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MINUTES Eugene City Council Work Session Council Chamber--City Hall March 8, 2004 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Bonny Bettman, George Poling, David Kelly, Nancy Nathanson, Gary Pap~, Jennifer Solomon, Scott Meisner, Betty Taylor. His Honor Mayor James D. Torrey called the meeting to order. A. ITEMS FROM MAYOR, COUNCIL AND CITY MANAGER Mr. Meisner commented that he had attended the Hult Center performance of the Moscow State Radio Symphony Orchestra and it was a wonderful concert. Ms. Nathanson echoed Mr. Meisner's comment. Mr. Kelly expressed concern to the City Manager that the City Attorney, Glenn Klein, had written an amicus brief for the League of Oregon Cities (LOC) on the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) decision regarding PeaceHealth. He said he felt that authorizing Mr. Klein to write the brief for the LOC was a policy decision that should be made by the council, not staff, and based on the council's opinion about whether the LUBA decision was good or bad. He stated that while the brief did not take a position on the PeaceHealth move to Springfield, it facilitated that move. He asked if not bringing the matter to the council constituted policy-making by staff. City Manager Dennis Taylor replied that it did not constitute policy- making because it was the League of Oregon Cities (LOC) that filed the brief, not the City of Eugene, except by virtue of its membership in the LOC. He said that Mr. Klein was not required to seek approval from either the City Manager or staff before performing services on behalf of the LOC as there was no conflict that would have required a waiver. He said that Mr. Klein did provide notification that he was writing the brief. Mr. Kelly reiterated that he felt the council was left out of a policy decision and should have been consulted about its position on the LUBA decision. He also asked Mr. Taylor to respond in writing to two rumors he had heard related to the West Eugene Parkway: 1) did staff receive a status memo from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) last fall, and 2) did ODOT make a formal or informal suggestion that because of traffic volume, the parkway east of Beltline would need to be a City street instead of an ODOT facility? He asked for a copy of the status memo if one had been received, and confirmation as well as an analysis of the fiscal implications for the City, if ODOT had suggested a portion of the parkway should be a City street. Ms. Bettman referred to a memorandum from the Lane County Human Rights Advisory Committee that included a statement that took a stand against domestic violence and was endorsed by the Lane County MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 8, 2004 Page 1 Work Session