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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 01/08/07 Work Session M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room—Eugene City Hall January 8, 2007 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Jennifer Solomon, Andrea Ortiz, Betty Taylor, Bonny Bettman, George Poling, Chris Pryor, Alan Zelenka, Mike Clark. A. COMMITTEE REPORTS AND ITEMS OF INTEREST FROM MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL AND CITY MANAGER Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. She welcomed new councilors Mike Clark and Alan Zelenka as well as the members of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) present: Carmen Urbina, Surendra Subramani, Annette Leonard, Neil Van Steenbergen, Hugh Massengill, David Lottier, Rebecca Flynn, Jeremiah Megowan, Ibrahim Hamide, Christina Greening, Paloma Reza, and Jim Garcia. Mayor Piercy thanked staff for their assistance with the State of the City address and commended Ms. Solomon as master of ceremonies. She reminded everyone that there would be a Martin Luther King Jr. march on January 13, 2007, at 10 a.m. beginning at the Eugene Water & Electric Board site. She announced that the official launch of Lane Transit District’s new EmX Green Line service would be on January 14 at noon at the Downtown Athletic Club and she would hold her one-on-one meetings with constituents, in conjunction with Mr. Pryor, on January 11 at 5 p.m. at Schlotzsky’s Deli. Ms. Ortiz thanked HRC members for the many hours of volunteer service they gave to the City. She said that Willamette High School students would present the life of Martin Luther King on January 14 at 7 p.m. Mr. Clark thanked Ms. Piercy, City Manager Taylor and City staff for a successful State of the City event. Mr. Pryor said he attended the Springfield State of the City address and appreciated Mayor Sid Leiken’s remarks, particularly about prospects for Eugene and Springfield to work together. He urged the City of Eugene to take advantage of those partnership opportunities. Mr. Zelenka thanked outgoing councilors David Kelly and Gary Papé for their service to the community during their terms on the council. Ms. Taylor welcomed Mr. Clark and Mr. Zelenka to the council and congratulated Ms. Solomon and Ms. Poling on their re-elections. She commended Ms. Piercy for her State of the City address and her presenta- tion at City Club. Mr. Poling thanked Mr. Clark and Mr. Zelenka for attending many council meetings before they were sworn in as councilors. He appreciated their efforts to become well-informed on council matters. He echoed Mr. MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 8, 2007 Page 1 Work Session Pryor’s comments regarding the Springfield State of the City address. He asked about the status of the City’s commercial and industrial land study. City Manager Taylor said the City was not engaged in such a study at present and it was not on the Planning and Development Department’s work program for the next fiscal year. He said a work session on the subject was scheduled for later in the month. Ms. Bettman welcomed Mr. Clark and Mr. Zelenka to the council. Ms. Bettman moved to direct the City Manager to discontinue official City of Eugene spon- sorship of the 2007 Dr. Martin Luther King Day event, including the withholding of the City’s second contribution for the event in the amount of $150 that was previously commit- ted but not yet paid. The motion died for lack of a second. Ms. Bettman moved to direct the City Manager to have staff begin planning for a City of Eugene sponsored MLK Day event, starting with 2008, which celebrates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King and is a public event where every member of our community feels respected and welcome. The motion died for lack of a second. B. WORKSHOP: City Council Priority Issue – Joint Meeting with Human Rights Commission Human Resource and Risk Services Director Lauren Chouinard said he was the staff lead for the council’s priority on race and the purpose of the joint meeting with the HRC was to discuss a response plan to hate incidents. He said the need for such a plan was also discussed by the council’s Community Committee on Race (CCR). He introduced Phyllis Lee, the consultant who had facilitated the earlier Communities of Color meeting. Ms. Lee said the July 2006 Communities of Color meeting was one of the most stimulating, challenging, and rewarding experiences in her years of working with communities and government on equity issues. She commended all who participated. She noted that members of the public could not speak at a work session but invited those present to submit written comments to the council or commission. At her request, HRC members introduced themselves. Ms. Ortiz provided an overview of the community conversation on race during CCR meetings. She said the CCR was formed to address the many issues that arose during the Communities of Color meeting and those issues had been organized into the following categories: ? Public Agency Support ? Accountability and Measurement ? Dialogue, Education and Training ? Networking and Inclusion ? Publicity and Media MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 8, 2007 Page 2 Work Session Ms. Ortiz reported that one of the CCR meetings focused on hate incidents in the community and a draft plan for responding to those incidents was provided to the council for its consideration. She gave a brief overview of each of the categories and said that recommendations and next steps were being developed in each category. She said as the CCR moved forward with its work, it continually asked itself who was not at the table. Regarding the response plan for hate incidents, she hoped that a system of notifying elected officials and affected communities of those incidents could be developed so that allies could reach out to those who were the targets of hate crimes. Ms. Urbina said the CCR was evaluating the ability of the City to create change internally and externally and reach out to other jurisdictions and agencies to collaborate and bring about change. She said activities such as study circles and guest speakers and trainers could help bring about community norm change. Ms. Lee introduced Human Rights Program Manager Greg Rikhoff to present the hate incidents response draft plan. She pointed out that the plan represented a convergence of ideas from several sources, including work of the City Council, the CCR, and the Human