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<br /> In discussion with County staff, it was their opinion that WELC’s proposed causes of action would <br /> not be successful in a lawsuit against the seed growers. <br /> <br /> WELC estimates that the cost of such a lawsuit is somewhere in the neighborhood of $250,000 to <br /> $300,000 with the WELC attorneys acting as counsel in the lawsuit. There was also discussion <br /> regarding using the City Attorney and County Counsel to pursue such a lawsuit. Evidently, WELC no <br /> longer has the financial resources to continue to pursue a lawsuit on its own. <br /> <br />5. Introduce a bill in the 2008 Supplemental Session. <br /> Representatives Holvey and Barnhart both requested a new field burning ban bill for the 2008 <br /> Supplemental Session, but those requests were not approved by legislative leadership, given the short <br /> Supplemental Session and the request by party leaders to keep all measures “uncontroversial.” <br /> <br />6. Introduce a bill in the 2009 Regular Session. <br /> Representative Holvey said he would continue pushing this issue in the 2009 session, noting that even <br /> if a lawsuit was filed or completed by then, or a settlement has been reached, legislation would still be <br /> required to ratify and memorialize the settlement or court decision. This would also provide more <br /> opportunity to work on educating the legislature and the public, which will be necessary to getting any <br /> field burning ban bill passed. <br /> <br />7. Do nothing at this time. <br /> <br /> <br />RELATED CITY POLICIES <br />In 2007, the City of Eugene supported both HB 3000 and SB 966 to ban field burning. <br /> <br /> <br />COUNCIL OPTIONS <br /> <br />The council may direct the City Manager to pursue one or more of the options listed above. <br /> <br /> <br />CITY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION <br /> <br />The City Manager recommends no action at this time. While this is an important matter, with <br />limited resources and a number of other pressing priorities, the City Manager recommends that <br />legislative solutions be pursued in the 2009 Regular Legislative Session. <br /> <br /> <br />SUGGESTED MOTION <br />No motion is offered as the City Manager recommends no action at this time. <br /> <br /> <br />ATTACHMENTS <br /> <br />None. <br /> <br /> <br />FOR MORE INFORMATION <br /> <br />Staff Contact: Brenda Wilson <br />Telephone: 682-8441 <br />Staff E-Mail: brenda.s.wilson@ci.eugene.or.us <br /> <br />L:\CMO\2008 Council Agendas\M080220\S080220D.doc <br />