04/25/1988 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e Ms. Wooten said she was prepared to go to public hearing with the adjustment suggested by Mr. Barkovic regarding an employee's prior conviction for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. She said she would like to remain open on the inclusion of hypodermic needles. Mayor Obie reminded Ms. Wooten of the exclusion of items distributed for health purposes, and Lieutenant Mann suggested the possibility of the Willamette Valley AIDS Council being licensed by the State Health Division. Mr. Barkovic said the proposed ordinance would be in the appropriate format for a public hearing. Mr. Miller commended the creativity shown in problem solving without incurring excessive expense for the City. Answering Mr. Holmer's request for clarification, Mr. Barkovic said because possession of less than an ounce of marijuana is a violation rather than a misdemeanor or felony, persons convicted of that violation are excluded from the prior conviction requirement. Ms. Wooten suggested increasing the cost of a license to cover processing costs. Mr. Barkovic said $100 was a standard fee established through the City Manager's office. When Ms. Wooten asked for consideration of an increase in the license application fee, Mr. Barkovic cautioned that setting the fee too high might deny protection. Mayor Obie requested further explanation of forfeiture and seizure penalties, and recalled that the council had rejected a general forfeiture and seizure ordinance in the past because of concern about the seizing of unrelated property. Lieutenant Mann said research indicated forfeiture is an effective enforcement tool. He added that only items specific to drug transactions and paraphernalia would be subject to the penalty. Mayor Obie suggested that more consideration be given to forfeiture and seizure in drug-related crimes, with funds possibly allocated to Joint Social Services or to victims of the crimes. Ms. Wooten agreed with Mayor Obie's suggestion to reconsider this issue, but she said she continued to be concerned about situations in which innocent families of criminals might be penalized unfairly. Lieutenant Mann said that a local forfeiture option might shorten a lengthy process that is now only available through Federal courts. He added that in the particular ordinance under consideration, forfeiture would involve destruction of paraphernalia that has been determined to have no legitimate judicial purpose. Sergeant Siel said a genpral forfeiture ordinance in addition to the drug paraphernalia ordinance would allow seizure of equipment as well as seizure of the actual drugs, and would increase the likelihood that drug-manufacturing operations would be destroyed. MINUTES--Eugene City Council Dinner/Work Session April 25, 1988 Page 4