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the park. They were demanding the council spend their money wisely and did not consider the proposal a <br />wise use of money. Mr. Poling pointed out that local media polling indicated overwhelming support for <br />ending the encampment. Many residents who contacted him said they initially supported the encampment <br />but no longer did. He also spoke to many experts who indicated such camps do not work to solve the <br />homeless problem. Mr. Poling believed it was time for the council to do what must be done to reclaim <br />the park as well as to reclaim its focus on what it was supposed to be doing rather than being guided by <br />outside parties. <br />Mr. Poling disagreed with City Manager Ruiz's desire to defer a decision to end the encampment to the <br />council rather than end it on his own but did not blame him. He said the council created the situation and <br />now needed to fix it. <br />Mayor Piercy suggested that residents held strong positions, both pro and con, about the basic political <br />principles espoused by Occupy Eugene and that those feelings had continued even when the homeless <br />element was added should surprise no one. She discounted media polls as nonscientific and suggested <br />they were responded to by people who tended to be against things. <br />Mayor Piercy said the homeless issue had been a long -time problem and long before the encampment was <br />established the City was receiving complaints about the homeless from all over the community. Occupy <br />Eugene had tried to address those problems in its own way. The City was now faced with what it would <br />do as a result of that work. She did not think the issue was supposed to be politicized or a taking sides <br />situation but one that called on all councilors to use their deepest wisdom in addressing the social issue of <br />homelessness. <br />Ms. Ortiz maintained that media polls were responded to by those who had homes, computers, and <br />televisions to watch, and were not working two or three jobs. She considered such polls a snapshot of <br />people's opinions in time. The input she received was 80 percent in favor of maintaining the <br />encampment. <br />Ms. Ortiz had no objections to continuing the encampment because it brought attention to the problems of <br />the homeless. She acknowledged the cost involved and was challenged by the recommendation to take <br />money away from Buckley House. However, she supported the manager's recommendation. <br />Mr. Brown acknowledged that the last homeless camp did not work but suggested that did not mean <br />another homeless a camp might not succeed now given the community's support for the Occupy Eugene <br />encampment. He advocated for future discussion on the subject. Mr. Brown asked that the <br />recommendations of the Council Committee on Human Services Funding be moved up on the council's <br />agenda to inform future discussions of funding for homeless services. <br />Mr. Zelenka agreed with the mayor that there were strong feelings about Occupy Eugene on all sides. He <br />also discounted media polls as meaningless and nonscientific. He believed that Occupy Eugene had <br />highlighted the issue of homelessness. Before Occupy Eugene the homeless were scattered and hidden. <br />The problems and costs remained, but they were just hidden and in different places. He suggested the <br />council now had an opportunity to make an incremental difference in the homeless issue. <br />Mr. Zelenka agreed with Mr. Poling that experts did not believe a permanent camp would work because <br />the dysfunctional occupants would take over. He wished Occupy Eugene success but he was skeptical <br />about the outcome. He reconfirmed the timing of the CUP application process with City Attorney Klein. <br />MINUTES— Eugene City Council December 14, 2011 Page 3 <br />Work Session <br />