CC Minutes - 11/10/99 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Responding to a question from Mr. Johnson, the council indicated it was not interested in sharing the costs of a survey regarding why people voted as they did on Ballot Measure 20-25. Mr. Farr indicated he would be interested in seeing the results. Mr. Johnson indicated he also did not recommend conducting such a survey. Mr. Meisner said that he had spoken earlier that day to Marcy Middleton, who had also attended the Public Works Diversity Committee presentation, and who had been very impressed by the event. Mr. Meisner said that he, Mr. Lee, and Mr. Johnson had attended a press conference held by the police chiefs of Eugene, Springfield, Cottage Grove, Coburg, the Oregon State Police, and the Sheriff's Office where the chiefs signed an agreement pledging not to use or tolerate the use of racial profiling in local law enforcement. He said that the press conference was well-attended; people of color as well as other groups take the issue very seriously. Mr. Meisner thanked Police Chief Jim Hill for taking a leadership role on the issue. B.Contingency Requests 1. Wayne Morse Historical Park Corporation Mr. Farr moved, seconded by Mr. Meisner, to authorize the expenditure of $10,000 from the contingency fund to install a life-sized bronze statue of the late Senator Wayne Morse at the entrance to the Lane County Courthouse. Mr. Meisner noted that he had been asked to bring the contingency fund request to the council. He had made them aware the limit for such requests was $5,000, but they had applied for $10,000. Subsequently, the backers modified the proposal by submitting paperwork for the lower $5,000 amount. Mr. Meisner said that although he agreed to sponsor the proposal and had great admiration for Wayne Morse and would like to see such a statute, he was not persuaded that the proposal was the best use of the City's contingency funds. He said that he would like the proposal to include some sort of interactive or educational presentation beyond a static piece of art. Mr. Pap8 said that although he realized the proposal had come before the council in the normal manner, he wished the council had its process session prior to consideration of the several contingency fund requests before the council that evening. He said that a contingency fund request should be for something out-of-the-ordinary or for an emergency. He believed that the majority of the requests could have been addressed through the normal budget cycle. Mr. Pap8 said that while Wayne Morse was a wonderful member of the community, he was honored in other venues in the community, such as the University of Oregon law school and the Wayne Morse Park. He did not think the proposal represented an appropriate use of Contingency Funds. Mr. Farr said that while the council should use its contingency funds carefully, he believed it was well-used for items that arise during the year outside the budget cycle. In this situation, he believed that a relatively small amount of money would produce something physical that would be in the community for a long time. He said that Wayne Morse was a good Eugenean and MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 10, 1999 Page 2 5:30 p.m.