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MINUTES <br /> <br /> Eugene City Council <br /> Regular Meeting <br /> Council Chamber--City Hall <br /> <br /> July 28, 2003 <br /> 7:30 p.m. <br /> <br />COUNCILORS PRESENT: Gary Pap~, Scott Meisner, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Nancy <br /> Nathanson, Bonny Bettman, George Poling, Jennifer Solomon (via <br /> telephone). <br /> <br />Mayor James Torrey called the meeting to order. <br /> <br />1. PUBLIC FORUM <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. <br /> <br />Janetta Overholser, 30300 Cottage Grove Lorane Road, Cottage Grove, president of the <br />Cottage Grove Humane Society, wished to address the responses to the public forum commentary <br />on the closure of the Lane County Animal Regulation Authority (LCARA) cattery that several <br />councilors had given. She noted that one response had been that the human services budget <br />provided a vital service and had also been severely cut. To that point, she asserted that keeping <br />the cattery open provided a vital human service. She related a recent call from an elderly woman <br />who had found a box of abandoned kittens in her garage and had not known who to turn to. She <br />added that the woman's neighbors had advised her to move the box elsewhere and let someone <br />else pick them up. She shared two other stories of abandoned cats. She alleged that a cat had <br />been brought in by a battered woman, noting that statistics indicate that people who are cruel to <br />people are also more likely to be responsible for animal cruelty. She felt that animals were a good <br />barometer for gauging abuse of partners and children. With no agency responsible, however, she <br />alleged that such reports would fall by the wayside. <br /> <br />Ms. Overholser stated that she was a member of the Lane County task force that was working on <br />a report to provide to the Board of Commissioners. She said that even if the commissioners had <br />the report today, the money would not be available for some time. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey, noting that 15 people had expressed a wish to speak, asked for direction from the <br />council. <br /> <br /> Councilor Taylor moved, seconded by Councilor Kelly, to allow everyone to <br /> speak. Roll call vote; the motion passed, 4:3; councilors Pap6, Nathanson, <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 28, 2003 Page 1 <br /> Regular Meeting <br /> <br /> <br />