CC Minutes - 12/14/11 Work Session

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MINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room —City Hall 777 Pearl Street — Eugene, Oregon December 14, 2011 Noon 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 December 14, 2011, work session of the Eugene City Council to order and noted the agenda had been amended with the addition of a work session on Occupy Eugene. A. WORK SESSION: Occupy Eugene City Manager Jon Ruiz reminded the council that it directed him to meet with representatives of Occupy Eugene to discuss their response to the motion speaking to the future of the encampment that was proposed by Mr. Zelenka on December 12. He called the council's attention to the responses the council received earlier that day from Michael Carrigan and Lauren Regan on behalf of Occupy Eugene, which reaffirmed the consensus of the General Assembly of Occupy Eugene to remain at Washington- Jefferson Park until a permanent camp was established. City Manager Ruiz reported that Occupy Eugene had no interest in working on a transition plan that did not result in a permanent camp and Occupy Eugene representatives feared any interruption of the camp would mean occupants would lose the spirit of the current camp. Occupy Eugene advocated for a third -party entity to provide outside reports and advice. Police Chief Pete Kerns reported that Occupy Eugene was paying for gray water disposal and agreed to pay the costs of the garage removal previously paid for by the City. Chief Kerns reviewed a list of items proposed by the City to Occupy Eugene intended to improve the safety of camp occupants and Eugene Police Department (EPD) officers. The list included a prohibition on structures other than tents and called for tents to meet fire safety requirements. Organizers were asked to resituate the tents on the sites so that they were no longer in clusters covered with tarps. The City also asked that bows, crossbows, firearms, hatches, axes, and knives be added to the list of weapons prohibited on the site. Chief Kerns acknowledged that Occupy Eugene expressed concern about a prohibition on knives and hatches and agreed to further discussion. Occupy Eugene expressed no opposition on prohibitions on alcoholic beverages and controlled substances, agreed that all propane, kerosene, and gasoline heaters or generators must be code - compliant, and did not debate about compliance with other State and local laws. Chief Kerns reported that Occupy Eugene had asked the City to allow warming fires on the site; allowance of such fires would require a change the City Code. Chief Kerns said he recommended to Occupy Eugene representatives that they establish a clearly marked area for children's tents and prohibit any adults from being with the children unless they were related or MINUTES— Eugene City Council December 14, 2011 Page 1 Work Session