CC Minutes - 09/10/07 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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stressed that what they wanted was to have the same opportunity as the Autzen Stadium lot. He felt that if people could drink there, then those activities should be allowed in other lots. He underscored that a loss of this money would be a blow to the charity. th Deborah Frisch , 3003 West 11 Avenue, registered her opposition to the amended exemption and supported deletion of the exemption for Autzen Stadium. She believed Ducks fans should be held to the same laws as everyone else. She expressed contempt for college and professional sports. She asserted that sports contributed to mindless “us and them thinking” and allowed people to tolerate “the carnage in Iraq.” Lois Harvick , 1865 Parliament Street, executive director of the local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), said the council had the opportunity to send a message to the community that public safety took priority over an estimated 20 percent of the 60,000 Duck fans that consumed alcoholic beverages in and around Autzen Stadium during every home game. She stated that studies indicated that fear of being arrested deterred people from drinking to excess. She declared that existing problems related to excessive drinking, underage drinking, and drinking and driving would likely continue and increase but the perception that the behavior was acceptable put the community at an increased risk. She stated that MADD needed support for high visibility law enforcement. She asked the council to seek other solutions to the drinking and tailgating proposal. She urged the council to send a “loud and clear message” that the community deserved public safety to be a priority on game days and every day. She asked the council to help MADD with its goal of adding no more names to the memorial gardens for victims of drunken driving. Anne Pratt , 42000 Holden Creek Lane, Springfield, member of MADD, the Governor’s Advisory Committee on DUII, and Crime Victims United, said she lobbied for tougher Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (DUII) bills. She agreed with Ms. Harvick. She believed what was proposed only treated the legality and not the issue, which was that people left the tailgating area and drove on streets and highways under the influence of alcohol. She stated that 200 people were killed by drunk drivers in the State of Oregon and more than 17,000 people were killed in the United States annually. She related that her son had been killed by a drunk driver on September 18, 1998. She and her husband had spent the last four legislative sessions to strengthen intoxicated driver laws. She thought it was odd that the City of Eugene was considering expansion of the exemption zone for drinking. She believed drinking should be monitored by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) and law enforcement and not parking lot owners. She averred that expanding the exemption was a strike against public policy. MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 10, 2007 Page 6 Work Session