Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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that health care was a financial drain for those who did not have insurance and often played a role in homelessness. She recalled meeting a mentally ill man who was homeless because the hospital had “turned him out.” She averred that there was a need for tax-supported shelters for such people. Ms. Solomon agreed that the Mission was a good provider and asked if they had been included in the stakeholders group. Mr. Magee confirmed that it was. Mr. Kelly commented that at a specific program level, the City Council was not able to prioritize services. Regarding specific resources, he noted that the council could not make budget decisions until the budget process had begun, but smaller items could be brought forth and addressed at the council level. Ms. Jones responded that items (15) through (19) from Attachment C: Action Planning Steps Summary could be those items addressed in this way. Mr. Kelly noted that the City of Portland introduced a plan called “Real Change, Not Spare Change” that provided vouchers for food and shelter for people to give panhandlers in lieu of money. He was interested in pursuing a similar program for Eugene. Ms. Bettman liked that idea. She noted that Safe & Sound was on the list for project development in the first 24 months of the plan, on Attachment C, and approved of this. She also supported development of the other projects that sought to help homeless youth, as well as programs to help people with domestic violence in their lives. She reiterated that her focus would be on putting a roof over peoples’ heads. Mr. Papé wanted to give recognition to the Housing Policy Board. He noted that its goal had been to put 100 subsidized homes into the housing inventory since 1990 when, in actuality, it helped to provide 1,526 subsidized housing units since then. He wondered if that goal should be changed, given that the stock of subsidized housing had not kept pace with the need for it. Urban Services Manager for the Community Development Division Richie Weinman replied that a change in the goal was worth considering but the challenge lay in the federal money that came in, as it helped dramatically to make that goal. Mr. Papé asked if providing homeless people with access to the library would cost a lot. Ms. Jones replied that it would not. In response to a follow-up question from Mr. Papé, Ms. Jones stated that the library could play a role in providing access to the internet, but the key would be to have access where the providers were so that homeless people had multiple options to be able to access information and other resource needs. She said access to the library would be provided in January 2006. Mr. Papé wondered if it would be possible to track library and internet use discreetly and report back to the council on the level of use. Ms. Jones responded that this was still under discussion but she hoped to have something to report. Mr. Poling thanked everyone for the hard work put into refining the action plan. Mr. Poling, seconded by Ms. Solomon, moved to approve the proposed “Help the Homeless in Eugene” priority issue action plan. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Assistant City Manager Carlson wished to mark the occasion as when the council approved the last of its eight priority action plans. He noted that it had taken ten months since the goal-setting section. He thanked the council. MINUTES—Eugene City Council November 30, 2005 Page 8 Work Session