Laserfiche WebLink
He said that required getting the problem population, which he defined as chronic alcoholics, the drug - <br />dependent, and those with untreated mental health issues, into warming centers and facilities such as the <br />proposed wet bed facility. Mr. Brown believed the council needed to pass the proposed car camping <br />ordinance immediately. He thought that some churches would respond immediately to the need for <br />spaces if the program was expanded. <br />Mr. Farr said the council was contemplating an action that gave Occupy Eugene participants little time to <br />transition to other situations. The council had missed an opportunity to give Occupy Eugene more time. <br />Now it was contemplating a "snap decision" that affected many people who he believed should have had <br />more time to prepare. He was sad the process had come to this point and sad for those at the Occupy <br />Eugene site who had nothing to do with the violence or crime that had occurred there. <br />Mr. Poling was concerned about the council's decision to use money intended to pay for road and park <br />maintenance to support the cost of the City's response to Occupy Eugene. He hoped some the funding <br />could be restored. <br />Mr. Poling supported the immediate removal of the encampment. He hoped the transition occurred <br />smoothly and that both EPD officers and Occupy Eugene participants remained safe. <br />Mr. Clark determined from City Manager Ruiz that he believe the City would spend less than anticipated <br />on December 14 given the encampment was ending earlier than planned, but the manager did not know <br />how much less. Mr. Clark invited more information about how the transition would work. <br />Ms. Taylor did not think the council should precipitously end the encampment. She asked where the <br />people now living at the encampment had lived prior to the encampment. Chief Kerns said that some <br />were homeless people living on the streets in and around Eugene. Ms. Taylor asked where Chief Kerns <br />thought those people would go. Chief Kerns responded that the City would attempt to provide them with <br />services but he acknowledged it was unlikely all would receive services and many would return to the <br />streets. Ms. Taylor asked if Chief Kerns thought that would be better. Chief Kerns believed the camp as <br />designed and managed was less safe than those situations. <br />Ms. Taylor suggested the EPD ask those committing crimes at Occupy Eugene to leave rather than <br />moving everyone out of the encampment. Chief Kerns pointed out the hazard created by the number of <br />bystanders who could possibly interfere with officers responding to a call for service at Occupy Eugene. <br />Responding to a question from Ms. Taylor, City Manager Ruiz acknowledged the car camping program <br />would not accommodate all those at the camp but the City would continue to work with Occupy Eugene <br />to transition people into the program. <br />Ms. Taylor wanted the council to take more time to make the decision. <br />Mayor Piercy believed the EPD and other City staff would do what was possible to employ the existing <br />capacity in the system to help individuals at Occupy Eugene and she anticipated the task force the council <br />had formed would help to build additional system capacity. <br />Ms. Ortiz agreed it would be difficult to find places for all those at Occupy Eugene. She reported that St. <br />Vincent de Paul Director Terry McDonald had expressed to her his concerns about the added demand on <br />services that would be created by the end of the camp. Ms. Ortiz said the City did not have the answer to <br />the problem of homelessness but hoped it could make an impact on the problem working with its partners. <br />She did not think the council could expect any particular outcome. She pointed out that the homeless had <br />MINUTES— Eugene City Council December 20, 2011 Page 3 <br />Emergency Meeting <br />