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<br />e <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />- <br /> <br />constitutionally placed on City property. He said that it would be the re- <br />sponsibility of a court higher in authority than the Oregon Supreme Court to <br />say otherwise. <br /> <br />Therefore, Mr. Gary said the correct response would be for the City Council <br />to take no action, unless it wished to initiate a charter amendment, and for <br />the City to respond to Mr. Porter's claim in due course. <br /> <br />Mr. Boles asked if the charter amendment authorized the City to maintain and <br />illuminate the cross. Mr. Gary said there might be a provision for this in <br />the City Code, although he thought it was done administratively. He said <br />there was no such provision in the City Charter. <br /> <br />Mr. Boles pointed out that the cross is illuminated at Christmas and asked <br />how this related to its status as a war memorial. He suggested other holi- <br />days might be more meaningful times to light the cross. <br /> <br />Mr. Gary said the cross is lighted on days set aside to observe veterans of <br />wars, as well as Christmas and Easter. He said he would investigate the <br />process by which the cross is illuminated. <br /> <br />Mr. Rutan said he was glad to hear the City Attorney's opinion on this issue <br />so that the council would not have to waste valuable time on an issue which <br />has long been settled by both the community and the courts. <br /> <br />Mr. Nicholson confirmed that the City faces a potential ,lawsuit over the <br />cross. He asked what the City's expenses would be and if the council could <br />take no action on this lawsuit if it were filed. <br /> <br />Mr. Gary said the City had the authority to decide not to defend the lawsuit, <br />in which case the lawsuit would be decided by default. He said this would be <br />an administrative decision to be made by the City Manager. He said it might <br />be difficult to craft an ordinance which was consistent with provisions of <br />the charter, and set a policy to not defend a lawsuit. He said this amounted <br />to not defending the charter enacted by the voters. He said the council <br />would have to be careful that it was not undermining the charter provision <br />itself. <br /> <br />Mr. Gleason pointed out that councilors take an oath of office to defend the <br />charter. <br /> <br />Mr. Nicholson said he was concerned about spending money on this issue. He <br />asked how much was likely to be expended. Mr. Gary said Mr. Porter has esti- <br />mated that his costs will be between $15,000-$25,000. He said the City's <br />costs would be related to these figures but would depend on how long the case <br />was litigated. <br /> <br />Mayor Miller asked if the City could ask the Oregon Supreme Court to comment <br />on the case. Mr. Nicholson asked if the City could ask this court to decide <br />the case. <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council <br /> <br />April 24, 1991 <br /> <br />Page 4 <br />