07/09/1990 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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. M I NUT E S Eugene City Council Oregon Electric Station--27 East 5th Avenue July 9, 1990 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Ruth Bascom, Shawn Boles, Rob Bennett, Debra Ehrman, Bobby Green. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Emily Schue, Freeman Holmer, Roger Rutan. The regular meeting of the Eugene City Council of July 9, 1990, was called to order by His Honor Mayor Jeff Miller. Mr. Gleason announced that councilors Bennett and Boles recently represented the council at an informal discussion on housing problems in Eugene with several homeless mothers. These homeless activists presented councilors with a list of grievances regarding the lack of available shelter in Eugene and requested that the council: 1) repeal the ban on camping ordinance; and 2) be allowed the opportunity to meet with local officials to discuss this issue and become involved in finding a solution to the housing policy issue. Mr. - Gleason said that the councilors agreed to bring the issue of the ban on camping ordinance before the full council for possible reconsideration. Mr. Boles said that Planning Commissioner John VanLandingham has agreed to serve as chair of an ad hoc Housing Task Force that will address the housing problem in our community, explore possible solutions, and present a report to the council. Mr. Bennett said that he feels that committee work could be valuable in terms of looking at the provision of social services in our community. Given the fact that the council appears unwilling to repeal the camping ordinance and that the County appears unwilling to assume a greater financial burden for social service provision, he expressed concern that the task force might create unrealistic expectations in the community. He stressed the importance of being clear up-front about what can be accomplished on this committee. Mr. VanLandingham said that the County's Housing Task Force has determined that housing demand is greater than supply within our community. He noted that the Opportunity Shelter looked at the possibility of establishing a campground two years ago, specifically for the homeless population, but determined that for a variety of reasons such a campground would not be workable. As chair of this proposed committee, Mr. Van Landingham said he plans to reexamine the possibility of establishing an emergency campground for the homeless population including a review of sanitation and security - MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 9, 1990 Page 1 Dinner/Work Session .