Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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William A. Ivanoff , 2340 Grant Street, commented that he had been a person that had been against the EPD, but after recently working with them he had found that a lot of them were nice and helpful. He averred that with the “possible appointment of pro-police commissioners on the CRB” it seemed to him that someone was trying to make more revenue available for the City. He believed that if they stacked pro-police people on the CRB, then there would be no reason for its existence and then there would be no real reason for an auditor. He suggested that if this was true they should put it on the ballot and ask the voters if they wanted to get rid of the auditor’s office and “free up some money.” He hoped he was misinformed about the council’s “wish to put pro-police people on the CRB.” He also had noticed that there were efforts to make the downtown better, one of which was the bicycle police officers. He felt their presence had made it nicer in the downtown area. He suggested that one thing that might help to revitalize the downtown would be to reduce the streets to two lanes in either direction with parking on all downtown thth streets. He also suggested that the City “take back” 6 and 7 Avenues from the State. He believed this would make the downtown a more pedestrian-oriented place. Tracy Dumas , 2986 Oak Street, Apt. 110, Ward 2, thanked the councilors for passing the resolution for choice in the mental health system. She had been a member of the mental health system for approximately 35 years and she had seen a lot of individuals, including her, who had not been given a choice of alternatives and who had their power taken away. She wanted to thank Mayor Piercy especially because she had “been there with us since the beginning.” Diane Raack , 865 Louis Street, Councilor Solomon’s ward, stated that she routinely was asked to shoo the vagrants out of the alley that led to the front door of the business she worked for. She said sometimes she had to deal with teenagers who were skipping school and smoking in the alley and other times people hung out there to smoke pot and drink beer. She related that she tried to be respectful when she asked people to vacate the area, explaining to them that their clients needed to have access to the door. Some people had been respectful in return and others had been verbally abusive. She also related that in the past year some people had taken to “hanging out in the bushes” and making it their home. While she wanted people to have a place to go, hanging out in the bushes near the business’ front door was not the right place. She said it started with a few bags of clothes and then a tarp showed up along with human excrement. She had spoken with the people and they had left, but this type of situation was becoming more frequent. She understood that people needed a place to go, but she did not want to clean up their vomit, urine, feces, or trash. She underscored that this situation was not specific to just the area in which she worked; it was all over the downtown area. She averred that there needed to be tools “with teeth.” She added that Councilor Clark had a good idea for cleaning up the downtown area and she hoped the council would give him support for it. Ron Unger , 1770 Augusta Street, Ward 3, stated that he was a licensed clinical social worker. He thanked the council for passing the human rights and mental health resolution. He thought it would do a lot to help the mental health system toward being a friendlier more versatile system that would “fit” different people. He underscored that there was no “one size fits all” solution for people. Different approaches were needed, especially for young people who needed to be reached before they ended up in a serious crisis. He felt that the resolution would help create a mental health system that was more positive and hopeful and would help work to foster full recovery. Jorge Navarro , 1452 West Broadway, Ward 1, supported the reappointment of Mr. Brissenden and Ms. Wilkinson to the CRB. He averred that they both had proven that they should continue to be on the board. He believed that they presented “that other voice.” He had followed the evolution of the CRB through the print media and as “a participant” in the process. He felt the CRB was at a “critical juncture.” He opined that Mr. Brissenden offered a voice that “sometimes makes people uncomfortable,” which was “a good sign.” He perceived Mr. Brissenden’s voice to be balanced and thoughtful. He urged the council to reappoint Mr. Brissenden and Ms. Wilkinson. th Joe Alsup , 36 West 38 Avenue, Councilor Taylor’s ward, advocated for the reappointment of Mr. Brissenden and Ms. Wilkinson. He thought that the jobs that they had done could be controversial, but they had that as a standard. He felt that the City should want to have this on any of its committees in which a wide range of people’s opinions MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 26, 2009 Page 3 Regular Meeting