Item 3A: Approval of City Council Minutes

Home Browse Search

being discussed, he felt it should be part of the larger discussion and balanced against other priorities such as increasing police staffing. Ms. Bettman asked when the strategic plan would be completed if the council provided one-time funding. Mr. Mak said that would be dependent on the availability of professors and students at the University, but he estimated two or three months once there was approval to move forward. Ms. Bettman offer a friendly amendment to require the strategic plan to come to the City Council for approval, and implementation of the plan would be part of the FY09 budget process. Ms. Ortiz and Mr. Zelenka accepted the friendly amend- ment. Mr. Zelenka agreed with the importance of finishing the strategic plan and having it approved by the council in time for it to be part of the next budget process. Ms. Bettman wondered if some of the less expensive items, such as regular work sessions to update the council on what was happening in the community, could be done with existing resources. Mr. Chouinard suggested that might be more within the purview of the Human Rights Commission to address community issues of race as the staff work group's efforts were more internally focused. Ms. Bettman said she saw a work session to provide the council with a comprehensive look at community race relations as similar to how staff currently brought issues to the council. Ms. Ortiz observed that the Human Rights Commission previously reported to the council on the demo- graphics of City staff. Mr. Chouinard replied that the structure of the strategic plan would include that information as an appendix that was updated annually. Mayor Piercy said that race relations work should be both internal and external as the City had a responsi- bility to be a good model for the rest of the community. The motion passed, 7:0. Mr. Zelenka confirmed that the public hearing on McKenzie-Willamette scheduled for October 23, 2007, had been cancelled and that councilors should still not discuss the matter. Ms. Bettman indicated confusion about what the council could discuss with respect to hospital siting. City Attorney Emily Jerome explained that councilors could not discuss issues related to the substance of the application. She cautioned councilors to use care in their comments and avoid giving the impression they could not be objective when making a decision. She said that would include discussions regarding alternate sites. The meeting adjourned at 1:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Angel Jones MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 10, 2007 Page 5 Work Session