Item 4A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Ms. Taylor was concerned that regulating something that was barbaric condoned its existence. She asked if it was possible to have a moratorium and ban extreme fighting until the legislature acted. Mr. Lidz said a moratorium was not possible but the council could ban the activity and then repeal the ordinance if the legislature acted. Ms. Taylor stated that was her preference. She pointed out a provision of the Nevada rules that allowed kicking an opponent who was on the ground, which she found unbelievable and asked if those were the rules the City would adopt. City Manager Taylor said the City would begin with those rules and refine as necessary. Ms. Ortiz said she favored directing the City Manager to monitor legislative action to regulate amateur mixed martial arts fighting at the State level and report to the council at the end of the legislative session. She said that cultures differed on what was acceptable and while she did not personally wish to observe the fighting or have her sons involved, she recognized that for young men in her community being involved in extreme fighting was a badge of honor. She was reluctant to tell people they could not be involved and noted that participants were fully aware of the risks. She was also concerned with enacting another ordinance that would put people in jail when the system was already overburdened. Mr. Poling asked how far the City could go in establishing regulations such as requiring medical insurance or identifying the minimum qualifications of onsite medical personnel. Mr. Lidz replied that the council could be that specific. He said if the council wished to move forward with the ordinance it would be brought back for adoption as the public hearing had been held; if adopted, the City Manager would proceed to develop rules to implement the ordinance. He said the Nevada rules were offered as an illustration of rule- making and not as proposed rules. Mr. Poling supported moving forward with an ordinance and making whatever adjustments might be necessary in the event there was legislative action. Mr. Pryor asked how many fights were held annually. Mr. Lidz said there had been three or four since the council first discussed the matter. Mr. Pryor estimated that five or six fights might occur before the legislature acted and someone might be injured or killed at any one of them, which was why he was reluctant to take no action. He wanted some form of regulation in place to protect public safety, not to address cultural or moral issues, and was comfortable with the direction of the ordinance as drafted, strengthened by Mr. Kelly’s proposed amend- ment. He wanted more discussion about the types of specific protections available without becoming overly regulatory. In response to a question from Ms. Bettman, Mr. Lidz said that a copy of administrative rules to implement the ordinance would be provided to the council for informational purposes but would not be an agenda item. Ms. Bettman felt that the ordinance was a reasonable approach. She suggested that Mr. Kelly’s amendment require the promoter or participant to provide proof of medical insurance instead of simply requiring insurance. She said the council was not preventing people from participating in cage fighting if that was their choice but it did have a responsibility to protect participants and the public in the same way that there were helmet laws or protection from second-hand smoke. She said the public would ultimately subsidize medical care for an injured fighter if insurance was not required. Ms. Bettman said she was not in favor of waiting for the State to act as it was possible there would be no legislative action or the threshold would be low. She said if the City created a reasonable threshold it would MINUTES—Eugene City Council November 27, 2006 Page 9 Work Session