CC Minutes - 10/27/08 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber—Eugene City Hall 777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon October 27, 2008 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Chris Pryor, Bonny Bettman, Betty Taylor, George Poling, Jennifer Solomon, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Andrea Ortiz. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. She noted that the council had addressed items 2 (Consent Calendar) and 4 (Appointments to Boards, Commissions, and Committees) at the earlier work session. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy recognized City Manager Jon Ruiz to discuss the City’s Spay and Neuter Clinic. City Manager Ruiz acknowledged the importance of the closure of the Spay and Neuter Clinic to the community. He suggested the actual question for the community was how best to provide an affordable, easily accessible, and robust spay and neuter program for residents. He said a community forum on the subject of the City’s role in providing spay and neuter services and how those services could be provided safely and effectively would occur on November 6 at the Washington Park Community Center from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Zachary Vishanoff commended Councilor Bettman for her recommendation for whistle blower protections. He shared his own experience with the police and the justice system in support of his suggestion for a “ten- year roundup” of all retaliation against City staff members or members of the public who were retaliated against by the “machine.” Mr. Vishanoff then asserted that Councilor Zelenka and City Manager Ruiz lied about the nature of the University of Oregon basketball arena “model” process. He averred the process had been closed and leveled conflict of interest charges against the neighborhood leaders who participated in those meetings due to the fact one was an architectural professor at the University and the other was a real estate agent. Mr. Vishanoff asked the City Manager why the meetings were closed, the “rationale for finding consensus behind closed doors,” and the reason minutes of the proceedings were not taken. He noted the decision of the Hearings Official in regard to the arena could be appealed to the City Planning Commission and then to the Land Use Board of Appeals, two processes which he considered significant hurdles. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 27, 2008 Page 1 Regular Meeting