CC Minutes - 04/11/05 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Pap6 indicated his intent to ask the council to discuss House Bill 3301, a bill related to the formation of special districts considered recently by the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations (CCIGR). Speaking to Mr. Pap6's comments about the rail yards, Ms. Ortiz believed residents in her ward only wanted the railroad to be a good neighbor. Ms. Ortiz debriefed the council on the most recent Human Services Commission (HSC) and Police Commission meetings, reporting that the HSC heard an update on budget issues from three service providers. She had been very impressed with how the allocated money was being spent. The Police Commission had debriefed the International City Manager's Association and Police Executive Research Forum reports, and she anticipated that conversation would continue. Ms. Ortiz also congratulated the graduating members of the police academy. She was been impressed with the diverse, mature group that had been hired. Ms. Ortiz thanked Mayor Piercy, Ms. Solomon, Chief Bob Lehner, Mr. Pap~, and Mr. Pryor for their attendance at the Bethel Weed and Seed dinner held on March 14. She expressed pride in the work that had been done and the money that had been brought into the community to serve youth as a result of the Weed and Seed effort. She reported that she and Ms. Solomon agreed to work together to keep the public safety station in Bethel open as much as possible. Ms. Ortiz said that she, Mayor Piercy, City Manager Taylor, and Chief Lehner participated with other Lane County officials in a community conversation on race that occurred on March 12, which was taped by KEZI. She said a copy of the tape was on file in the Human Rights Program Office. Ms. Ortiz noted her recent attendance at the Community Development Block Grant Celebration. Ms. Bettman asked that a work session be scheduled to allow the council to give input on into the qualities it would like to see in a new Planning and Development Department director. She asked City Manager Taylor to use the hiring process as an opportunity to consider the possibility of splitting the department in two, a Planning Department and a Permit and Information/Development Department. She thought the two functions were very different, and the City could realize some important community objectives if it separated them. She believed it was counterintuitive to have the development and planning functions housed together in the same department. Ms. Bettman reported that the council would hold a public hearing on April 25 at 7:30 p.m. on the report the City Council received from the International City Management Association and Police Executives Research Forum. She noted the document was available on the City's Web site. Ms. Bettman reported she visited the Seattle Office of Public Accountability and interviewed its executive director and two members of the civilian review board, which had been very interesting. She learned a great deal, and offered to write a memorandum regarding her visit. Mr. Pryor said he attended the most recent meeting of the Lane Metro Partnership, which was about to embark on an end-of-the year assessment that would include a progress report and an evaluation of the effectiveness of the director and board, which could affect the next budget. He understood that there were MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 11, 2005 Page 3 Work Session