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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/09/1991 Meeting e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall October 9, 1991 11:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Roger Rutan, Shawn Boles, Debra Ehrman, Bobby Green, Ruth Bascom, Randy MacDonald, Paul Nicholson, Kaye Robinette. The adjourned meeting of September 25, 1991, of the Eugene City Council was called to order by His Honor Mayor Jeff Miller. I. ITEMS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL, MAYOR, AND CITY MANAGER A. Storm Water Drainage Stencil Project Mr. MacDonald referred to a memo from Bob Hammitt, Public Works Maintenance, and commended Eagle Scout Todd Durrell for coordinating a volunteer effort to paint over 600 stencils on storm water drainages in south Eugene. e B. Department of Public Safety Recruitment Mr. MacDonald said he received a phone call from a citizen of an ethnic mi- nority expressing concern about the Department of Public Safety's recent recruitment with respect to minority hiring. Mr. MacDonald asked for a re- port on the progress of the City's Affirmative Action Program. Mr. Boles said Carol Calkins, Department of Public Safety, reported that the department's proportion of minority employees is in balance with the propor- tion of minority citizens in the community. C. Park Regulations Referring to a memo from Parks Services Superintendent Doug Post, Mr. MacDonald expressed continued concern about the rule regarding glass contain- ers in parks. He asked whether the council wished to follow up on acquiring information on the rule and its enforcement. The council did not express a desire to do so. D. Downtown Mall Fountain Ms. Bascom echoed the Downtown Commission's concerns about not being informed of the City's administrative decision to repair the fountain on the downtown ma 11. e MINUTES--City Council October 9, 1991 Page 1 . e E. Racism-Free Zone Mr. Boles announced that the Community Center for the Performing Arts will meet October 11 to develop a policy on a racism-free zone for the performing arts. F. Lane Council of Governments (L-COG) Board Mr. Boles asked staff for a list of members of the Lane Council of Govern- ments Board. G. City Council Intergovernmental Relations Committee Mr. Rutan reported on the October 8 meeting of the City Council Intergovern- mental Relations Committee. He requested that the council receive a status report on the City's Federal agenda. Mr. Green added that the committee had requested that the council discuss the annual trip to Washington, DC. Mr. Rutan said a draft of the 1991 legislative session report will be avail- able soon and noted that the City had successfully lobbied 94 percent of its issues. H. Taxi Audit Mr. Green asked for a report on the cost difference between the City using internal staff and contracting with a private firm to conduct the audit of e taxi companies. 1. Towing Fees Mr. Green reported concern regarding tow trucks randomly patrolling the uni- versity area to look for vehicles in violation of parking codes. He said it was suggested that towing companies respond to calls from property owners for vehicles parked in violation of their reserved spaces and requested informa- tion from staff on this issue. J. Eugene Decisions Meeting Ms. Ehrman said she and Mr. Boles attended a Eugene Decisions meeting October 8 and received positive feedback about the process. K. Lane Community College Board Ms. Ehrman asked staff to consider preparing a letter for the Mayor's signa- ture in response to a letter she received from a Lane Community College Board member regarding the new downtown parking program. Mr. Miller said Downtown Eugene, Inc. (DEI), is reviewing parking options with Lce. e MINUTES--City Council October 9, 1991 Page 2 . e Mr. Green suggested that LCC consider adopting a bus ridership program simi- lar to the one adopted by the University of Oregon and Lane Transit District (LTD). L. City Club Ms. Ehrman expressed positive comments about the City Club, a meeting of which she recently attended, and she encouraged councilors to attend meetings of groups such as this. She added that this would be a good forum for a Eugene Decisions discussion. M. Solid Waste and Recycling Board (SWRB) Mr. Nicholson summarized his memo requesting the council to provide policy direction to the SWRB on its process for establishing rate structures for next year. Mr. Gleason explained that there are no statutory regulations authorizing the City to obtain proprietary information for purposes of establishing rate structures. Staff obtained propriety information from haulers on the condi- tion to honor confidentiality. Mr. Nicholson expressed concern about applying the same "reasonable" level of profit for both residential and commercial service. He said the new rate structure needs to address variables such as added costs resulting from a change of ownership of firms. e Councilors generally supported Mr. Nicholson's proposal as outlined in his memo, with a provision that it utilize minimal staff time. N. Tugman Park Mr. MacDonald said citizens have expressed concern about the lack of interac- tion between the Tugman Park Subcommittee and neighbors. Mr. Boles asked staff to respond to a letter from Elizabeth Orr charging that the City is in violation of Oregon statutory law. o. Civil Lawsuit Filed Against the City Mr. Nicholson asked whether a civil lawsuit was filed against the City stem- ming from a citation issued to a 12-year-old youth. Mr. Gleason responded that he was not aware that such a lawsuit had been filed but would inform the council if it was. P. State Ethics Commission Findings Mr. Miller commented on the commission's findings that the University of Oregon violated the law when it offered free