Item 4A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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by the police chief and changing the designation of a position from Citizen Review Board to Civilian Review Board (CRB) representative and clarifying the role of that position. Ms. Piercy opened the public hearing and called for testimony. Joe Alsup , 36 West 38th Avenue, Eugene, Police Commission vice chair urged the council to approve amendments modifying membership and clarifying the role of the CRB members. He said the commission unanimously supported the amendments. There being no further testimony, Ms. Piercy closed the hearing. In response to a question from Ms. Piercy, Mr. Lidz explained that an issue was raised regarding substitut- ing the word "civilian" for "citizen" throughout the ordinance, even where it referred to the community members of the commission as opposed to the CRB member. He said the term "citizen" was used throughout Chapter 2 in the description of other City commissions when it referred to a person who did not represent a specific entity to distinguish them from members who were designated representatives from other bodies or organizations. He said the definition of a citizen as someone who was a resident of a city or town, especially one who was permitted to vote, was the sense in which citizen was used in the current code. He said that could be changed but recommended it be done by separate ordinance for all board and commis- sions. Ms. Ortiz said she would support an ordinance changing the definition, but there should be a conversation about what the term means to the community at large. She said the Police Commission's intent was to use a term that was as inclusive as possible and not discourage someone from applying for appointment to a board or commission. Ms. Bettman agreed with Ms. Ortiz that the City needed to be clear about who could apply for boards and commissions and would welcome a discussion of the term "civilian." She said an amendment could provide the definition of the term "citizen" in the code. She suggested that the matter be referred to the Human Rights Commission for feedback. Ms. Piercy determined there were no objections to referring the issue for discussion by the Human Rights Commission. Mr. Poling asked if action on the Willakenzie plan, currently scheduled for November 17, could be rescheduled, as several councilors would be absent on that date. City Manager Angel Jones said she would check on whether that could be done. Ms. Bettman said that the council's earlier discussion with City Attorney Emily Jerome had seemed to indicate that councilors could not have any discussions about alternative hospital sites. She said the issue was of critical interest to the community and asked if the council could have a formal discussion in open session. Mr. Lidz said he would need to confer with Ms. Jerome regarding her advice and the context in which it was given before responding. The meeting adjourned at 10 p.m. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 15, 2007 Page 11 Public Hearing