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Home My WebLink AboutCC Minutes - 02/11/02 Meeting MINUTES Eugene City Council Regular Session City Council Chamber-City Ha11-777 Pearl Street February 11, 2002 8p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Bonny Bettman, Betty Taylor, David Kelly, Pat Fart, Nancy Nathanson, Scott Meisner, Gary Rayor, Gary Pap~. Mayor James D. Torrey called the regular session of the City Council to order at 8 pm. I.PUBLIC FORUM David Monk, 3720 Emerald Street, spoke against citywide elections. He said such elections would be detrimental to the City and raised concern over campaign costs if the idea was implemented. He went on to say that ward elections let councilors better communicate with their constituents and added that ward elections fostered the representation of a more diverse constituency. Sara Charlesworth, 2373 Pershing Street, maintained that the idea for citywide elections had not come from the citizens of Eugene. She opined that citywide elections would remove constituents from their council representative and noted that the Citizen Charter Review Committee had voted against it. John Herberg, 395 East 30th Avenue, spoke against citywide elections and raised concern over the cost of campaigns if the idea were implemented. Lynn Reichman, 84095 Murdock Street, stated that the United States Justice Department had ruled against citywide elections more than once. She said citywide elections were a suspect practice primarily used as a way of limiting minority representation and opined that using them would put Eugene back into the "political dark ages." Doug Black, 4645 West Hillside Drive, spoke against citywide elections. He said they would be damaging to the neighborhood representation that the City now had. Ruth C. Duemler, 1745 Fircrest Drive, spoke against citywide elections. She stressed that ward elections gave wards a better choice of candidates and raised concern that special interest groups would dominate citywide elections because they would be able to donate the most money to the candidates. Mark B. Baldwin, 2167 Kinkaid Street, expressed his opposition to citywide elections. He raised concern that there would be no limits on campaign financing and the electees would not be MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 2002 Page 1 Regular Session representative of their constituents. He opined that ward elections fostered more diverse representation. Hope Marston, PO Box 51434, Eugene, spoke against citywide elections. She raised concern that wards and neighborhoods would have less representation and communication with their councilors. Linda Fuller, 2401 West 22nd Avenue, spoke against citywide elections. She cited past use of that election style to silence minority viewpoints and stressed that ward elections fostered more diverse representation. She stressed that citywide elections were a bad idea. Greg McLauchlan, 2401 West 22nd Avenue, spoke against citywide elections. He said the question of whether to use them was of fundamental importance and the credibility of the City was at stake. He urged the council to move slowly and cautiously in making a decision. Mr. McLauchlan commented that there was overwhelming evidence against citywide elections and added that such elections eliminated a significant number of potential councilors who would not be able to afford the campaign costs. Rodric T. Raynor, 3796 Franklin Boulevard, urged the council to move the Eugene Police Forensic Unit from out of the City Hall basement. He stressed the need for a safe work space for the unit. Bob O'Brien, 3525 Gilham Road, spoke against citywide elections. He noted that there was a lack of public support for the idea and opined that the question was not worthy of going on the ballot. Bob Cassidy, 1401 East 27th Avenue, urged the council not to waste City money by putting the question of citywide elections on the ballot since there was no public support for the idea. Pat Hadly, 1595 Willagillespie Road, stated her desire to run for a council position. She said the council would create a barrier to the people if citywide elections were enacted. Councilor Fart shared the public's concern about citywide elections and noted that he had brought the idea to the City Manager even before the Gang of Nine had started collecting signatures to place the item on the ballot. Councilor Kelly thanked those who testified. He shared the concern over citywide elections. Addressing Mr. Raynor, Councilor Kelly said there were efforts underway to move the forensics unit from out of the City Hall basement. Councilor Rayor thanked those who testified. He said the current ward election system was working fine and added that he would not support citywide elections. Councilor Pap~ thanked those who testified. He reiterated Councilor Kelly's comments regarding moving the forensics unit out from the basement of City Hall. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 2002 Page 2 Regular Session Councilor Pap~ also said the testimony regarding citywide elections was the kind of substantive discussion he had hoped to see. Councilor Bettman thanked those who testified. She reiterated councilors Pap~ and Kelly regarding moving the forensics unit to a new location. Councilor Taylor thanked those who testified. She also expressed her desire to see the forensics unit moved to a new location. Councilor Taylor opined that the matter of citywide elections was not worth the council's time to discuss. She commented that citywide elections would limit diverse representation. II.CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes: January 9, 2002, State of the City B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda C. Appointment the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Partnership Councilor Kelly, seconded by Councilor Pap~, moved to approve the items on the Consent Calendar. Councilor Bettman pulled item C. Roll call vote; the remaining items on the Consent Calendar passed unanimously. Regarding Item C, Councilor Bettman voiced her objection to the process of making the appointment. She commented that it was an open committee and the position should be open to anyone who wished to participate. Councilor Taylor reiterated Councilor Bettman's comments. Roll call vote; Item C passed unanimously. III.PUBLIC HEARING AND POSSIBLE ACTION: An Ordinance Providing for Withdrawal of Territories (Corey, EC EU 01-06; Christian, EC EU 01-07; Dickenson, EC EU 01-12; Ensley, EC EU 01-15; Tibbitts/Gildea, EC EU 01-20; Community Markets, Inc., EC EU 01-21; Smith, EC EU 01-35; Shields, EC EU 01-34; Zabel, EC EU 01-29; O'Bryant, EC EU 01-42) From the River Road Water District and River Road Park and Recreation District; Withdrawal of Territories (Homolka, C EU 01-16; Scot, EC EU 01-22; Mustoe, EC EU 01-19; Keleher, C EU 01-33; Higgins, C EU 01-40) from the Santa Clara Water MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 2002 Page 3 Regular Session District; Withdrawal of Territories (R&B Equipment Company, C EU 92-2) from the Junction City Water Control District Mayor Torrey opened the public hearing. Seeing no one wishing to speak, he closed the public hearing and called for councilor comments/questions. City Manager Jim Johnson asked the council to consider Council Bill 4783, an ordinance providing for withdrawal of territories (Corey, EC EU 01-06; Christian, EC EU 01-07; Dickenson, EC EU 01- 12; Ensley, EC EU 01-15; Tibbitts/Gildea, EC EU 01-20; Community Markets, Inc., EC EU 01-21; Smith, EC EU 01-35; Shields, EC EU 01-34; 7abel, EC EU 01-29; O'Bryant, EC EU 01-42) from the River Road Water District and River Road Park and Recreation District; withdrawal of territories (Homolka, C EU 01-16; Scot, EC EU 01-22; Mustoe, EC EU 01-19; Keleher, C EU 01- 33; Higgins, C EU 01-40) from the Santa Clara Water District; withdrawal of territories (R&B Equipment Company, C EU 92-2) from the Junction City Water Control District. Councilor Kelly, seconded by Councilor Pap~, moved that the item, with unanimous consent of the council, be read a second time by council bill number only, and that enactment be considered at that time. City Manager Johnson asked the council to consider Council Bill 4783 by number only. Councilor Kelly, seconded by Councilor Pap~, moved that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, and became Ordinance No. 20247. The meeting adjourned at 8:45 pm. IV. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Eugene City Council met in executive session to conduct deliberations with persons designated to negotiate real property transactions and to consider records that are exempt from disclosure under the Public Records Law, including written advice from the City Attorney. The executive session was held pursuant to ORS 192.660(1)(e) and ORS 192.660(1)(h). Respectfully submitted, James R. Johnson City Manager (Recorded by Joe Sams) MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 2002 Page 4 Regular Session