Rights Program, and would create a new process for the City of Eugene. Mr. Rikhoff stated that a response to bias crimes and incidents of hate had been a long-standing goal of the council and HRC. He said the discussion would provide direction to staff on further refining the draft plan. He said research had not discovered comparable plans in other communities so Eugene was “inventing the wheel.” He discussed recent hate incidents in which graffiti was involved and said that while the community had a history of responding to those incidents, it lacked a strategic approach that could be tailored to each incident but in every case include the following elements: ? Support and empower the victims/survivors ? Inform and gain support from the community ? Protect the integrity of any criminal investigation ? Disempower and catch the perpetrators Mr. Rikhoff reviewed the definitions section of the response plan and noted that while the terms “hate activity” and “bias activity” were often used interchangeably, the term “hate crime” referred to a criminal offense that could involve a wide range of activities and targeted one specific individual, family or group. Ms. Leonard asked about the source of the hate crime definition. Mr. Rikhoff said the State’s definition was used. Mr. Rikhoff continued with a review of the proposed response steps. He said that a step for notifying elected officials and affected communities consistent with Ms. Ortiz’s request would be added. Ms. Urbina observed that organizations each had their own response to hate incidents, with some acknowl- edging the incident and following a protocol while others simply removed the visible evidence, such as graffiti, and moved forward as though it had not happened. She hoped that Eugene’s response plan could provide the basis for consistent protocols among public agencies and local governments. Ms. Piercy emphasized the importance of a timely response to an incident and hoped that was built into the plan. Mr. Rikhoff agreed, and pointed out that not only were responses different among entities, but how the incident was characterized also differed, which sent a confusing message to the community. MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 8, 2007 Page 3 Work Session Ms. Ortiz explained that her request for notification specifically meant that councilors would be notified as soon as an incident was detected. Ms. Piercy strongly supported Ms. Ortiz’s request as it was important for elected officials, as leaders of the community, to demonstrate they cared, understood what happened, and were responding to it, whenever and wherever an incident occurred. She added that notification should also include other elected officials such as county commissioners, as all leaders had a responsibility to respond. Ms. Urbina cited examples of incidents in the River Road area where graffiti was in areas both inside and outside the City limits and the difference between City and County responses to removing it. She also shared her experiences while counter-leafleting with those whose property had been targeted. Mr. Rikhoff explained that counter-leafleting was sponsored by the Community Alliance of Lane County (CALC) and provided support to victims of hate activities through personal contact by volunteers who provided information about available community resources. Ms. Flynn asked that counter-leafleting include materials in Spanish and other languages as well as English. She suggested that non-English radio stations could also be used to spread the message of community support for victims. Ms. Ortiz asked if hate activities were tracked at the local and state levels. Mr. Rikhoff said the Eugene Police Department tracked activities that were criminal in nature but it was difficult to maintain an accurate record of non-criminal activities. He said there were state and federal reporting requirements but many jurisdictions lacked the resources to comply; therefore, accurate data on the incidence of hate activities was not available. Mr. Rikhoff continued his review of response steps related to assessing and meeting the needs of victims and survivors, affected communities and the community as a whole. Ms. Piercy remarked that there was a balance between trying to be respectful of the individuals who were the target of a hate activity and informing the community so the community could stand up against that activity. Mr. Zelenka asked what types of services were available for victims and whether funding was available. Mr. Rikhoff replied that the County provided victims’ services through the District Attorney’s Office. Ms. Ortiz said the County provided services for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence but there was no funding for services to victims of hate crimes beyond what might result from restitution if the perpetrator was caught and convicted. Mr. Rikhoff noted that schools might provide services to students who were victimized but there was little available to members of the community at-large. Mr. Rikhoff continued with a review of steps to educate the larger community. He said that public statements in response to an incident should be timely and developed in concert with the affected parties to ensure they did not feel alienated or re-victimized. MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 8, 2007 Page 4 Work Session Mr. Pryor declared that it was critical for people in positions of authority and the general public to communicate the lack of community tolerance for hate activities. He used the example of drunk driving to illustrate an activity that was at one time somewhat tolerated; but, through a consistent and open campaign was now regarded as unacceptable. He said that same level of commitment should be focused on hate activities. Ms. Ortiz said CCR identified several ideas for further consideration, including requiring City-funded newsletters to insert articles on diversity. Ms. Piercy agreed there were different levels of response, but there should be an initial timely response that did not need to have all aspects fully refined with follow-up responses providing more detailed plans to address the incident. She emphasized the importance of immediately letting the community know that elected officials and local government cared and were concerned. Ms. Urbina said that while many residents were aware of the River Road incident, many others living in the same area were not. She said it was important to be less reactionary and more proactive in educating