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City Manager Taylor lauded Service Improvement Manager, Terrie Monroe, and all of the people in City’s departments who work hard to make performance management a part of the City’s culture. Those present applauded. Mayor Piercy shared her pride in the award and thanked those responsible for their work. Mayor Piercy reported that Councilor Bettman and Councilor Ortiz were attending a conference on civilian review boards. 2. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy welcomed everyone to the City Council meeting and reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Zachary Vishanoff , Patterson Street, asserted that Westmoreland residents had begun to move to avoid a rush. He was unhappy with the council because he wanted them to speak out about it. He opined that closing Westmoreland student housing was racist and would make the city a future hotbed for Ku Klux Klan activity. He felt the City should not ignore the actions of the University of Oregon in closing the student housing. He urged the councilors to speak about it. He averred that silence was “enabling a dictatorship.” th Melissa Mona , East 16 Avenue, shared her support for the Council Priority on Homelessness. She said unlike many cities, Eugene had not begun to formulate a 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness. She was concerned the City was missing a valuable opportunity for technical support and cooperation by “side- stepping this option.” She related that the task force assigned to this priority worked closely with the Human Services Commission (HSC), a County organization, and at a forum homeless people had been asked to provide ideas of small things that would help them. She felt the forum was not an opportunity for the homeless people to identify their most basic and urgent need, which was housing. She labeled it a “political dog and pony show.” She underscored that the best way to prevent homelessness was to provide housing. She called housing a form of health care and a basic need. Ms. Mona commented that by not providing a secular shelter, the City abdicated the oversight and planning of any homeless shelter to a private religious organization. She said while she respected the Eugene Mission’s efforts, because it did not receive public money it was not held to the standards of human rights as outlined in the City of Eugene’s human rights code. She felt homeless people were being coerced into a situation that was unacceptable by making it illegal for homeless people to sleep outdoors. In closing, Ms. Mona observed that it was cold outside. She said as a social service worker, she had worked with over 200 chronically homeless people in the last 12 months, most of whom were permanent residents and fellow citizens of the city. She submitted her testimony in writing. Norman Riddle , 1238 Crest Drive, agreed with Ms. Mona. He stated that he had been a homeless outreach worker, counselor, and case manager for 18 years. He remarked that he sometimes felt he had a “magic bag of tricks,” but one thing that was missing from those tricks was the ability to convey to the council that a portion of the homeless population was being ignored. He said it was 29 degrees outside and approximately 25 people were wandering around trying to stay awake in order to keep from freezing. He shared that the sadness and pain was “unbearable.” He had reviewed the plan on homelessness and did not see anything in the plan for the people he wanted to serve. He felt he would have to continue to answer questions from MINUTES—Eugene City Council December 12, 2005 Page 2 Regular Session