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

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Ms. Nathanson said that she had hoped to achieve flexibility and open mindedness with a community process. She had heard many sincere opinions from different sides, but that communication had not been two-way, but one-way, which she regretted. She was willing to be flexible and hoped that everyone in the community could achieve a degree of reconciliation regarding the issue. She knew that would take time. She said that she had stated previously that she would vote to rename the street in honor of Dr. King if the question came to that, but had sought the committee process for the reasons previously stated. She thought the outcome would be a good and proper tribute to the legacy of Dr. King. Ms. Taylor said that she was not informed of Ms. Nathanson's intent to offer a motion to reconsider the council's action of June 9. She thought that the public had just become aware of the street renaming process. Just prior to the hearing she had begun to hear from the public. She thought the council had not taken the time to find out if the process worked. She said that adopting the motion would close off public debate, which she thought was wrong. She said that she had not been influenced by Mr. Mylenck's change of head or by that morning's editorial in The Register-Guard. Rather than let itself be influenced by a few people, the council should give everyone in the community a chance to be involved. She added that many people had told her they would like to be on the committee that had been proposed. Mr. Pap~ expressed disappointment in the comments that had been made in testimony on June 9. He thought that people in the community wanted to honor Dr. King. He thought it a unique form of bigotry from the African-American community to suggest that it knew better how to honor Dr. King than the council did. Ms. Solomon was upset the issue had become a test of racism and thought that comments suggesting the council's actions were racist were cowardly and had generated community ill will. She said that the council had always been supportive of honoring Dr. King; the issue was how. Ms. Solomon said she had appreciated the spirit of Mr. Papa's motion setting up a committee process and had thought it in the best interest of the community. However, part of the community was unwilling to participate in a community discussion of what was in its best interest. Ms. Solomon said that if the street renaming was what was wanted by its proponents, she was willing to support the renaming of the street. Ms. Bettman said that sometimes building community meant assuming leadership and taking positive action. She hoped the council did not stop here. If the motion passed, she hoped that a committee could be formed to look at how Eugene could best honor the minority members of the community. She pointed out that Dr. King had been dead for 35 years, and until the NAACP placed the proposal on the table, no one had talked about doing anything to honor him. Ms. Bettman pointed out that the process was not a local process, but one governed by State statute, and it had been widely publicized. She objected to suggestions that people had no opportunity to participate. Anyone who wanted to be on the record on the issue had the opportunity to do so. Speaking to Mr. Papa's comments regarding the process, Ms. Bettman said that the mayor requested a councilor to serve as a liaison to the Board of County Commissioners and she agreed to serve in that capacity. She noted that much process had already occurred with Springfield before she became involved. Ms. Taylor pointed out that the City had a park named for Martin Luther King Jr and there was also a holiday in his honor. She reiterated that people had not been aware of the issue until quite MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 11, 2003 Page 3 Work Session