CC Minutes - 09/08/08 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Public Forum Council Chamber 777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon September 8, 2008 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Chris Pryor, Andrea Ortiz, Mike Clark, Betty Taylor, Jennifer Solomon, George Poling. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Bonny Bettman, Alan Zelenka. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. She noted that the Consent Calendar had been included in the business of the previous Work Session. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy reviewed procedures for providing comments. Carol Berg-Caldwell , 2510 Augusta Street, hoped for improved city/police relations. She related that two days of group discussions with a conflict resolution expert had been conducted at the Human Rights Commission for concerned people. She had attended two sessions. She said she had attended a dinner meeting with City Manager, Jon Ruiz. She thought it was essential for representatives of the Police Department and “some of us” to hold some joint sessions so each side could listen to the other and there would be no more “them and us.” She had been troubled to read Councilor Clark’s comments wherein Police Chief Bob Lehner had “taken some unfair shots from some extreme points of view” and that he understood why Chief Lehner would become tired of the abuse. She declared that it was never extreme for citizens to defend the voting process or to oppose a City ordinance being violated. She asked hypothetically how the councilor would feel if someone tampered with the election process under which he had gained his seat on the council. Ms. Berg-Caldwell said Mr. Ruiz supported the Police Auditor reporting to the council and not to the City Manager. She took issue with Mayoral-candidate Jim Torrey’s alleged opinion that the auditor should be a City employee. She asserted that a donation from the police union positioned Mr. Torrey as the “pro-police candidate.” She accused Councilor Clark of political opportunism. She averred that the voters that supported the Police Auditor Ordinance would “see through this.” She commended Mr. Ruiz for reaching out, even “to his critics.” Daniel related situations from his family life. Zachary Vishanoff , Ward 3, provided a packet of photocopied articles and asked for staff’s assurance that it would be delivered to Councilor Bettman in her absence. He said it was about the University’s arena project. He opined that the media had failed in regard to the arena. He wished to confirm the date of the MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 8, 2008 Page 1 Public F