Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Lela Trope , Lane County, thanked Mr. Callahan for his comments. She questioned if corporations were really all that evil and asked how many people present worked for a corporation and wanted to end it. Ms. Trope objected to spending taxpayer money on services that could be delivered privately. She believed the West Eugene EmX extension would hurt businesses, who were reluctant to take on the government. She advocated for referring West Eugene EmX to the voters. LTD should be required to state the financial impact of the system to all, including businesses. Charles Hibberd , Ward 8, suggested that the council refer the West Eugene EmX route to the voters if it was such a popular idea. He questioned LTD’s investment in the extension, which proposed to serve an industrial neighborhood. He contrasted the proposed route to the route between Eugene and Springfield, which replaced an already busy bus and served major hubs. He said federal money was not free money. Stan Taylor , Ward 2, expressed support for the resolution put forth by “We the People of Eugene” regarding the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United and asked that the resolution be revised to reflect that organization’s original text. Joe Tyndall , Ward 1, reviewed a handout distributed to the councilors describing the reasons that the Occupy movement started. He opposed the DPSZ and supported the proposed resolution regarding Citizens United. David Ivan Piccioni , Ward 1, supported the resolution calling for an amendment to repeal the Supreme Court decision regarding Citizens United. He also opposed the DPSZ. Michael Todd , Ward 1, expressed opposition to the DPSZ. He had been banned from riding LTD even though he was disabled and excluded from downtown while he had been trying to help a friend. He said he was welcome in downtown businesses and thought his exclusion was wrong. People needed a place to lay their heads so they could be productive. He was listed as a transient but was a resident, was working, and looking for four walls. He felt his treatment by police was appalling. Fergus McLean , Dexter, supported the proposed council resolution calling for a constitutional amendment to repeal the Supreme Court decision regarding Citizens United. He opposed the inclusion of unions in the resolution because he perceived that they spoke for the people and unlike corporations, unions were combinations of individuals. Randy Cain , Ward 1, spoke in opposition to the DPSZ. He maintained that people were discriminated against by the police on the basis of what they looked like and what part of town they were in. Alley Valkyrie , Ward 1, discussed her experience with the DPSZ and expressed opposition to its extension because she believed the zone had been intended to address violent offenders who were a danger to the community but instead the zone was being used against the homeless and low-level criminals. She believed that homeless people downtown had become a target for harassment. She objected to the City Prosecutor’s tactics and said he distorted the facts of a case she was familiar with to appear to make the individual look worse than he was and pointed to the defendant’s criminal history as a reason to support the exclusion, which was ultimately denied by the judge. John Monroe , Ward 1, was opposed to the DPSZ. He shared the concerns expressed by Ms. Valkyrie, particularly as they regarded an individual’s past record. He believed that it was a gross violation of one’s due process. He believed that homeless people were being excluded for minor, petty crimes such as traffic violations. He believed the zone had been consistently misused and that the regulations governing the zone were overly complex. He called for an end to the zone. MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 13, 2012 Page 3 Regular Meeting