CC Minutes - 06/27/11 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commissioners allowed it to happen. Ms. Gladen asked what she was to say to visitors when asked why the City did nothing about the situation, adding that she heard that question all the time from visitors. She was frustrated, sad, and ashamed when she saw families with children walking by the plaza. She did not think the plaza honored Wayne Morse. She asked what the council was doing about the plaza and asked when councilors last brought their children downtown to demonstrate their pride in the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza at the Lane County Courthouse. Stan Taylor, 1285 McLean Boulevard, represented the Community Alliance for Lane County's Progressive Response Committee, which helped draft the resolution sponsored by Councilor Brown. Mr. Taylor noted his membership on several groups committed to peace and reported that all of them supported the resolution before the council. He further noted that a Pew Research Center poll released recently showed that 56 percent of Americans wanted the United States to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan as soon as possible. He reported that CALC had collected 838 signatures expressing the same sentiment. He presented the council with another 200 signatures of support. Mr. Taylor recalled that in part thanks to Mayor Piercy, the United States Conference of Mayors recently passed a resolution calling for Congress to redirect the funding spent on the wars to domestic priorities. He believed the cost of the wars in terms of loss of life and actual money was more than the country could afford. He asked the council to support the resolution. Chelsea Laws, 1435 Polk Street, "We the People" Steering Committee, supported the resolution sponsored by Councilor Brown. She spoke of her volunteer work for the schools and emphasized their need for funding. She also noted the many nonprofits that provided vital community services that were in need of funding. She said the lack of funding threatened the community's social service net. In addition, the Iraq and Afghan civilian communities were being destroyed by the war, and the United States should not support the destruction of communities anywhere. She believed Eugene's priorities should be adequate funding for its own schools, social service structure, job creation, and support of the environment. Jeff Ewing, 1150 Darlene Lane, 4256, represented the Eugene - Springfield Solidarity Network. He expressed support for the resolution. He said human services existed to serve citizens at their time of need and this was a time of need that could get worse. At the same time, there were voices on the national scene calling for austerity and the country was embroiled in two long, expensive, and unnecessary wars. Mr. Ewing said a bipartisan consensus was growing about the need to end those wars and redirect the funds to services needed at home. He urged the council to support the resolution. Shelley Corteville, 438 C Street, Springfield, represented Veterans for Peace, Chapter 159. She spoke of the many American soldiers killed and wounded in the Iraq and Afghanistan and reported that 18 veterans committed suicide every day. That was the true face of the wars. Ms. Corteville said veterans also come home to another problem, that of a lack of funding to care for them. The Veterans Administration was both underfunded and under- staffed, and the country was making veterans faster than the system could care for them. The cost of making a veteran was high and the cost of caring for one was very high. However, the country continued to have that obligation. She asked the councilors to think of the young people they encountered and consider whether they were willing to put them in harm's way by supporting wars financially. Alex Payne, 1286 Sunny Drive, said while it was true there had been no draft or rationing required by the war, he had seen much self - sacrifice imposed on citizens because of a lack of money to pay for necessary services. He said that School District 4J was facing a budget crisis. Because of the money dedicated to war he seen teachers' positions be eliminated, programs reduced, and health care clinics restricted in terms of who they could serve. He supported the resolution sponsored by Councilor Brown as absolutely MINUTES— Eugene City Council June 27, 2011 Page 2 Regular Meeting