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MINUTES Eugene City Council Regular Session Council Chamber--City Hall May 9, 2005 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: George Poling, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Jennifer Solomon, Chris Pryor, Andrea Ortiz, Bonny Bettman, Gary Pap6. Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order and welcomed all present. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy observed that 16 people had signed up for the Public Forum, which would exceed the time allotted for the item, and called on the council for a motion. Councilor Poling, seconded by Councilor Solomon, moved to extend the time for the Public Forum by 15 minutes. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Scott Olmos, 3765 Meadow View, said he was the new president of the Eugene Firefighters Association. He supported the re-staffing of Engine 9 housed at Fire Station 9 both as a firefighter and as a resident of the Cal Young neighborhood. He cited the Standards of Response cover document, dated December 2004, which provided fact-based evidence, including an increase in emergency response time, that the re-staffing was necessary. He averred that the response times put citizens at risk and recommended immediate re- staffing of Engine 9. He acknowledged the challenges this would present but felt they were not insurmountable. He predicted the increase in costs due to overtime would be lessened in time by the planned hiring of 12 new firefighters in June and 12 more firefighters in one year. Sven Wahlroos, 3103 Riverbend Avenue, introduced himself as a Eugene firefighter and the Secretary/Treasurer of Eugene Firefighters Local 851. He echoed Mr. Olmos' support for the re-staffing of Fire Engine 9. He pointed out that the fire truck itself had been relocated to the Santa Clara station three years earlier. This left a documented emergency response gap in the vicinity surrounding Station 9. He averred that the citizens in Ward 5 "eagerly awaited" the re-staffing of this "important resource." He noted that two sources had been identified for funding the fire crew at Station 9: 1) the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant; and 2) the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) lawsuit. He underscored that the SAFER grant was part of a group of federal grants which had to be shared by many thousands of fire stations across the country. He did not think the City of Eugene would qualify. He noted, too, that the Bush administration was unlikely to continue to support the SAFER program. He did not think the PERS funding could be counted on either. He hoped that the City Council would ensure that such a priority would be adequately financed with secure funding. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 9, 2005 Page 1 Regular Session