trips to his and Springfield Mayor Bill Morrisette's spouse. He said he hopes the commission will trans- e MINUTES--City Council October 9, 1991 Page 3 e fer this issue to the State Attorney General's Office to better serve the community's interest. City Attorney Sharon Rudnick said there is no past record of the commission ruling on the relationship between the City and the University of Oregon. Mr. MacDonald expressed concern about the commission's findings with respect to governmental bodies having legislative interests with other governmental bodies. He said the council needs to take a stand on this principle. Mr. Gleason said the commission has concluded that an intergovernmental rela- tionship does not have a purpose distinctive from the public. Q. City Council Annual Goals Session Mr. Miller said John O'Connor, Human Resource and Risk Services (HRRS), will contact councilors this week to schedule interviews for the upcoming goals session. II. WORK SESSION: ADDENDUM TO PUBLIC SAFETY LONG-RANGE PLAN REGARDING DEFINITION OF PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY (DPS) AND SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES City Manager Mike Gleason introduced the topic. e Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) Chair Richard Greene said that PSAC members and Lane County Health and Human Services staff were present to an- swer questions. On April 24, 1991, the council adopted by resolution the Department of Public Safety Long-Range Plan and instructed PSAC, working with DPS, the Intergovernmental Human Services Committee (IHSC), and social ser- vice agencies to bring back to the council a more defined model of partner- ship between public safety and social service agencies. The Partnerships for Public Safety Policy Group, which included PSAC members, DPS staff, Intergov- ernmental Relations staff, Lane County Health and Human Services staff, and representatives of social service agencies, developed a proposal to amend the the Long-Range Plan. That proposal consists of the following three main components: 1) crisis treatment services; 2) prevention, education, and ongoing support services; and 3) partnership elements. Mr. Greene reviewed the proposed services of each element outlined in the draft addendum. Responding to a question from Mr. Boles, Bill DeForrest, DPS, said the Long- Range Plan outlines strategies. Mr. Boles suggested framing "Policy 1" more posit i ve1y. He suggested changing "Latino" to "non-English" under Item II(S) on page 7. In response to a concern expressed by Mr. Nicholson, Mr. Greene said the dollar figures are estimated initial costs. He explained that due to time constraints, the policy group did not identify specific forms of services for each service component. Mr. Nicholson expressed concern about identifying e MINUTES--City Council October 9, 1991 Page 4 . e costs of services which have not been conceptualized and suggested determin- ing what kinds of services could be funded by those estimated initial costs. In response to Mr. Nicholson's concern, Mr. DeForrest explained that the addendum is more clear when combined with the context of the Long-Range Plan. He said the plan will be implemented as funding becomes available. Mr. Boles felt the draft addendum represents the charge PSAC was directed to bring back to the council. Ms. Bascom commended the policy group's work. She expressed concern about funding services solely with public funds and suggested exploring other reve- nue sources. Ms. Ehrman said the partnership between public safety and social service agencies is the root of community-oriented policing and noted that for the department to continue its transition towards community-oriented policing, it needs to network with social service agencies. Mr. MacDonald shared Ms. Bascom's concerns, citing the success of the Inter- faith Shelter Program. He said if similar efforts can be achieved with the partnership's limited resources, a significant private resource could be utilized. He expressed concern about under-funding the partnership, saying that it could appear as if it failed when actually it was not given enough resources to succeed. e Responding to a question from Mr. MacDonald, Bob Dritz, WhiteBird Clinic, clarified that the existing services listed under Item II are currently not publicly funded. Mr. DeForrest said staff has explored Federal funding for community-oriented policing efforts. Mr. Boles said the City did not receive any of the Federal funding awarded to the State for community policing projects. Mr. Rutan moved, seconded by Mr. Boles, to approve an addendum to the Public Safety Long-Range Plan, "Partnerships for Public Safe- ty," regarding networking to include policies and strategies which define the partnership between public safety and social services, including identified funding and estimated initial funding levels. Referring to Policy 1 on page 3, Mr. MacDonald asked that the sentence be reworded for clarification. Ms. Bascom said the department needs to understand that there may be no addi- tional budgeted funds available for the partnership. Mr. Boles asked that PSAC review the partnership after its annual implementa- tion. Mr. Nicholson said he will vote against the partnership and clarified that his vote is not a reflection of lack of support for the Long-Range Plan. e MINUTES--City Council October 9, 1991 Page 5 . ~ e Roll call vote; the motion passed 7:1, with Mr. Nicholson voting nay. III. CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS This item was postponed due to insufficient time to hear the item. The meeting adjourned to October 14, 1991, at 1:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ~~ Mi,c e~o _ City Manager (Recorded by David Straub) mncc 100991 e e MINUTES--City Council October 9, 1991 Page 6