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Police External Review Process <br /> <br />Gretchen Miller, former commissioner, updated the council on the police external review process <br />and said the proposed charter amendment would come before the council in the near future. <br />She said she hoped that the external review amendment was approved by voters, should it go on <br />the ballot, saying it was not "anti-police." Ms. Miller said the process worked as a community <br />outreach mechanism that would greatly improve the quality of life for many in the community. <br />She urged the council to support the External Review Advisory Committee's recommendations <br />and thanked it for the opportunity to serve on the commission. <br /> <br />City's Camping Ordinance <br /> <br />Mr. Poynor thanked the council for its attention and the Council Committee on Homelessness <br />and Youth for its work. He said the commission hoped the camping ordinance would be made a <br />permanent part of the code and that the problems that have been identified can be resolved <br />through better communication with all involved. <br /> <br />Immigrant Justice Issues <br /> <br />Ms. Hall said there was growing community concern over Immigration and Naturalization Service <br />(INS) activities in the area and the commission will likely become more actively involved in those <br />issues in the coming year. She said the commission hoped to address two issues: 1) the legal <br />framework in the long term; and 2) in the short term, observe and develop some code of conduct <br />for INS. She called this report a "heads up" for the council as the item will be placed on a future <br />council agenda. Mr. Seibert indicated that this was the major topic at the last HRC meeting, <br />crediting the Eugene Police Department for following State law by not involving itself in <br />documentation matters. <br /> <br />Diversity <br /> <br />Mr. Poynor read a report by Jennifer Boudin on community diversity, suggesting a structured <br />public dialogue on diversity through small study circles. The report identified preliminary pilot <br />projects conducted by the HRC Education and Outreach Committee and called for involvement <br />from community groups to reach as many people as possible. Mr. Poynor said members of the <br />council could expect an invitation to participate in the program in the near future. <br /> <br />Favoure Miller discussed building an effective multi-cultural organization, emphasizing the <br />importance of the commission modeling the values that the City was being held to. She said the <br />commission had created a work group to make recommendations for staff training workshops <br />and review the commission's practices to ensure that all "feel fully informed and included in all <br />the work that we do." <br /> <br />Work Force Diversity <br /> <br />Mr. Peter said the commission's interest in work force diversity had intensified in the last year <br />because there were two complaints made by City employees alleging racist behavior by co- <br />workers; and given Chief Leonard Cooke's resignation, which represented a "major step <br />backward in terms of diversity in upper management in the City," it raised a red flag. He said the <br />commission asked three things of the council: 1) in thinking about work force diversity, think <br />broadly and include gay and lesbian people, elders, people with disabilities, people of color, and <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 1, 1998 Page 2 <br /> 5:30 p.m. <br /> <br /> <br />