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Councilor Ortiz suggested that City Manager Ruiz meet with the leadership of Occupy Eugene to <br />determine if it was in agreement with the elements of the motion and report back to the council on <br />December 14. <br /> <br />Councilor Zelenka concurred with Councilor Ortiz. He also wanted to hear Occupy Eugene’s response to <br />the proposal. <br /> <br />Councilor Zelenka, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved to direct the City Manager to <br />bring back a final motion on Wednesday after discussing the modified Option 3 motion <br />with Occupy Eugene representatives. <br /> <br />Councilor Clark requested a cursory estimate of the cost of the modified motion. City Manager Ruiz <br />estimated a cost of $50,000 to $150,000 for transition services. He was unsure of the policing costs but <br />believed they would be more than was being spent currently. Councilor Clark suggested the costs could <br />go as high as $250,000. City Manager Ruiz acknowledged that was possible. <br /> <br />Councilor Clark wanted any transition to be as peaceful as possible and to be conducted in such a manner <br />that allowed people to be heard and treated them with dignity. However, he was concerned that the City <br />was treating Occupy Eugene differently from other citizens when it came to accountability. He wanted to <br />know who spoke for the group and who the City was entering into an agreement with given the nature of <br />Occupy Eugene. City Manager Ruiz anticipated the City would meet for representatives of Occupy <br />Eugene although he expected that they would offer the disclaimer they did not speak for the entire group. <br />He said the City had worked with the group and worked through most of the issues it identified. He <br />expected a similar model. <br /> <br />Councilor Clark asked what the point of the City’s action would be if a subset of Occupy Eugene decided <br />to resist. <br /> <br />Councilor Taylor had offered a motion for more time because of the requests the council heard and had <br />believed May 15 would be a good date because the weather would be better and it would give the <br />community time to think about the issues. She wanted to give Occupy Eugene more time to figure out its <br />future and collect donations. <br /> <br />Councilor Farr did not support the motion. He continued to have major concerns regarding sanitation and <br />disease at the camp and those concerns had not been satisfied. The City had worked hard through a <br />variety of initiatives to help the homeless and but only a small percentage of homeless people were <br />staying at the camp. He did not think that wastewater was being handled appropriately and feared the <br />City was creating the conditions for an outbreak of disease. <br /> <br />Councilor Ortiz wanted Occupy Eugene to respond to the City Council’s offer to work together. She <br />acknowledged the many homeless people in the community and said that while people learned to survive, <br />they were not living in optimal conditions. She did not expect Occupy Eugene to end homelessness but <br />any step toward that end would make her happy. <br /> <br />Councilor Pryor suggested the question was how much time it would take to move toward a different <br />solution. While he was unsure anyone liked the 45-day deadline, it was a middle point people could agree <br />on. Councilor Pryor supported the motion to postpone action as a way to give Occupy Eugene time to <br />consider the proposal. He also liked the idea of involving the service providers. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council December 12, 2011 Page 7 <br /> Regular Meeting <br /> <br />