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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 08/14/06 Meeting M I N U T E S Eugene City Council City Council Meeting Council Chamber—Eugene City Hall August 14, 2006 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Jennifer Solomon, Bonny Bettman, David Kelly, Andrea Ortiz, Gary Papé (participating by speakerphone), George Poling, Chris Pryor, Betty Taylor. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order and welcomed everyone to the meeting. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Greg Veralrud, 975 Oak Street, #625, Eugene, spoke to the independence of the auditor’s office and congratulated the council for finding a wise and reasonable approach. Marilyn Mohr, 1085 North Park Street, Eugene, requested that the council direct staff to halt the practice of extended street annexations in River Road. She said it was the City’s stated policy to pursue only voluntary annexations of private property; the new practice was outside of that policy and moved annexation from voluntary to involuntary. She said staff’s explanation of the new policy was neither convincing nor compelling. She asked councilors to carefully review the details outlined in the attachment to the River Road Community Organization’s advisory letter dated August 1, 2006, and, in addition, review the Santa Clara Community Organization’s advisory letter of May 2006. She said the new policy was creating hostility between residents in River Road and City government that many residents would like to move past. She believed that many councilors were committed to repairing that relationship and urged them to direct staff to halt the new practice of annexing street segments that went far beyond the boundaries of properties applying for voluntary annexation. th Gypsy James, 1851 West 10 Avenue, Eugene, said she lived very close to Martin Luther King Jr. Park th on the corner of West 10 Avenue and Grant Street. She said that neighbors were asking that measures be taken to make the park dry. She read into the record a petition from neighbors asking the City’s help in taking back their neighborhood park and submitted the petition and photographs of the park. th Rene Kane, 254 West 14 Avenue, Eugene, co-chair of Jefferson Westside Neighbors, thanked the council for its continued support as neighbors addressed several serious threats to the neighborhood’s stability and character. She thanked Planning and Development Department staff for their assistance in developing a simple yet sufficient approach to reduce the redesignated area’s vulnerability to damaging infill that could occur because of R-2 upzoning. She hoped the council would approve the actions recommended by staff in MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 14, 2006 Page 1 Regular Meeting some form, including initiating plan and code amendments to designate the area as Low-Density Residential and requesting a code interpretation of the Low-Medium Density Residential category to be applied during the interim period until plan and code amendments were in effect. She noted that the City Manager recommended shifting planning resources from other high-priority work to accomplish the code amend- ments quickly. She pointed out that plan revisions were simple in concept, required minimal changes to refinement plan text, and were supported by area residents and the neighborhood association. She saw no reason that processing the amendments should impact other high- priority tasks and also believed the quickest, lowest impact way to implement the requested code interpretation was for the Planning Director to issue it directly. Jason Georgianna, 765 Mimosa Avenue, Eugene, owner of Pacific Coast Cage Fights and a fighter himself, said he was encouraged that most councilors felt the need to learn more about the sport. He felt the sport was very misunderstood and there was a significant core that was not recognizable from the marketing tactics used. He said that although the sport was not regulated by the State, it was not totally out of control; the truth was somewhere in between. He was interested in moving toward regulation of the sport on the amateur level and was eager to work with the council. He listed some examples of precautions that could improve safety, such as ensuring participants were equally matched, having medical staff and supplies on hand during matches, and adhering to standard mixed martial arts rules. He encouraged councilors to visit his website at pccagefights.com or contact him personally for additional information about the sport. He said the perception was that the sport was devoid of any social value, but it was, in fact, the only empirical test for determining the effectiveness of various self-defense techniques. Charles Moss, 4255 Berrywood Drive, Eugene, Santa Clara Community Organization board member, spoke to the issues of the Lane County Local Government Boundary Commission and street annexation. He said Lane County had the only boundary commission in the State and legislation had been introduced to abolish it, but local legislators voted against it at the City of Eugene’s request. He questioned why the City would want to retain the boundary commission and said he would be watching the next legislature with interest to see if legislation to abolish it was introduced and whether City officials again tried to subvert the will of the voters of River Road and Santa Clara. Zachary Vishanoff, Patterson Street, Eugene, remarked on a letter to the editor from the director of the South Waterfront Project that appeared in The Oregonian. He read excerpts from the letter and said the project was a good example of “connecting the dots” on a wide range of issues. He discussed local projects that would use federal funds and said it was his responsibility to sort out federal pork and asked for someone to