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Ms. Ortiz spoke to the subject of homeless advocacy, saying the commission did not have a plan to <br />deal with it as it was a larger community issue, but it believed there needed to be a united <br />community effort to address the issue. <br /> <br />Ms. Ortiz invited questions on the commission's work plan and past year's activities. She asked <br />the council to consider how the commission could assist it in its work. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner referred to the possible code amendments the commission was proposing and <br />expressed hope that the City Manager's Office staff would bring the items to the council so it could <br />initiate the formal ordinance adoption process. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner expressed appreciation for the commission's assistance to court defendants, but <br />cautioned it could go beyond mere translation as court proceedings were often very difficult to <br />understand. He cautioned the commission against creating an advocacy process for a single group. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner supported the commission's examination of a domestic partnership registry. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner encouraged the commission to ask the council if it wanted councilors to respond to <br />events or incidents or become involved in particular events. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner said he hoped that a way could be found to involve the entire community in the issue <br />of homelessness, and to raise awareness that homelessness was a community problem. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly agreed with Mr. Meisner that the commission should ask the council to attend events, <br />but emphasized "the earlier the better." He thanked the commission for the work it did and <br />commended its annual report. He also commended the Hate Crimes Conference, characterizing it <br />as both extraordinary and eye-opening. Mr. Kelly said that the work done by the commission since <br />September 11 was excellent. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly termed the work plan both ambitious and top-notch. He suggested that the commission <br />collaborate with Richie Weinman of the Planning and Development Department on homelessness <br />issues. He said that the subject was an extraordinary challenge. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly suggested that Eugene could look to the experience of other cities that had passed laws <br />establishing domestic partner registries. He wished the commission luck on the effort. He <br />commended the commission for its collaborative efforts with other organizations and groups. <br /> <br />Ms. Nathanson said the commission did a tremendous amount of work every day through its <br />various subcommittees. She had been somewhat surprised at some of the tasks the commission <br />wanted to take on given its heavy work load. She suggested more strategic planning occur in the <br />future, with consultation with the council prior to the time the work plan was printed. Ms. <br />Nathanson had some suggestions for additions to the work plan, but she was now reluctant to <br /> <br /> MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 13, 2001 Page 7 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />