Item 3A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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? Bethel and 4J continued to prepare our children for success and we partnered on many recreational and cultural opportunities, safe schools, new playing fields and the green schools program. ? Our two largest post-secondary educational institutions, the University of Oregon and Lane Community College, have national reputations as leaders on many fronts. The University of Oregon is a significant economic engine with new buildings going up for education, science, housing, and sports. LCC plans a new presence in our downtown, adding to its reinvigoration. Both institutions have outstanding and nationally recognized leaders and both are out in front on addressing climate change and sustainability. It seems very appropriate tonight to recognize the years of leadership Dave Frohnmayer has given to the University of Oregon and our community, to thank him and wish him well. ? Lane County and neighboring cities are partners in the economy of our region. We share the water, air, and resources of this beautiful area as well as the opportunities that are before us as we look to the upcoming year. This is a crucial time for us all to work even more effectively together. We embarked on a number of land use and transportation planning projects, including participation in the West Eugene Collaborative, that will define the future of our region, and we in Eugene look forward to working with them to ensure the best for all our families. These are just a sampling of the partnerships we benefit from every day. The individuals, organizations, clubs, and programs we partner with are too numerous to name this evening – but your dedication and limitless enthusiasm is deeply appreciated by all of us. Did everything go perfectly in 2008? City life is inherently complex and we routinely faced challenges, but no one could have predicted the intensity of our national economic crisis. No matter the effort, some things just don’t go as we would wish. ? Controversy plagued the Independent Police Review/CRB process and the pilot taser program caused major community concern. Progress was made with the oversight process and the ordinance amendment committee began meeting this week with the goal of completing its work in March. We continue to be committed to the full implementation of the oversight system. ? Despite efforts, Eugene didn’t secure a full service hospital in Eugene this year. We celebrated the opening of the new regional RiverBend Hospital and Peace Health’s continued commitment to redevelop their downtown campus here in Eugene. We are grateful to the group of physicians who opened the Urgent Care facility on 13th to offer crucial services in the core of our city. ? The council did not move forward with a new city hall because of budgetary constraints and emerging priorities. While this issue is temporarily on hold, it remains a problem that the current facility does not meet seismic standards and has limited space capacity. We must also recognize the very real safety concerns for those who work in the building - an important issue for the council to address. ? Even with new housing and development prospects, too much of our downtown remained underutilized and uninviting. There was controversy over the best way to manage safety issues while we continued to move downtown reinvigoration efforts forward. There was also a challenge of staffing our police force and moving closer to community policing. We will continue to be vigilant in protecting the rights of all while attempts are made to improve downtown. ? The county’s deepening financial crisis and its inability to finance its part of the public safety system continues to be a major challenge. Lack of funds touches so many areas, including prevention, intervention, and treatment services, as well as the judicial process and incarceration. We are told that a few offenders are responsible for a lot of property crime (and now robberies) and that the lack of jail space keeps re-circulating criminals in our community, affecting the livability of Eugene neighborhoods. In addition, in 2008, metal theft became a huge and costly MINUTES—City Council January 7, 2009 Page 5