CC Minutes - 10/19/09 Public Hearing

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Phil Farrington, Monroe Street, Eugene, representing PeaceHealth and the University Small Business Association, supported the ordinance. He said passage of the ordinance would allow EPD resources to be better spent elsewhere in the community. He commended the efforts of EPD and the university to craft a strategy that met public safety objectives in the most efficient manner possible and benefited the entire community, as well as those who lived and shopped in the university area. Paul Shang , Wendover Street, Eugene, assistant vice president of student affairs and dean of students at the University of Oregon, spoke on behalf of the university. He asked for the council’s support of the ordinance to grant enhanced citation authority to DPS officers. He said the ordinance was in the best interests of everyone concerned as it would free Eugene police officers for other service and allows campus officers to cite and release individuals, instead of detaining them until an EPD officer arrived. He said it would enable the university to take enforcement action oriented to the campus environment and aid students by allowing DPS officers to enforce the misdemeanors that impacted students – theft and trespass being high among them. He said student government and student leadership were involved in the development of the ordinance, which had a high level of student support. He thanked the council for its time and consideration. th Doug Tripp , East 15 Avenue, Eugene, University of Oregon director of public safety, said the ordinance modification being sought by DPS and EPD was very important for both the City and the university. It was the next logical step in the university’s efforts to shoulder a greater burden to address crimes and violations on campus and in the edge of the campus area. He said expansion of DPS officers’ citation authority to include certain misdemeanor offenses would help the university be more effective in responding to the needs of students, faculty, staff and guests by being able to direct immediate response to criminal activity on campus. EPD would gain greater efficiencies through elimination of the duplication that had existed. He submitted written testimony and thanked the council for considering the additional enforcement tool for DPS officers. He affirmed that the university would continue to collaborate with EPD as a partner in public safety. Mayor Piercy closed the hearing and called for comments from councilors. Councilor Clark complimented the university and EPD for their collaborative work to develop a strategy to increase public safety in an efficient way. He hoped that a similar collaborative effort could result in public safety options for the downtown area. In response to questions from Councilor Brown, EPD Captain Rich Stronach said that DPS officers were employees of the university and were not armed. Their primary responsibility was with university property, but DPS officers also spent time in the near-campus area because of the high concentration of student housing. He explained what constituted minor-in-possession and trespass violations and related enforcement activities. He said currently if DPS wanted to cite someone for trespass, EPD had to be contacted and dispatch an EPD officer to respond and write the citation; the ordinance modification would allow a DPS officer to issue the citation to the offender. Councilor Brown asked if the modification would have any impact on game days. Captain Stronach said that it would allow DPS officers to write open container citations. Councilor Zelenka asked if the ordinance modification would cover all of the violations listed in Eugene Code 4.035. Captain Stronach said the ordinance would grant DPS the authority to issue citations for certain violations; the City Manager would determine which violations would be included in the intergo- MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 19, 2009 Page 4 Public Hearing