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Mr. Lidz stated that the council had held two prior work sessions and a public hearing on the item. He indicated that the City had the right to ban or regulate amateur mixed martial arts, but the State had the exclusive authority to regulate professional fighting of all kinds. He said the general approach of the ordinance was to prohibit extreme or cage fighting, but to exempt fights that comply with regulations the City Manager would adopt from that ban. He noted the four things that the regulations would cover were listed in the Agenda Item Summary (AIS). He added that a motion to amend the ordinance to prohibit the attendance of and participation by minors proposed by Councilor Bettman was listed as Option 2 in the AIS. Councilor Ortiz, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved that the City Council adopt Council Bill 4930, an ordinance prohibiting extreme fighting. Councilor Taylor asked what would happen if the council did not adopt the ordinance. Mr. Lidz replied that amateur mixed martial arts would continue to be unregulated within the city limits of Eugene. Councilor Taylor commented that she had difficulty in adopting regulations for something she felt should be banned. She asked if Mr. Lidz believed the fights would be safer under the ordinance. Mr. Lidz responded that he was not an expert on mixed martial arts, but he thought in light of Mr. Georgianna’s comments and some of the regulations that had been proposed, regulating the practice was safer than allowing it to continue unregulated. Councilor Poling, seconded by Councilor Solomon, moved to amend the ordinance to add a Sec- tion 5 to require on-scene medical personnel with minimum paramedic rating. Councilor Poling believed it was imperative to have on-scene medical personnel who could address a crisis situation that might occur. Councilor Ortiz offered a friendly amendment to require a registered nurse or medical personnel with minimum paramedic rating on-scene. Councilor Poling said he was seeking to have someone on the scene with both the training and the equip- ment. Councilor Ortiz surmised that what Councilor Poling was suggesting was that Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel should be standing by. She asked if he meant he wanted a unit of service at the scene. Councilor Poling responded that he was not specifically thinking of an EMS vehicle. Councilor Bettman averred that such a person should be an emergency medical technician (EMT) with access to equipment. She felt there were ways for such services to be obtained, such as on an hourly basis. She believed it would help to have such treatment for all injuries and also for an immediate recognition of more severe injuries. Mayor Piercy asked if having paramedics on site was a requirement for any other sport where significant injuries could take place. City Manager Taylor was uncertain of the answer. He felt the rationale for Councilor Poling’s amendment was understandable given that mixed martial arts presented a unique environment and the council was voting on an originating ordinance. Mayor Piercy asked if there were enough EMS personnel to provide that kind of coverage. Mr. Lidz replied that the City did not have a lot of occasions where there was more than one event needing an EMS unit MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 8, 2007 Page 7 Regular Meeting