CC Minutes - 01/27/03 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Meisner echoed Mr. Papa's thanks for the clean-up of illegal camping sites. Mr. Meisner reminded the public that ballots for Measure 28 were due the following day. Mayor Torrey said he received many e-mails regarding a potential conflict of interest on his part as it related to the living wage. He continued to respond to those messages that, based on legal advice he received from the City Attorney, he had a potential but not a real conflict of interest. Referring to the proposed renaming of Centennial Boulevard to Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Mayor Torrey reported that no one in Springfield had been contacted about the idea, and representatives of that city were upset. He asked if there was a reason that Springfield was not contacted. Ms. Bettman noted the direction she received from the council, which was to work with the Lane Board of County Commissioners. Subsequently, she met with members of the board and representatives of the University of Oregon and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She had attempted to contact Mayor Sid Leiken of Springfield without success. She indicated that the process that had been initiated would include considerable public input. Mayor Torrey asked Mr. Carlson to contact Springfield City Manager Mike Kelly and County Administrator Bill Van Vactor to discuss the issue. Mr. Carlson said that the issue had been discussed the previous week by the three administrators and there was agreement at that time that more research about how other communities had handled the transition would be useful. He noted there were several regulatory processes to go through. Manager Mike Kelly had asked if Eugene was committed to renaming Centennial Boulevard, or if other roads that traveled between the two communities could be renamed at less cost and impact, and specifically mentioned roads such as 1-105 and Franklin Boulevard. Mayor Torrey asked Ms. Bettman and Mr. Carlson to meet with representatives of Springfield and Lane County for further discussion. City Attorney Jerome Lidz indicated, in response to a question from Mayor Torrey, that until there was a specific proposal regarding the living wage before the council, no councilor had an actual conflict of interest, although two councilors may have a potential conflict of interest, which should be declared when discussion occurred. He indicated, in response to a question from Mayor Torrey, that he did not think his membership on the Boys and Girls Club board constituted a conflict of interest. Mr. Kelly suggested that even a decision about the nature of such an ordinance could be problematic for some councilors with the potential of a conflict. Mr. Lidz said that the basic question the council would consider was whether to direct staff to draft such an ordinance. There was no specific living wage ordinance under consideration by the council at this time. Ms. Taylor asked if a person with a potential conflict would be able to participate in the decision to draft an ordinance. Mr. Lidz said yes. Once the ordinance was drafted and came before the council, it might then have an impact on an individual councilor; until then, the vote was simply one that might have an impact on a individual councilor. He confirmed that a vote against drafting an ordinance could trigger conflict, which required disclosure. B. WORK SESSION: Fall 2002 Draft Land Use Code Amendments MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 27, 2003 Page 3 Work Session