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Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes
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Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes
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She felt the Police Auditor’s Office was not being allowed to fully function. She averred that as soon as it <br />was allowed to fully function there would be fewer such trials and the “cash cow milked by” the City <br />Attorney’s Office would “dry up.” She believed the continued relationship with the current legal services <br />had “worked against the voters’ interests.” She considered it “politically charged legal malfeasance plain <br />and simple.” She asked the council to reconsider its decision not to hire the firm listed in the motion from its <br />work session. She stressed her support for establishment of inhouse legal services, “whose sole focus and <br />task would be to serve the City needs and not the agendas of a good old boy’s club and the law firm’s bank <br />account.” She asserted that it had been in the interests of the current provider of legal services to maintain <br />dysfunction “to the bitter end.” She added her thanks to Councilor Bettman for her service, saying that the <br />work session had given her “just a hint of the swamp that [she had] slogged through” for their benefit. She <br />welcomed anyone’s ideas on how the City could get inhouse legal services. <br /> <br />Aaron Nelson <br />, 1670 Alder Street, recalled that he had spoken out against the Downtown Exclusion Zone. <br />He related that on November 29, the Eugene Police had served a search warrant at the Campbell Club, a <br />student co-op at which he lived. He alleged that a lot of property had been damaged and among the nearly <br />30 residents of the co-op approximately $12,000 in fines had been levied. He also alleged that one officer <br />told the residents that if they had allowed the police in when the police had first been called to the party and <br />not demanded that the police get a search warrant, the police officers would have “been nicer” to the <br />residents. He noted that the house had issued a press release. He said he would feel more comfortable about <br />the incident if there was an “empowered Police Auditor” in Eugene. He encouraged the councilors to do <br />what they could to create a “meaningful police auditor position” in the City. He added that he had decided <br />to apply to serve on the committee. <br /> <br />th <br />Majeska Seese-Green <br />, 5 Avenue and Van Buren Street, believed it was important to get outside legal <br />information for the committee on external police review. She also felt there was a great need for transpar- <br />ency “about what’s going to happen in that committee.” She urged the council to make sure that it <br />happened. She was pleased to see that there was some interest on the part of the councilors to get additional <br />legal opinions. She hoped that they would find a way to do that as soon as possible. She averred that if the <br />conflict of interest situation, whether it was perceived or actual, was not resolved, it would be the “kiss of <br />death” for Eugene to believe it had an independent police review system. She thought a lot of her neighbors <br />felt that putting time into something like external police review was a waste. She added that she was <br />thankful for Councilor Bettman’s service, calling her a “fantastic role model” for herself and her daughter. <br /> <br />th <br />Rene Kane <br />, 254 West 14 Avenue, wished to thank Councilor Bettman for her many years of service and <br />for being “thoughtful, tireless, and tenacious.” <br /> <br />Mike Quillin <br />, 2735 Kismet Way, expressed gratitude to Councilor Bettman for her years of service to the <br />community. He felt she would be sorely missed. He also wished to express his dismay that the council had <br />not voted to seek different legal counsel in the matter of the police auditor. He sensed a “high level of <br />resistance to independent review.” He wondered why anyone opposed to it was afraid of independent legal <br />review if they had nothing to hide. He cited Eugene City Code 2.470 regarding City Attorney appointment <br />and duties. He also read from the Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct, regarding the level of diligence a <br />lawyer should demonstrate and communication between a lawyer and client. He asserted that the current <br />provider of City Attorney services was neglecting its duty to the City. <br /> <br />th <br />Brian Michaels <br />, 259 East 5 Avenue, said he was an attorney working in Eugene. He related that an email <br />from Councilor Bettman had been forwarded to him concerning her response and correction of previously <br />written ordinances recommending an independent legal counsel. He had been pleased to read it and also <br />displeased that the council had not supported it. He remarked that everyone had been raised in a society of <br />criminal justice that was “dependent entirely on deterrents.” He opined that the Police Department was <br />functionally without deterrents. He averred that when a police department failed to deter its own police <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council December 8, 2008 Page 3 <br /> Regular Meeting <br />
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