acknowledge that there was an issue. Joe Collins, PO Box 24411, Eugene, referred to an article in The Register-Guard related to the Police Auditor’s office and supervision of staff. He asserted that the City was mismanaged and administrators knew and ignored or were unaware of problems within the Police Department. He felt that the Police Department and its leadership were a disgrace and said that officers did not report problems because they feared reprisal. He urged that lie detector tests be administered to police officers every few months. He said that the district attorney was not on the side of justice. He asked the council to show strength of will and character and dismiss administrators he did not think were competent. Sherry Franzen, 910 Almaden Street, Eugene, stated that the will of the voters was to have a completely independent review of the Eugene Police Department. She said an investigation was promised by the police chief into why Roger Magana and Juan Francisco Lara were able to carry out egregious acts against women in the community while on duty, but there had not been a report yet. She witnessed police officers MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 14, 2006 Page 2 Regular Meeting harassing black people on bikes without lights. She felt the clear intent of the voters to have a truly independent review system of the Police Department and meaningful accountability was being trifled with and empty promises and grabs at power by the City Manager did not engender trust. th Michael Carrigan, 1439 West 4 Avenue, Eugene, said that the Community Alliance of Lane County (CALC) supported Measure 20-106, which was overwhelmingly supported by the voters of Eugene. He felt the opinion by the City Attorney that employees in the Police Auditor’s office came under the authority of the City Manager was incorrect and the legislative intent of the ballot measure was that the auditor’s office be fully independent. He said the ballot measure gave the auditor the complete authority to hire, supervise and manage the office and employees under the auspices of the City Council and a legal opinion by Art Johnson differed with the City Attorney and affirmed that conclusion. On behalf of the CALC board of directors, he urged the council to affirm the voters’ decision and give the auditor the authority she would require to manage a truly independent office by approving a resolution to that effect. Charles Biggs, 540 Antelope Way, Eugene, speaking as a community activist involved with several City groups, thanked the City for its recognition of volunteer efforts at the annual picnic on August 13, 2006. He commended the City for empowering its citizens to make a difference and urged more people to volunteer. Speaking as a private citizen, he expressed concern about the location of the Nobel Peace Laureate monument in Alton Baker Park. He did not feel that was an appropriate location and the monument would be better located where it would enhance the area. He thought the monument was a lovely gesture but was not certain it was in the best location because parks and open spaces should reflect the natural beauty and be appreciated for their own uniqueness; monuments should be in surroundings where they would engender solidarity in the community. Majeska Seese-Green, PO Box 1214, Eugene, speaking for the Whiteaker Community Council, said the council had been calling for truly independent police review, which meant that the staff in the auditor’s office needed to be truly independent and accountable to the auditor and City Council through the auditor. She hoped that the council would take action to affirm that independence and not return to the voters for clarification as they had already decided on an independent external auditor. She said the council had the authority to implement the oversight function consistent with the will of the voters, even though the City Attorney may have advised differently. Ruth Duemler, 1745 Fircrest Drive, Eugene, said she thought when she voted for an independent police auditor it really meant a completely independent department – independent of the City. She had great respect for City administrators and felt their positions would only be enhanced by having a completely separate auditor for the Police Department. She did not see the point in another vote on the issue as the people expected to have a separate auditor and office. She read an excerpt from a statement by the attorney for victims in the Magana and Lara incident that described the terrible injuries suffered by those women and stressed the critical importance of the police auditor having complete authority over the her staff. She emphasized the need for both the auditor and staff to be completely independent and not susceptible to even the appearance of bias. John Attig, 2335 Terrace View Drive, Eugene, spoke as a member of the citizen group sponsoring the Nobel Peace Laureate monument. He said the site in Alton Baker Park was selected in consultation with the Parks and Open Space Division and staff also participated in design selection. He said selection criteria required the design to be consistent with the overall atmosphere of Alton Baker Park. He said the design–a peace path–was a great work of landscape architecture and appropriate to its location. He said the monument would be a great asset to the City, the State and the country and the design was intended for MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 14, 2006 Page 3 Regular Meeting peaceful contemplation and would honor in a simple and dignified way people who had saved lives, prevented wars and worked in the cause of peace. He urged the council to join the many people and organizations in the community who had endorsed the project. Doug Newton, 147 Cross Place, Eugene, discussed inappropriate use of taxpayer resources when members of neighborhood councils