Item 3A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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sounded like Homeland Security was taking over. She recognized there were problems in the downtown area, but there were other ways to address them. She encouraged all citizens to visit the downtown area. Sylvia Furtick , Lorane Highway, Eugene, spoke in support of the strongest possible ordinance to eliminate vagrancy, vandalism and indecency which she felt were being condoned downtown. She said at one time it was common knowledge that good behavior would be rewarded and bad behavior punished, and the community should unite to establish ordinances that proved it was a civilized society that afforded protection to its citizens. She said those ordinances had to be enforced and first responders, when acting honorably, needed and deserved the community’s respect and cooperation. She said a community without law and order was a community without peace; a community got the behavior it was willing to tolerate. Betty Snowden , West Broadway, Eugene, said it was good the ACLU was now worried about people of color, but it would have been nice if they had been concerned about what had been happening to her downtown for the past 17 years. She thanked councilors Clark and Ortiz for their work on the exclusion zone ordinance and Mr. Ruiz for his recommendation to adopt Version C. She supported the pre- and post- conviction provisions as they were, and not the Mayor’s revision, as it was important to remove someone who was cited from the area until they went before a judge. She said it was not about singling out the homeless; it was about unacceptable behavior and repeat offenders. She gave examples of the offensive and racist treatment to which she was subjected on a daily basis and which were contrary to the principles put forth by the Eugene Human Rights Commission. She said no one should be subjected to that type of treatment and questioned why her rights were not being upheld by the community. Cassandra Snowden , West Broadway, Eugene, remarked on the comments of previous speakers about the rights of those who might be excluded from the downtown area. She questioned how the rights of downtown business owners and community members to feel safe downtown were being enforced. She said without the exclusion zone ordinance, downtown would continue to experience safety problems. She said the ordinance did not single out the homeless; consequences were based on bad behavior and would apply equally to someone in a business suit or summer dress. She said everyone had the right to feel safe and be free of harassment and racism. Laurel Fisher , Olive Street, Eugene, said she lived within walking distance of downtown for the past two weeks and had been coming downtown with a broom to clean the street. She recognized that it was not a cure for the problems, but hoped she would be joined in her efforts by others in the community who were concerned with downtown. She questioned why adults would stay away from downtown because of fear of young people. She said the behavior demonstrated downtown was commonplace on television. Lisa Warnes , Nectar Way, Eugene, thanked the City for purchasing the Green property and protecting a portion of the Amazon Headwaters. She echoed comments from earlier speakers who opposed the exclusionary zone ordinance as it seemed to be a solution earmarking specific people downtown, specifically youth. She agreed that business owners should not have to tolerate harassment, but the solution should not violate civil rights or shift the problem to other areas in the community. Mr. Poling arrived at 8:25 p.m. th Samantha Chirillo , East 27 Avenue, Eugene, said there was no doubt that hate crimes needed to be prosecuted, but there was also an urgent need to build trust between the police and the community and that was a mutual responsibility. She said the Police Commission should have the opportunity to provide input on the exclusion zone ordinance. She said the ordinance was risky because the City had previously lost a court case, at significant cost, related to attempts to exclude someone from an area. She said the exclusion zone ordinance was particularly scary in consideration of the City’s relationship to Homeland Security, which directed police to target rally participants on May 30. She urged the council not to pass the ordinance.