Comments on: New Year’s Eve Passes Without Major Incident – January 1, 2012

By: Suddenly, Nothing Happened: The New Year’s Eve Plaza Wrap-Up – January 5, 2012 | The Arcata Eye

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:19:29 +0000

[...] 2:20 a.m. on New Year’s morning, Chapman issued a press release declaring the preventive measures a success. The release stated that during the course of the [...]

By: kevpod

kevpod — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 02:36:54 +0000

Check the recent related stories for citizens’ group info. It will be a public meeting, with advance notice, just like the others have been.

I don’t know where the $30K figure came from; you might ask whoever reported it. I talked to the Parks Superintendent and Police Chief for my information.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 02:30:49 +0000

Kevpod, can you point me towards information about the citizen’s group that will meet on Jan 24?

I read the TS piece about the costs that you cite. That’s quite a gap in cost. Where did the original $30k number come from? Do you know who first reported and/or released it? According to the TS article it looks like APD is a source of the $30k figure. Was it in any other sort of official news release from any group? A false, overblown cost estimate of the Halloween damage seems like a great way to justify the extreme measures of this New Years Eve…

By: kevpod

kevpod — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:22:22 +0000

The $30,000 was a false figure misreported elsewhere. The cost of cleanup was about $3,600, and there is roughly $5,000 damage to the irrigation system, but I don’t think the full extent of that will be known until they fire it up this spring.

The cop-saturation was an interim measure to stave off mayhem until the citizens’ group that meets Jan. 24 can develop a comprehensive approach. That will likely emphasize counter programming rather than another McKinley blockade.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:18:20 +0000

correction:

“While most would agree that the extreme situation from Halloween 2011 was NOT an acceptable norm…”

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:16:49 +0000

I would be curious to know how much it cost to pay all of the law enforcement overtime, etc required for the heavy handed presence. After all, the substantive justification for the response this New Year’s Eve was the “$30,000” in damage that was caused on Halloween (It’s still on my list of things to do to reality check that number). But, for argument’s sake, let’s say that the law enforcement presence did cost $30,000 also. If the public financial cost is the same, is one scenario preferable over the other?

I’ve had some interesting conversations with fellow Arcata residents about this. I wasn’t on the plaza for this or other Halloweens, so I personally didn’t bear witness to what occurred. However, I was downtown this New Year’s Eve and I didn’t like what I saw. If the destruction of Halloween 2011 was one extreme on a spectrum, the law enforcement overkill on New Year’s Eve was the other extreme. Neither situations makes me particularly proud to be a from Arcata. While most would agree that the extreme situation from Halloween 2011 was an acceptable norm, I hope that the police response of New Year’ Eve doesn’t become the norm in the future either.

By: Arcata Res

Arcata Res — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:48:44 +0000

It costs less than cleaning up the damage and destruction that would have happened if all those cops weren’t there.

By: Mck

Mck — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 01:31:02 +0000

So how much did the baby sitter(s) cost?

By: kevpod

kevpod — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 21:57:53 +0000

That really stings, coming from you.

By: A Hitler

A Hitler — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:46:47 +0000

and kevvie is still a poser…lol