CC Minutes - 07/18/12 Work Session

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MINUTES City Council Work Session McNutt Room, City Hall July 18, 2012 12:00 Noon PRESENT: George Brown, Pat Farr, Betty Taylor, Andrea Ortiz, George Poling, Mike Clark, Chris Pryor, Alan Zelenka Mayor Kitty Piercy opened the meeting and welcomed those present, those watching the webcast and those at home to the City Council Work Session on Opportunity Eugene Task Force Update and Policy Framework. She noted that Council President George Brown had requested a moment to address an issue and turned the floor over to him. Council President George Brown distributed a memorandum for the City Council to read regarding the Capstone Project. A. OPPORTUNITY EUGENE TASK FORCE UPDATE Planning and Development's Community Programs Analyst, Michael Wisth provided a brief PowerPoint presentation and overview of the work done by the City of Eugene and the Opportunity Eugene Task Force to address the issue of homelessness. The overview touched on City Council - allocated money for improved health care services at Whitebird, the Chrysalis Program, Buckley House and additional services at the SVDP Hwy. 99 Lindholm Center, as well as a variety of other service enhancements. Mr. Wisth reviewed the six Task Force recommendations and policy framework. He concluded his presentation by outlining the three proposed council options. The councilor expressed a variety of concerns, preferences and requests, including: • The overall cost of homelessness, even if council did nothing to address the issue • There is an ongoing need to provide safe overnight shelter • The safety and security of all people in the community, both housed and un- housed is paramount • The time it takes to move complex issues and actions through local government is significant • There is concern that winter and cold weather are quickly approaching • There is concern about the six -week Council break related to the October 1" target date for a homeless campsite and any work that could or would be done during that window of time • The level of disappointment to community members will be enormous if the council doesn't provide a way for progress on this issue to begin • City staff should be tasked with researching appropriate sites and locations during the Council break so that when Council reconvenes it can begin to work on site selection without losing that valuable window of time • This is a very complex and important issue and the City Council needs to work diligently and carefully to do it right the first time and avoid hasty actions they may regret later • All constituents' points of view must be considered— some urge swift action to help homeless MINUTES -City Council Work Session July 18, 2012 Page 1