people about the problem and encouraging people to take positive steps to demonstrate lack of tolerance for that behavior. Mr. Garcia said he had taught Chicano studies for the past 15 years and found it necessary to incorporate in the curriculum lessons about who Mexican-Americans and Latinos were. He felt cultural competency to present an issue was an important consideration; the City could take the lead and be a good resource for providing a competent perspective about issues of race and defining the language to be used. Mr. Rikhoff asked if councilors were interested in being notified of counter actions such as leafleting or vigils that occurred in the community or in their wards. Ms. Ortiz stated she wanted to be notified of any counter actions so she had the opportunity to participate. Mr. Pryor observed that not everyone was at the same level with respect to understanding the nature, extent, and severity of the problem; some segments of the community were acutely aware of hate and intolerance and others had no idea what racism was or what it looked like. He said the City needed to do a better job of educating the community about the characteristics and mechanisms of hate so that people could not be ambiguous about its nature. He said that the culture would not change unless public awareness was raised about hate activities and their impact. Mr. Megowan said that significant educational work had been done with the study circles and that effort should be continued and expanded. He said that many people underwent an important change in attitude as a result of their participation in the study circles. Mr. Zelenka said the notification process should not stop at initial notification; it should be used as a tool to keep officials informed about community reaction and official responses in a series of notifications. Mr. Van Steenbergen announced that the third round of study circles would begin later in January and many of the facilitators were persons of color. He was pleased that City employees were encouraged to participate in the study circles. MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 8, 2007 Page 5 Work Session Mr. Rikhoff discussed the need to create a community climate that thwarted hate activity and identify strategies could send a message of zero tolerance for prejudice. He said one possibility was to host another hate crimes conference in Eugene; the last one was held in 2001 and over 600 people participated. Ms. Ortiz suggested developing a periodic City newsletter on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusiveness similar to the newsletters issued on subjects such as parks and recreation or stormwater. Mr. Megowan suggested creating “hate free” zones similar to the “drug free” zones throughout the community. He said that ideas from other initiatives could be customized to deal with hate crimes. Ms. Flynn said that when she went to Missoula, Montana several years ago she was concerned about being accepted in the community because she was a lesbian but seeing the “hate free” zone signs posted around the town was reassuring and welcoming. She strongly supported Mr. Megowan’s suggestion. Mr. Hamide agreed with Mr. Pryor’s example of the changing public attitude about drinking and driving and its applicability to hate crimes. He said that education was a key to that effort and channels already in place could be used to provide information; however, he also wanted to see the City take an active lead beyond simply responding to incidents. He said it was important for the community to hear the City’s voice on this issue. He asked if there was an official policy regarding zero tolerance. Ms. Ortiz said the council had signed a declaration regarding zero tolerance but it was not well-publicized by the media. Ms. Piercy agreed the City could do more to constantly reinforce the message and not rely on one-time actions such as a resolution or declaration. Ms. Leonard suggested developing “tag lines” for the end of City emails or a short, simple message that could work its way into the public consciousness. As an example she said that the phrase “greatest City for the arts and outdoors” had worked its way into her consciousness in just a short time and a similar approach could be used to send the message that Eugene was a community where everyone was welcome. City Manager Taylor commented that the Working City program was always looking for broadcast material and would be a good venue to periodically refresh the City’s message of zero tolerance. He said that message would be in an electronic format that could be made available for other uses. Mr. Rikhoff said the HRC had discussed the importance of councilors including that message in their regular communications with community groups and organizations. He said that diversity and inclusiveness should be part of a standard script about the City’s values and priorities and it could make a major difference when that message came from elected officials. Mr. Garcia said that capacity issues also needed to be addressed and creating “hate free” zones meant the City had to back that up with action. He said that an understanding of hate crimes and racism should be part of the minimum qualifications for any City employee and considered during the hiring process. Ms. Ortiz emphasized the importance of letting people who participate in the hiring process as members of an interview panel know the outcome of that process and expressing the City’s appreciation for their participation. MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 8, 2007 Page 6 Work Session Mr. Rikhoff said the draft plan would be processed through the CCR and HRC before it came before the council again. He asked for any additional input. Ms. Piercy hoped that the City could improve opportunities for people to participate electronically in discussions of issues and provide input. Mr. Chouinard encouraged councilors and commissioners to email any further thoughts or suggestions to staff. He said the draft plan would be available on the City’s website when it was more refined. Ms. Lee thanked everyone for their participation and stressed the importance of hearing from many voices and creating community engagement by helping people feel comfortable expressing their ideas. The meeting adjourned at 7:07 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis M. Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Lynn Taylor) MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 8, 2007 Page 7 Work Session