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the proposal that Eugene taxpayers ~pick up the tab" for $11.9 million for road work to enable McKenzie- Willamette/Triad Medical Center to build a hospital on the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) site and the infrastructure, paid for by taxpayers, provided on West 11th Avenue for the Wal-Mart store and others were examples of strong reasons to oppose further taxation dedicated to road repairs. She cited an article in The New York Times that reported that 12 percent of exports from China were for Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart accounted for one percent of China's gross domestic product. She opined that, given those facts, Wal-Mart should have paid for this infrastructure, with help from the Target store. She asserted it was time to stop financing road construction for big business while existing streets were in such a state of disrepair. She asked how, in all fairness, the City could increase the burden on consumers and businesses through the consequences of its questionable fiscal policies. She indicated that, should the gas tax be implemented, she would purchase gas in another town. She wished to remind the City Manager he was a public servant, an employee of the taxpayers, whose primary obligation was to serve the interests of the taxpayers and not the needs of special interests. Marilyn Mays, 1081 North Pond Road, president of the local chapter of the Eugene/Springfield branch of the National Association for Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), related that the local chapter had received dozens of calls from community members of color who were voicing concerns regarding racial profiling. She cited incidents of being followed by police cars for miles, of being stopped and questioned seemingly for no reason, and more. She had reported this information to City Manager Dennis Taylor several weeks earlier and had requested that the department and the community take a stand against any unlawful or intimidating behavior by some police officers. She underscored that she recognized that it was only some police officers who behaved unlawfully. However, she emphasized this was a significant problem for community members of color as they were feeling intimidated and fearful of police officers. Ms. Mays felt some officers were taking the results of the recent complaint made by Cortez Jordan for granted and were exhibiting boastful and disrespectful behavior toward community members and, in some cases, even employees of color within the organization. She thought a message had been sent to officers that there was little or no accountability for the acts of officers who use racially biased tactics in policing. She was gravely disappointed in the leadership of Chief Lehner on this issue. Ms. Mays advised the City Manager and the Police Chief to listen more to the community and take these issues seriously. She added that the NAACP had enjoyed a good relationship with the Police Department over the last few years, but now it was at an all-time low. She asked, on behalf of the local chapter of the NAACP, that the City consider endorsing an external review board for police complaints and having more police officer accountability on these issues. She also requested a public statement from the City Manager and the Police Chief against the practice of racial profiling. She said she and other members of Communities United for Better Policing (CUBP) would be contacting the councilors individually in the coming weeks for further dialogue on this issue. Zachary ¥ishanoff, Patterson Street, thanked Mayor Piercy for serving as mayor. He wished to speak on less-than-lethal warfare. He related that he was ~needlessly attacked by the SWAT team" two years earlier. He felt the article in the paper that spoke favorably about tasers was inaccurate as people sometimes died as a result of being ~tasered." He suggested a venue be formed to discuss less-than-lethal warfare with the public at which such weapons were demonstrated. He said, since being hit, he spent hours thinking about the reform of less-than-lethal warfare, as it had been proven to be used recklessly. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 10, 2005 Page 3 Regular Session