CC Minutes - 06/11/03 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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The motion on the table was as follows: Ms. Nathanson, seconded by Ms. Bettman, moved to substitute the motion with the following motion: That the City Council adopt Council Bill 4834, an ordinance concerning the change of street name of Centennial Boulevard to Martin Luther King J~ Boulevard, and adopting a severability clause. Ms. Bettman was happy to have the opportunity to reconsider the council's vote of June 9. She thought it was the respectful thing to do, and quoted Dr. King: "Amen." Ms. Taylor thought that the council needed to respect the entire community when it respected diversity. The committee that had been proposed to consider naming options was a means of doing so. She did not think the council should rush to rename Centennial Boulevard. Mr. Kelly was also pleased that the council was revisiting the issue. He thanked Mr. Meisner and Ms. Nathanson for their reconsideration. He thought that wounds had been created by the council's action of June 9, and the motion, if passed, was an opportunity to heal those wounds. Mr. Poling was unsure what happened before he came on the council but he had placed faith in the initial process. He agreed with those who testified that the process had been followed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). However, he likened the situation to assembling a bicycle hastily without reference to the directions, leaving behind extra pieces, meaning if one mounted the completed bicycle, it would fall apart, forcing one to stop and reassemble the bicycle. He wanted to stop and reassemble the bicycle. Mr. Poling noted he had received several telephone calls in support of his position. He wanted to honor Dr. King but wanted to support those in his ward. Mr. Poling supported the action taken by the council on June 9 because he wanted to involve the entire community in the process of reaching a decision on how to honor Dr. King. He thought Dr. King would want the entire community involved. Mr. Pap~ supported the committee proposal as a more inclusive continuation of the process, not as the end of the process. He also wanted more community involvement. He said that the situation pointed out that the City had nothing in place regarding how City assets were named, and suggested that the council think about that in the future and the possible precedent it was setting by the action it was contemplating. He thought that the council had been misled into believing that there had been an advisory committee process but that never happened. There were no minutes of any meetings of such a committee and no roster of members. The council had heard Springfield was involved; if there had been committee minutes, the council would be able to verify that. Mr. Pap~ said that he talked about the issue with representatives of Springfield prior to offering the council his motion establishing the committee process, and they had indicated that they would slow their process to join in the one that the council had created on June 9. Mr. Meisner had also wanted to accomplish community building and community involvement. He said it was his observation that the community had taken sides on the issue and people had demonstrated no flexibility or openness to work toward building community. He thought it too late to go to a committee process. He intended to support the motion and hoped the City worked more carefully in the future in its approach toward framing such questions for the community. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 11, 2003 Page 2 Work Session