used those resources to promote their personal political agendas. He said he routinely received materials from the Whiteaker Community Council that advocated for ballot measures and candidates. He said members of those councils did not represent the views of all citizens in the community and it was an unlawful practice and an abuse of public funds. He found the debate over who would supervise the police auditor’s staff to be moot as it should not require more than one full-time public employee to investigate complaints against the Eugene Police Department. He related statistics recently published in The Register-Guard indicating that of the ten complaints filed during the first six months of the year, only one was determined to have merit. He said the first line of defense against police abuse was an objective court system. Mayor Piercy closed the Public Forum and called for council comments. Councilor Kelly thanked those who spoke. He asked for further details about problems in Martin Luther King Jr. Park, potential enforcement strategies from the Police Department, what regulations might apply to the park and whether additional signage would support those regulations or require a change. Councilor Ortiz also thanked those who spoke. She asked for background information on the boundary commission and its functions. With respect to the Santa Clara and River Road annexations, she said it was her understanding that when a property was being improved the road section in front of the property was annexed, not the entire street. She asked for clarification of the current practice that was spoken to by Ms. James. Councilor Bettman thanked those who shared their views and said she had the same questions as Councilor Kelly regarding Martin Luther King Jr. Park. 2. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes - June 19, 2006, Executive Session - June 21, 2006, Work Session - June 26, 2006, City Council Meeting - July 12, 2006, Work Session - July 19, 2006, Work Session - July 24, 2006, Executive Session - July 25, 2006, Work Session B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda C. Adoption of Resolution 4887 Amending the Sustainable Buildings Policy Adopted By Resolu- tion No. 4884 D. Adoption of Resolution 4886 Endorsing the Nobel Peace Laureate Monument Project in Alton Baker Park Councilor Solomon, seconded by Councilor Ortiz, moved to approve the items on the Consent Calendar. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 14, 2006 Page 4 Regular Meeting Councilor Bettman stated that she had submitted a minor minutes correction electronically. Roll call vote; the motion to approve the Consent Calendar with the minutes correc- tion passed unanimously, 8:0. 3. ACTION: Approval of Contingency Funds for Eugene Celebration Parking City Manager Taylor recommended that the council make no changes to its current policy or, alternatively, the council could vote funds from General Fund contingency dollars to make parking free in all six parking structures during the Eugene Celebration. Mayor Piercy said she felt strongly that if the City invited citizens to come downtown for a celebration they should not have to worry about being ticketed or finding free parking. Councilor Kelly, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved to allocate $7,500 from General Fund contingency to provide for fully free event parking at all City ga- rages for the Eugene Celebration. Councilor Kelly remarked that letters from downtown merchants supported free parking and those were the small businesses that the council wished to support with its downtown policies. He noted that the Celebration was uniquely different from other events like concerts at the Hult Center or the Bach Festival; it was a specific party that celebrated the City and highlighted downtown and its assets for people who seldom came downtown otherwise. He thought it was important to do everything possible to make it welcoming and while he understood how the Parking Fund operated, this was an instance where a small amount of money could advance very positive goals for downtown revitalization and arts and outdoors priorities. Councilor Ortiz said she would support the motion and hoped that the amount was sufficient to cover the entire Celebration. Staff indicated that $7,500 would cover the entire period of the Celebration. Councilor Solomon said she supported the concept but would support the motion only if the $7,500 was taken from the $50,000 already allocated to the Eugene Celebration. Councilor Solomon, seconded by Councilor Papé, moved to amend the motion to allocate $7,500 from the $50,000 already approved for the Eugene Celebration. Councilor Bettman said she originally felt that the Celebration was already being subsidized through Budget Committee action, but after considering it she agreed it was a unique event intended to create a sense of community. She said there was a good cost/benefit value for the amount of money free parking would cost and the good will it would generate. She would not support the amendment and would support the main motion. Councilor Kelly stated he would not support the amendment because it was two different issues: an organization and the public. He said the Budget Committee and the council provided $50,000 to Downtown Events Management, Inc. (DEMI) as part of its budget for the Celebration and DEMI did not ask for free parking. He agreed with Councilor Bettman that it was goodwill purchased cheaply. