CC Minutes - 11/19/08 Work Session

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Mr. Oberle, responding to a question from Mr. Zelenka, noted that the steam plant would continue to be dedicated to EWEB use for the foreseeable future. He added that the determination regarding EWEB’s continued use of the steam plant might be revised in the long term. 2. Legislative Issues Metal Theft Mr. Simpson noted that metal theft had increasingly become an issue of concern over the last several years to both the City and EWEB. He noted that the EWEB board of commissioners had visited the State Legislature in Salem to lobby for revised legislation regarding the issue. He briefed the board and the council on recent strategies that EWEB had undertaken to prevent metal theft. Intergovernmental Relations Manager Brenda Wilson briefly described the impacts and history of metal theft in the community. In describing the impacts of metal theft on both City and EWEB resources, Ms. Wilson elaborated how metal theft impacted the financial health of the community and the personal safety of its citizens. Ms. Wilson noted that wire theft was a widespread community issue and that the ease and availability with which metal theft was committed perpetuated substance abuse throughout the region. Ms. Wilson commented that the State legislature had recently adopted revised legislation to combat the problem of metal theft. She noted that some of the revised legislation had helped the problem, but some of the legislation had actually proved to be an encumbrance to local law enforcement agencies in their efforts to curtail metal theft. EWEB Legislative Representative Jason Heuser reported that metal theft had increasingly become a problem both nationally and locally due to the fact that it continued to be a very easy crime to commit and also that commodity metal supplies were generally on the decline everywhere. Mr. Heuser went on to describe how and why metal theft had become an issue of increasing concern in the community. Mr. Heuser noted that while the State legislature had recently adopted a consensus bill in 2007 to address the metal theft problem which included provisions for metal and recycling yards to strengthen their reporting procedures, the bill was seen as having limited effectiveness in that it only provided for metal theft strategies that were revenue neutral. He noted that with the generally unfavorable current economic climate, any newly adopted legislation regarding metal theft would need to be revenue neutral as well. Mr. Heuser noted that several strategies were being considered to address the metal theft problem including a ban on cash transactions for metal recycling, a ban on burnt or similarly altered materials, and required commercial accounts and business licenses for certain forms of metal recycling. Mr. Heuser commented that, with respect to the legislative initiatives being considered by stakeholders such as EWEB and the City of Eugene, a four-part approach had been formed consisting of efforts to 1) reduce the ease and opportunity of metal theft; 2) strengthen public and/or private assets that might become metal theft targets; 3) strengthen law enforcement efforts to curtail metal theft, and 4) improve drug abuse treatment efforts for those who might use metal theft as a means to finance substance addictions. Mr. Cassidy asked Mr. Heuser and Ms. Wilson to elaborate on their earlier statement that the State legislature’s efforts to curtail metal theft had hindered local efforts to do the same. Ms. Wilson answered that the State’s legislative efforts had restricted local government entities from imposing stricter criminal penalties on metal theft and had also prevented local efforts to prohibit or restrict the buying and selling of metal in certain communities. Ms. MINUTES—Eugene City Council November 19, 2008 Page 3 Work Session