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MINUTES <br /> <br /> Eugene City Council <br /> Work Session <br /> McNutt Room--Eugene City Hall <br /> <br /> December 6, 2004 <br /> 5:30 p.m. <br /> <br />COUNCILORS PRESENT: Bonny Bettman, Nancy Nathanson, Scott Meisner, David Kelly, Betty <br /> Taylor, Gary Papd, Jennifer Solomon. <br /> <br />COUNCILORS ABSENT: George Poling. <br /> <br />Mayor James D. Torrey called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. <br /> <br />A. ITEMS FROM MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, AND CITY MANAGER <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner said that he, Mr. Kelly, and Mayor Torrey attended the Artists and Authors event at the <br />Library on December 3. The event was well-attended. Mr. Meisner thanked staff and the Eugene Library <br />Foundation for doing all they had to make the building and events possible. The foundation became more <br />successful every year. He said it was nice to enter a building such as the library and see everyone smiling. <br /> <br />Ms. Nathanson noted the old saying that the wheels of democracy mm slowly, adding that was often to <br />ensure that everyone was included. She said that sometimes progress was so slow the council became <br />impatient with staff and the organization. She said she often looked at the council's work plan and <br />objectives and wondered where the checkmarks were to indicate completion. <br /> <br />Ms. Nathanson said she was pleased to have been involved with an organization as fine as the City of <br />Eugene. She was proud of her association with the City. She had recently returned from the National <br />League of Cities (NLC) conference and it was her perception that Eugene was admired for its accomplish- <br />ments. Ms. Nathanson said every week and every month staff worked on projects to accomplish the <br />council's goals in service delivery with little recognition from the council or public. She had seen fantastic <br />examples in of innovation in every department. Ms. Nathanson congratulated the City organization and all <br />departments for all the excellent work she had seen. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman discussed the issue of racial profiling, saying the community needed to be more aware of the <br />problem. Those community leaders participating in a recent press conference believed that profiling was a <br />long-term police practice and there was systematic bias occurring. Ms. Bettman acknowledged that it was <br />very difficult to know the criteria for an individual officer's decision, but over the decades it seemed that the <br />City had demonstrated a pattern and practice of profiling. <br /> <br />Ms. Solomon arrived. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman said she had never been concerned when sending her two children to school that they would be <br />stopped by police, but children of color have been stopped repeatedly and their parents constantly worry <br />about the potential for it to happen. Ms. Bettman said that one of the community leaders who spoke at the <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 6, 2004 Page 1 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />