Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Mr. Pryor asked Mr. Zelenka what benefit he perceived from extending the camp to January 29. Mr. Zelenka suggested that the added time would allow the council to discuss the potential of a permanent camp. Mr. Pryor was willing to extend the deadline to early January to help in the transition but he did not support the later date because he did not support establishment of a permanent camp. He sought to establish a meaningful transition period that would allow the homeless at the camp to receive services and suggested January 11 instead. Mr. Zelenka and Mr. Brown accepted Mr. Pryor’s suggestion as a friendly amendment to the motion with the expectation that the council would discuss the subject on January 9. Ms. Ortiz supported the earlier date. She asked what would happen if the homeless at the site did not want to transition to another situation. She was not interested in seeking a permanent camp site but did not object to allowing Occupy Eugene to stay in place for a while. She determined from City Attorney Klein that the City did not own any sites that were appropriately zoned for use as a camp. Mr. Clark supported a transition period. He did not think the council could just “slam the door” on Occupy Eugene, although he acknowledged he had heard from many constituents who wanted the City to do just that. While he did not think that was reasonable, he reiterated his concern that the council would find itself in the exact same position in four weeks. He believed the council was capitulating to Occupy Eugene in a way that was both reckless and irresponsible. It was reckless to put more people the encampment in danger because of poor safety conditions and bad weather, and irresponsible to redirect funding already dedicated to other services to help the homeless campers at Occupy Eugene transition to other situations when they refused to. Ms. Taylor pointed out that Occupy Eugene had never asked the City for money but instead relied on donations. She did not support the sources identified for transition assistance and agreed with Mr. Farr that the funding should come from human services. She suggested that “everything is political.” Ms. Taylor moved that the council postpone voting until January 9. The motion died for lack of a second. Mr. Brown clarified he was not advocating for a permanent camp right now. He mentioned the possibility because of the community’s past experience because he thought it might be a discussion topic for the community task force. Mr. Brown perceived the manager’s proposal as calm, reasonable, and sensible. It addressed an unusual situation that the council had not faced before. He did not think that it was capitulation to work with Occupy Eugene. He emphasized the transitional nature of the proposal. He reiterated his concerns about the proposed deadline and suggested the council be prepared to extend the deadline another 45 days. Mr. Clark, seconded by Mr. Poling, moved to extend the meeting for 15 minutes. The motion passed unanimously. Mr. Poling, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved to separate the motion. The motion passed, 7:1; Mr. Brown voting no. The council considered the first element of the motion: That the council create a community task force on homelessness, to be appointed by the mayor, to develop a set of recommendations over the next 90 days for council MINUTES—Eugene City Council December 14, 2011 Page 6 Work Session