Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Mr. Poling was unable to support Mr. Zelenka’s proposal because he perceived it continued current conditions at the camp. He did not want to commit the City to any additional expenditure without knowing the source of funding and other affected services. He agreed with the remarks of Mr. Farr and Mr. Clark. He suggested if homeless was the issue of concern, the mayor and manager could have placed the topic on a council agenda long ago. He believed the chief’s daily reports were incomplete because officers could not be the site all the time. Mr. Poling was concerned about the safety of the City’s police officers and fire fighters at the site. He said the City could work on the homeless problem, but Occupy Eugene did not need to camp for that to occur. Responding to a question from Mr. Brown, Chief Kerns indicated he heard anecdotal suggestions that Occupy Eugene had reduced crime levels downtown but had no statistics to support or refute them. Mr. Brown speculated that the troublesome element in the camp would be a problem no matter where they were. He suggested that if the homeless were scattered across the community they could be subject to violence. He found the camp peaceful and orderly on a recent visit and viewed the operations of the kitchen, which appeared to be well-run. He pointed out there were never guarantees against violence or serious illness. Ms. Taylor favored free speech and freedom of protest but she did not think the council envisioned the encampment would turn into a homeless camp. She said if the council had been planning on such a camp more thought should have gone into the drawbacks, advantages, and costs of such an approach. She acknowledged she would not have voted to establish a homeless camp in Washington-Jefferson Park but did not think the City could make it disappear now it was established. Ms. Taylor reported that she had walked the length of the park and questioned how much it was actually used by other people given she had seen only two people outside of those in the encampment. She understood that Occupy Eugene was receiving donations and suggested that would reduce the funding needed from the City. City Manager Ruiz reported that the encampment had relied on volunteers and donations for food and portable toilets. The City’s expenses included police overtime, some other City staff time, dumpsters, and fencing. Mr. Farr requested information about where the water from the wastewater barrels at the camp was being disposed of. Mr. Farr emphasized the community’s long history of work to reduce homelessness in Eugene. Mr. Zelenka did not think the City was going to solve homelessness but he hoped to provide some basic services to the homeless. He did not think the City had reached the threshold that would cause it to end the encampment but acknowledged conditions at the encampment could worsen. He feared that an abrupt end to the encampment could add to the City’s costs. Responding to a question from Mr. Clark, City Manager Ruiz said his interpretation of the council’s direction was that the encampment would remain open unless immediate health and safety concerns arose, upon which he had the authority to close it. Until this point, he had not found immediate health and safety concerns that required him to take that action. He acknowledged he did not have specific criteria for making such a decision and suggested it would be a judgment call based on conditions. He thought conditions at the site were deteriorating and would continue to deteriorate so unless those at the encampment were transitioned to other situations or the City increased its resources to make the camp safer and healthier. MINUTES—Eugene City Council December 12, 2011 Page 4 Work Session