CC Minutes - 07/11/11 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES Eugene City Council Council Chamber —City Hall 777 Pearl Street — Eugene, Oregon July 11, 2011 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Betty Taylor, George Brown, Andrea Ortiz, George Poling, Mike Clark, Chris Pryor, Alan Zelenka, Pat Farr. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the July 11, 2011, regular meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. 1. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND READING OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE Those present recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Volunteers from the League of Women Voters offered a reading of the Declaration of Independence. Mayor Piercy observed that the reading was special to her because her family was directly descended from Thomas Nelson, Jr., a co- signer of the declaration from Virginia. 2. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Kevin Proeiw, 1030 Williams Street, acknowledged he had not followed the recent controversy surrounding the recital of the Pledge of Allegiance but suggested it was evidence the community was interested in speech issues. He offered the anti -war and anti -EMX signs posted in town as other evidence of that interest. He encouraged the council to consider such issues with care as he believed the community was making history. Mr. Prociw advocated for a public vote on EmX. He suggested that such a vote was also a speech issue in its own way and that it was important the council demonstrate to the citizens that it trusted them to make the right choice. He also suggested that the lawsuit against the City over EmX could be ended if the council allowed a public vote. Mark Callahan, 3621 Mahlon Street, expressed his belief that the councilors opposed to the recital of the Pledge of Allegiance had embarrassed the community. He averred that the community had been more inclusive in the past in spite of political differences. He believed that some councilors who spoke of the importance of inclusiveness chose only to be inclusive if a person thought like they do. Mr. Callahan believed the council should recite the pledge at more meetings. He anticipated that during his upcoming run for President of the United States that he would be asked about the council's action and asked how he could be expected to respond when asked about the council's limited inclusiveness. Mr. Callahan called for a volunteer to say the pledge during the Public Forum during his absence. MINUTES— Eugene City Council July 11, 2011 Page 1 Regular Meeting