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<br />e <br /> <br />difficult decision of taking the results of the election and adopting a final <br />decision. <br /> <br />Ms. Schue said Mr. Sercombe has been saying for some time that the State <br />needed a good home rule case to decide some key unadjudicated issues. She <br />asked Mr. Sercombe if he felt this was the type of case that could form the <br />foundation for a landmark decision. Mr. Sercombe said yes, but admitted his <br />optimism had been dimmed by the Court of Appeals' opinion. Outside the labor <br />relations area, there has been no case before an Oregon appellate court <br />involving a conflict between local and State law for more than two decades. <br />There has been no case before an appellate court regarding ordinances relat- <br />ing to self-governance since the LaGrande-Astoria case in 1978. Mr. Sercombe <br />said many Oregon city attorneys had been waiting for an election case to <br />argue home rule questions about the way local elections are structured and <br />what people vote upon. He said the court reached its decision quickly and he <br />felt that they mischaracterized the issue. He hoped to see further action on <br />this case at the Supreme Court level. <br /> <br />Mr. Miller asked what Mr. Sercombe estimated it would cost to carry the case <br />to its ultimate end. Mr. Sercombe said the City has generally spent what it <br />needs to in order to pursue the case. A brief was filed the previous Monday <br />asking the Supreme Court to take the case. If the case is not mooted by the <br />election on Tuesday and the Supreme Court takes the case, additional costs <br />will include those incurred in responding to written questions from the court <br />and orally arguing the case. Mr. Sercombe estimated these costs at an addi- <br />tional $4,000 to $5,000. <br /> <br />~ Responding to a question from Ms. Bascom, Mr. Sercombe described two elec- <br />tions held in the last 30 years presenting the voters with more than a single <br />question. <br /> <br />Mr. Rutan said he felt the descriptions in the Voters Pamphlet regarding the <br />ballot questions were well-balanced and well-done. He said that he would <br />like to get feedback from the public regarding the pamphlet. Mayor Obie <br />agreed with Mr. Rutan's remarks, but expressed concern that the pamphlet had <br />not been read. Mr. Rutan asked Ms. Bellamy to look into ways of getting <br />public feedback and bring that information back to the council after the <br />election. <br /> <br />C. Wedding Anniversary <br /> <br />Mr. Bennett announced that it was the occasion of his 14th wedding anniversa- <br />ry and he would shortly be leaving the meeting. He said he had enjoyed the <br />time he spent as a family person and wished to say he was proud of his fami- <br />ly. <br /> <br />D. First Christian Church <br /> <br />Mr. Bennett brought up the issue of the First Christian Church discussed in <br />an article in The Register-Guard by Don Bishoff. He asked if the staff in <br />the Development Department could explore ideas regarding short-term solutions <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council <br /> <br />May 11, 1988 <br /> <br />Page 3 <br />