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commended the command staff for living within the department's budget. He hoped there would <br />be understanding on the part of the union regarding the situation. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey asked if the risk of fire in an older area of town was greater than in a newer area of <br />town. Chief Tallon said yes, because new building products and better building codes had <br />lessened the fire danger. Mayor Torrey determined from Chief Tallon that the area of the <br />community south of the fairgrounds was at greater risk for fire danger than many other parts of the <br />community. Mayor Torrey asked if Springfield would assist the City with fire suppression in the <br />Ferry Street Bridge area. Chief Tallon said yes, the City had a mutual aid agreement with <br />Springfield, and Springfield Chief Dennis Murphy had indicated he would consider moving an <br />engine further to the west if that was needed. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey reminded the council that the Citizen Charter Review Committee had unanimously <br />recommended that the council/manager form of government be retained. The manager had the <br />responsibility to hire qualified people to head departments. He said that the council respected the <br />firefighters but the management of the department needed to remain within the purview of the Fire <br />Chief. Mayor Torrey said that he trusted the judgment of command staff and hoped that the serial <br />levy proposal did not proceed. He emphasized that did not mean he was not concerned about the <br />safety of every single citizen. <br /> <br />Chief Tallon thanked the mayor for his remarks. He assured the council that he was deeply <br />concerned about the safety of every firefighter, and his goal was to work with the employees on <br />the challenges facing the department. He agreed with Mr. Kelly that the situation was not an "us <br />versus them" situation. <br /> <br />With regard to acceptable levels of risk, Mayor Torrey did not think it acceptable to leave the police <br />officers in the basement of City Hall, or to have those more at-risk housing units south of the <br />fairground at risk from fire. He said that the council will need to work hard to pass a bond <br />relocating Fire Station 1, or it had not done its job. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly asked about the timeline for the consultant's study. Chief Tallon estimated the study <br />would be completed by the end of summer 2002. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly thought Mr. PapS's point about looking to the Budget Committee for future funding was <br />idealistic but not realistic. He also did not think there were the votes on the council to put a serial <br />levy on the ballot, and thought it would be counterproductive to offer such a motion. However, he <br />suggested that rather than moving on, the council consider forming a citizens committee to <br />examine the two different sets of data provided by command staff and the union, and provide <br />feedback to the council. <br /> <br /> Mr. Kelly, seconded by Ms. Bettman, moved that the City Manager establish <br /> a citizens committee with additional representation from both Fire <br /> Department management and the firefighters union to study the information <br /> the council was provided and report back to the City Council in time to give <br /> the council the option of placing a measure on the November 2002 ballot. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman supported the motion. She suggested that the council also consider passing a <br />resolution recommending to the Budget Committee that it fund the Valley River fire station. She <br />did not think the issue was a management issue, but rather a budget issue. Ms. Bettman thought <br /> <br /> MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 27, 2002 Page 5 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />