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MINUTES Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber--Eugene City Hall June 28, 2004 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Bonny Bettman, George Poling, Nancy Nathanson, Scott Meisner, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Gary Papd, Jennifer Solomon. Council President Bonny Bettman called the regular meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. Mayor Torrey, though unable to preside over the meeting, participated by speakerphone. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Council President Bettman reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. R. Kris Millegan, 39830 McKenzie Highway, Springfield, spoke in support of the organizers of the Emerald Empire Hempfest, whose application for a permit had been denied for 2004 due to problems experienced at the previous year's event. He felt that if the problems had been so egregious, they should have been dealt with at the time of last year's event. He questioned the merit of shutting down the Hempfest while allowing the celebratory behavior in the Autzen Stadium parking lot during football games. He thought the Hempfest was very similar to the logging show. He lauded hemp as a plant with many uses and advocated for the northwest to become a large-scale producer of hemp. Charles Biggs, 540 Antelope Way, noted that the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC) recently won an award for environmental stewardship. He found it ironic that, in the face of this award, the MWMC asserted the wastewater facility was so old that there were times raw sewage was dumped in the river. He reiterated that the temperature requirements could be met by the creation of a bio- swale. He restated his concern that the budget for the MWMC and the 24-percent rate increase were high. He suggested that the tax load to pay for the facility be reduced in 20 years. Eileen Erdelt, 1607 Mill Street, Springfield, said she had been educated in Africa and Europe and had returned to the United States because she believed hemp should be legalized. She asserted that hemp could be used for food, fuel, medicine, and paper. She said she helped to organize the event and had a good relationship with the parks personnel. She felt hemp could help the ailing economy. She related that as of the previous week, the Eugene Police Department (EPD) had barred the festival from happening this year,. She stated that this was a first amendment infringement and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) agreed. She felt hemp could save the local economy and also reduce global warming by reducing the need to cut down trees. Stanley Pender, 266 High Street, spoke in support of granting the Hempfest a permit. He shared that he had been reading a book called Drug War History in Politics. He said he had smoked marijuana for 28 years was not a criminal. He estimated that he had smoked marijuana with approximately 200 people and asserted that he knew no criminals. He felt it was bad for the community to support the "myth" that people