Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Sue Sierralupe , Ward 1, reported on a medical clinic being operated by Occupy Eugene. She said the clinic was organizing a street outreach team. She anticipated the clinic would soon outgrow its existing space and would move to the Parks Blocks inside the DPSZ, meaning the clinic could no longer serve the patients that were excluded. She did not think that Eugene needed an exclusion zone and maintained that it was being used to treat the homeless as a visual hazard that must be shielded from the eyes of the middle class. Charlie Swanson , Ward 3, supported the proposed council resolution calling for a Constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United and asked the council to include the revisions proposed by We the People of Eugene. He recommended that copies of the resolution be sent to the local State delegation and that it be referred to the voters for an advisory vote. Scott Russell , Ward 8, shared his objections to the City’s decision to award a motorcycle contract to an out-of-state firm and said that because of the decision, he employed one less person. He did not think the City’s decision was fair. Charlie Warren , Lane County, Midtown Business Associates (MBA), expressed support for the DPSZ. However, the zone and increased bicycle patrols downtown had caused downtown trouble makers to shift to midtown and the association’s private security was overwhelmed. Mr. Warren believed the zone should be applied communitywide because otherwise it did not eliminate the problem but merely shifted it. He said that the MBA’s problem was not with the homeless or the unemployed but rather with the alcoholics, drug dealers, vagrants, and so-called travelers who come to Eugene because of its reputation of tolerance. He believed that midtown would continue to be overwhelmed with problems until it got help from the City. David Bomar , Coburg, a midtown property owner in Eugene, concurred with Mr. Warren about the impacts of the zone on midtown. He asked that any street crime or vagrancy ordinances be enforced on a citywide basis to avoid the problem of shifting crime. He also asked that a bicycle patrol be assigned to midtown and more attention be given to patrolling midtown. While downtown officers tried to patrol midtown, their numbers were limited and their top priority was downtown. He asked councilors Brown and Zelenka to take a lead in securing more police protection for the area. Hugh Prichard , Ward 3, owned property both in midtown and downtown. He had owned property downtown for 34 years and had seen conditions worsen. Mr. Prichard asked the council to deploy police resources equitably and where they were needed without consideration of boundaries. He believed that other areas of the community were adversely affected by ordinances specific to a single area. He suggested that downtown was really just one neighborhood. Art Bowmurr , Ward 2, perceived that there were few consequences for officers who misbehaved and recommended the council consider that when it considered extending the DPSZ. Joel Narva , Santa Clara, opposed Lane County’s proposal to revise the boundaries of the Eugene- Springfield Metropolitan General Area Plan. He believed that the change would result in “fast track” approval for gravel extraction and other uses he did not believe were appropriate for urban areas. He did not believe that one family’s experience should result in such a significant change. He maintained that the Board of County Commissioners had ignored the “hundreds of us” who had lived in the area for decades and relied on what he believe d was the protection provided by the participation of Eugene and Springfield in boundary decisions. He further averred that the proposal placed the burden of appeal on “ordinary citizens.” MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 13, 2012 Page 4 Regular Meeting