty and integrity in our city government.
Quick response from the OPD, an officer called to meet on the problem. We discussed several viable options, he said that he would get right on it and knew how to get things done, that in itself should have been a red flag.
On June 9th he sent the following email
“Mr. Hubbard,
“Thank you for contacting me. I have personally been visiting the area in an attempt to identify the subjects who are hanging out on the street. I have also requested that the beat officers frequent the area. So far, I have not come into any contact with occupied parked vehicle. Have you noticed any vehicles lately?
I will continue the extra patrols and attempt to identify individuals involved in this conduct.”
Respectfully -------
Well, that turned out to be an untruth, as during the time period that the alleged “patrols” were taking place, there had been a very large motor home, with people living in it, parked on Violet Way. 24/7 for almost 30 days, impossible to miss, as Violet Way is only about 700-800 feet long.
City ordinances forbid motor homes to be parked on city streets except to load and unload. If there had been patrols, the motor home would have been warned or cited, which never happened. Finally, a neighbor collared the motor home owners and they moved. But no thanks to the OPD.
Weary of the now apparent charade, I sent the following email, knowing full well that the officer was going to have to now “fish or cut bait.”
7/19/16
---- You say that you are working on a plan so, let’s get specific:
1- specifically - what is the plan that you are working on?- details please.
2- how far along are you on that plan using a scale of 1 to 10?
3- who else is working on the plan or helping to facilitate an end result?
4- what is your estimated timeline to completion?
Waiting your early reply,
I expected no answer, got no answer and of course, never heard from him again, or for that matter, any other city official.
It’s now September, 2018, and it’s still the same, trash, glass bottles, some broken, urinating in the street, etc. Looks like the City of Oxnard is not going to do anything to alleviate the problem.
Violet Way, thanks to the City, is turning into a blighted area, but that is another blog post.
The city’s typical response is what some call, “Oxnardian,” their tactic (MO) is, in some manner to kick the proverbial can down the road and keep it out of public eye, long enough that it will eventually fade away into the sunset of distant memory. Another tactic the city is famous for is to form a “committee” to “study” the issue and report back, the “committee”, of course, never meets and never reports back, an effective sham.
"separating the wheat from the chaff"
