CC Minutes - 10/24/05 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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for regular participation with the HRAC; the Minutes Recording staff for keeping accurate records; Mary Walston, Division Manager of the City Manager’s Office, for continued support of the Human Rights Program staff and commission; HRC staff Matt Beecher, who was no longer with the program; HRC staff Greg Rikhoff, Francisca Leyva-Johnson, and Karen Hyatt; and HRC volunteer James Dean. Ms. Rich asked for questions or comments from the council. Ms. Ortiz thanked the HRC commissioners for their presentation. She said that human rights work was very important to her and she was glad to see that the commissioners who had come after her had the same passion and commitment to the work as she did. She said if there was any way to increase staffing to the program, she would love to do it. Mr. Kelly said that it had been an honor and privilege to work with the commissioners. He said the commissioners and the HRC staff were an extraordinary group of people. He echoed Ms. Ortiz’s thought about resources. He reminded the council that the HRC staff was down a person from what it was a couple of years ago. He said he thought that the council should look in the next fiscal year’s budget to at least restore the previous status quo. Mr. Kelly pointed out that when the council adopted the HRC work plan, it was adopting some responsibil- ity for itself. He said that the work program called for joint work sessions between the council and the HRC on the issues of race and homelessness. He said he hoped that the commission would be involved in an early stage of the discussion as well as later on. Mr. Kelly said he had been very disturbed about the issues of library access that had been raised. He said part of what disturbed him was the seemingly “glacial” pace at which they were being addressed. He hoped that the pace would accelerate. Mr. Kelly asked for a status memorandum from the HRC staff to bring the councilors up-to-date on the library issue. Mr. Kelly thanked the commission again for its very hard work and for being the conscience of the community. Mr. Papé echoed the compliments from other councilors to the HRC. He said he appreciated his service on the commission and thought he gained a lot from it. He said that on the Sister-City trip, he noticed in both Japan and Korea that the sidewalks were built with accessible features for people with sight impairments. Mr. Poling moved, seconded by Ms. Solomon, to approve the Human Rights Commission Goals and Work Plan for fiscal year 2006. The motion passed unanimously. Mayor Piercy said she was impressed with the work of the commission. She noted that she ran into commissioners everywhere she went. She said the commissioners were very much noticed and appreciated. She said she would look forward to working with the commission on racism and homelessness and she encouraged the commissioners to keep in contact with the council on an on-going basis. Mayor Piercy acknowledged how difficult the gender identity work had been. She said she admired the steadfastness of the commission to figure out the way to be successful in this goal. She gave the HRC kudos for that and acknowledged that the HRC took on some of the most difficult issues in the community with great courage. Mayor Piercy thanked the commissioners again and said that their work was greatly valued. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 24, 2005 Page 13 Work Session