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MINUTES <br /> <br /> Eugene City Council <br /> Work Session <br /> McNutt Room-Eugene City Hall <br /> <br /> February 13, 2002 <br /> Noon <br /> <br />COUNCILORS PRESENT: Betty Taylor, David Kelly, Nancy Nathanson, Scott Meisner, Gary <br /> Rayor, Gary Pap~, Bonny Bettman, Par Farr. <br /> <br />CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION <br /> <br />Mayor James D. Torrey called the meeting to order. <br /> <br />Mr. Farr took an opportunity to clarify a quote taken out of context in The Register Guard. He <br />clarified that he had said it would be a shame to open the new library without the new hours and <br />expanded services that were being proposed in the upcoming library levy. He stressed that he <br />was in no way criticizing the writer of the article. <br /> <br />A.Work Session: Consideration of Council Contingency Account Funding Request <br /> <br /> Mr. Kelly, seconded by Mr. Pap~, moved to authorize the expenditure of <br /> $4,500 to promote reading and to foster a stronger sense of community via a <br /> collaborative initiative in which citizens meet and discuss ideas around the <br /> common themes found in Ken Kesey's "Sometimes A Great Notion." <br /> <br />Ms. Nathanson stressed that she thought a community read was a good idea but said she would <br />vote against the motion since she had already made a request to use the entire council social <br />services contingency account to help social service agencies provide food and energy assistance <br />to the community. She added her concern over the large amount of unanticipated costs to the <br />community caused by the recent severe wind storm. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly acknowledged the importance of aid to social service agencies but stressed that a sense <br />of community was important as well. He emphasized the importance of community building and <br />noted that many other agencies were also donating to the community read program. He added <br />that a strong first year for the program would help it enough to get its own funding in future years. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly went on to say that the remaining money in the council social services contingency <br />account could be dedicated to social services energy assistance. He commented that the $4,500 <br />for "Reading in the Rain" was infinitesimal when compared to the human services need. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner raised concern that the community read was not a free public participation project. <br />He questioned whether it was an appropriate use of community funds. <br />Ms. Bettman said the community read was a community building exercise with a positive goal. <br />She said that there would be opportunities to address social service needs through the normal <br />budget process. <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 13, 2002 Page 1 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />