CC Minutes - 06/08/98 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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II1. ACTION: WAR MEMORIAL FLAG ON SKINNER BUTTE Public Works Maintenance Principal Landscape Architect John Etter stated that the Agenda Item Summary regarding a war memorial flag on Skinner Butte provided a recommendation for council action which staff considered a compromise between a proposal offered by a citizen and taking no action. He said it had been offered as a point at which to begin discussion. Ms. Taylor moved to table consideration of a war memorial flag on Skinner Butte. Ms. Nathanson requested to speak on a point of order and asked if the motion recognized the difference between tabling an action indefinitely and tabling an action to a date certain. Mayor Torrey determined there was no member of the council willing to second the motion of Ms. Taylor and declared that it was not under consideration. Ms. Taylor reviewed a series of arguments favoring and opposing creating a war memorial flag on Skinner Butte, as follows: · Citizens will enjoy such a memorial. / Many citizens would enjoy the butte without the flag. · Such a memorial will express appropriate honor for veterans. / A flag would be more appropriate at the existing veteran's memorial on the butte, raising and lowering it daily would be an expression of patriotism for those who want a flag to honor veterans. · Seeing the proposed flag could not be avoided. / Seeing the proposed flag could not be avoided. · The cost of the proposed memorial will be contributed to the City / A contribution does not permit the use of public property for personal desires. Ms. Taylor said that other arguments against placing a flag on the Butte included that it did not meet a goal of the City Council, did not satisfy an important community need, and the location would not disappear if not immediately used. She suggested that 30 years of community conflict over the previous war memorial on the butte should be given time to subside before raising similar issues. She also suggested that council consideration of the matter was not well-timed because citizens were distracted by graduations, vacations, and during the period of the flag hearing were distracted by the shooting incident at Thurston High School. She said there were many other controversial issues facing the community and that consideration of suggestions for using Skinner Butte should be postponed. Ms. Nathanson said that public testimony that suggested that some citizens were reluctant to speak their views regarding the proposed flag on Skinner Butte out of a fear of having their patriotism unfairly judged was true for those on both sides of the argument. She said she regretted that some who had testified regarding the proposed flag had implied that a positive vote on the issue was the only way to prove the sincerity of the council's position that removing the cross was not intended to be disrespectful of veterans. She said the issue was more concentrated on a proposal of a specific individual versus utilizing a public process to develop a proposal for a Skinner Butte memorial. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 8, 1998 Page 8 7:30 p.m.