CC Minutes - 05/19/99 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ms. Taylor said it had been suggested to her that the City use plain clothes police officers to arrest pedestrians who jaywalked, which she understood occurred in other cities. Mr. Meisner said that the issue raised by Mr. Fart was important and he supported discussion of the subject with the HRC during the regular joint meeting. He did not object to the commission gathering information about the topic and holding a work session on June 15. The commission could then report its findings at the joint meeting the following week. Ms. Nathanson concurred with Ms. Taylor about whether a meeting should be held if the council was unable to take action. She acknowledged that it was important to provide an opportunity for people to talk about how they feel, but she questioned who the audience for that purpose should be. Ms. Nathanson suggested that a meeting on the topic would depend on the purpose of the meeting. Ms. Nathanson discussed a recent forum that occurred at Churchill High School the previous week regarding the proposed sports facility at the high school. She was disappointed by the attendance at the forum but impressed by the quality of the discussions and ideas shared. People had constructive ideas to offer about how the facility could be designed in a way that was sensitive to the neighborhood, and supportive of facilities such as skateboard parks and other activities that were not organized. She thanked City staff for its contribution to the event. Mr. Rayor said that there was a school disposition issue in Ward 1. The neighborhood association was sponsoring a meeting on May 23 at Willard School. He said people wanted to know if the Parks Division was interested in the Willard School property for a park and suggested staff be prepared to discuss the question. Mr. Rayor said he had discussed the topic of what City actions could be taken regarding Hyundai with the City Manager. He agreed with the City Manager that the council had no direct authority over the topic, but he believed that the council had a moral imperative to act. He said that if Hyundai did not play by the rules and had done some thing to affect its contract with the State, something should be done. It was a responsibility of government to protect its citizens from racism and sexism. The City gave money to the company and the company, by accepting the tax reductions, had also accepted another degree of responsibility. He said that it appeared that the company had not carried through its responsibilities, and asked the council to direct the manager to clarify what opportunities and responsibilities the City had in this instance. Mr. Kelly referred to an issue related to the proximity of trees to the bicycle path at River Island Estates and asked if the urban forester could investigate. City Manager Jim Johnson said that was already being done. Mr. Kelly responded to Mr. Fart's question. He said it was important for the City and staff to follow-up on the Hyundai court decision. He did not think the situation could be ignored. However, he did not want to take action until a sufficient amount of information had been gathered. He endorsed the commission's information-gathering activities and encouraged staff support. He believed a public meeting would be useful when more of the legal issues were clear, perhaps near the commission's next meeting. Mr. Kelly supported a joint public meeting between the HRC and council if feasible. Mr. Kelly endorsed a discussion of the court decision as a work session item. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 19, 1999 Page 2 5:30 p.m.