by William Skink

If you are a Westside resident of Missoula with an experience regarding the topics listed in the title, your presence is requested at City Council tonight. Here is the Facebook request a friend shared with me:

“PLEASE come testify to City Council about Crime/Transient/Drug concerns
I’m a longtime (27 year) resident of the West Side and am deeply disturbed to see what’s been happening in terms of transients/drugs/crime here. I am organizing a group of residents and business owners to testify at the City Council meeting on Aug. 13th about what has been happening here and to beg them for their help and attention to the situation. They are currently considering next year’s budget requests so we need to get to them now, and I believe it is important to show up in droves in a public forum to get the results we want. Talking points are simple: 1) Here’s what I’ve experienced 2) We need your help. No shaming/blaming or even offering solutions–we’re not trying to tell them how to do their jobs (I’m hoping we will get some creative solutions through an advisory group of stakeholders I’m also trying to spearhead). We just want them to know what we’re dealing with, and that if they don’t help us get a handle on it now we’re going to lose the neighborhood. Please let me know if you can make the meeting, which is at 7 pm on Aug. 13th. The public comment period is first, so you don’t have to sit through a bunch of other agenda items. Also, please pass this along to anyone else you think might come and speak. And if you can’t make it, you can always write a letter and have someone read it aloud so it is entered into the record. Thanks!”