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 14, 2006 Page 5 Regular Meeting Mayor Piercy added that many volunteers who assisted with the Celebration last year reported that they were ticketed. Councilor Solomon asked the City Manager if the Police Department was also absorbing costs associated with the Celebration. City Manager Taylor replied that he did not believe the Police Department would absorb costs because of the allocation of funds to DEMI and the fact that the planned celebration would pay its own way. Roll call vote; the motion to amend failed, 5:3; councilors Solomon, Poling, and Papé voting in favor. Roll call vote; the main motion passed, 6:2; councilors Solomon and Papé voting in opposition. Councilor Ortiz referred to earlier remarks by Councilor Taylor about people receiving tickets when they left their cars on the street overnight after drinking too much. She said it was important to encourage people not to drink and drive and asked staff to consider ways to perhaps engage the business community in a coupon program or other approaches that would not penalize those who made the responsible decision not to drive when drunk. 4. ACTION: Appointment of Police Auditor Mayor Piercy thanked all those involved in the police auditor selection process, those who came to the community forum to share their thoughts, committees that worked on the concept and councilors who participated in reviewing applications, particularly Councilor Bettman for traveling to Cambridge to perform due diligence. She was sorry that Councilor Poling was unable to make the trip. She said all of those efforts created an extraordinary background for making the decision on appointing an auditor and the community should be proud. Councilor Solomon, seconded by Councilor Ortiz, moved to appoint Cristina Beamud to the position of Police Auditor and authorize members of the council’s ad hoc committee to negotiate a salary and benefit package. Councilor Bettman thanked the council for sending her to do due diligence. She regretted that Councilor Poling was unable to participate but with the assistance of Jim Gardner, the contracted investigator, a very extensive background investigation was conducted. She described the broad range of people with whom interviews were conducted and said that responses were extraordinarily positive; the candidate was very uniquely qualified to fill the position of police auditor and work collaboratively with the community. She urged unanimous support of the appointment. Councilor Kelly concurred with Councilor Bettman’s remarks. He said the materials provided from the background investigation demonstrated that Ms. Beamud worked collaboratively and had the respect of everyone in the Cambridge community. He would enthusiastically support the motion. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 14, 2006 Page 6 Regular Meeting Councilor Ortiz echoed Councilor Bettman’s and Councilor Kelly’s comments. She thanked the commu- nity and the Police Commission for all their work. She would support the motion. She felt that Ms. Beamud was the best fit and would improve the credibility of the City with the community. Councilor Poling expressed his extreme disappointment that he was unable to make the trip. He said he spoke by telephone with Jim Gardner and voiced the issues and concerns that he anticipated raising during the interviews. He felt that those questions were all answered during the investigation. He related that the ad hoc committee began the selection process with 91 applications and while Ms. Beamud scored highest during the rating process, he had voted for another finalist; however, based on the information provided in the background investigation he would wholeheartedly support hiring Ms. Beamud as the police auditor. He encouraged unanimous support for the motion. Councilor Taylor echoed the previous comments. She said there were two good candidates for the position and Ms. Beamud was her first choice. She was pleased with the selection. Mayor Piercy thanked the Police Commission for its work over the past year and a half. Roll call vote, the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Councilor Bettman noted the memorandum from Human Resources Manager Helen Towle requesting that the council approve new salary figures for range 37. City Manager Taylor replied that the new figures reflected a cost-of-living increase for exempt employees that had been authorized. He recommended using the revised salary matrix. 5. ACTION: Consideration of Proposed Charter Amendment Mayor Piercy announced that there had been agreement on another course of action and she would not be proposing a charter amendment. 6. ACTION: Resolution Interpreting the Provisions of the Eugene City Charter Councilor Kelly said that a proposed motion and resolution that had been distributed to councilors. He said his motion would reflect that resolution, with the following changes: deletion of Section 3 in its entirety and renumbering of Section 4 as Section 3. Councilor Kelly, seconded by Councilor Ortiz, moved to adopt Resolution 4889 authorizing the independent police auditor to hire, supervise and make other em- ployment decisions regarding the auditor’s support staff. Councilor Kelly explained that the resolution contained findings describing the history of the charter amendment and read the remainder of the resolution: “NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EUGENE, a Municipal Corporation of the State of Oregon as follows: MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 14, 2006 Page 7 Regular Meeting Section 1. The Independent Police Auditor shall have exclusive authority to hire, supervise, and to make all other employment decisions regarding the auditor’s support staff. Section 2. No change relating to the authority to hire and supervise the auditor’s staff shall be made without formal action of the City Council amending this Resolution. Section 3. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its adoption.” Roll call vote, the motion passed, 7:1; Councilor Papé voting in opposition. The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis M. Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Lynn Taylor) MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 14, 2006 Page 8 Regular Meeting