HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 01/08/07 Meeting
M I N U T E S
Eugene City Council
Regular Meeting
Council Chamber—Eugene City Hall
January 8, 2007
7:30 p.m.
COUNCILORS PRESENT: Jennifer Solomon, Andrea Ortiz, Mike Clark, Betty Taylor, Alan Zelenka,
Bonny Bettman, Chris Pryor, George Poling.
Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the regular meeting of the Eugene City Council to order.
1. ACTION:
Election of City Council Officers for 2007
Mayor Piercy thanked Councilor Solomon for serving as Council President in 2006. She also welcomed
new councilors Clark and Zelenka to the dais.
Councilor Solomon, seconded by Councilor Ortiz, moved to elect Councilor Andrea Ortiz as
President of the City Council for 2007. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0.
Councilor Solomon, seconded by Councilor Ortiz, moved to elect Councilor Chris Pryor as Vice
President of the City Council for 2007. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0.
The council officers for 2007 were given a round of applause.
2. CEREMONIAL MATTERS
- Recognition of Airport Manager Bob Noble
Mayor Piercy presented Mr. Noble with an award. She stated that Mr. Noble served as Airport Manager
since 2000 and was recently recognized as Airport Executive of the Year for 2006 by the Northwest Chapter
of the American Association of Airport Executives, the highest form of recognition from the professional
organization. She spoke glowingly of Mr. Noble’s accomplishments.
Mr. Noble received a round of applause.
- Recognition of Briana Schooley
Fire Chief Randy Groves presented the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department’s Citizen Life-
Saving Award to Briana Schooley. He explained that the award was presented to a person who performed
an exemplary act, which was determined to be directly responsible for the saving of another person’s life.
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He related that Ms. Schooley saved the life of a stranger who had gone into cardiac arrest while running
from one plane to another in Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. She performed cardio-pulmonary resuscitation
(CPR) on him until emergency personnel arrived. He commended Ms. Schooley for her calm demeanor
throughout the event.
Ms. Schooley received a round of applause.
- Presentation of Plaque from the National League of Cities
Councilor Taylor presented a plaque from the National League of Cities to the City of Eugene for 50 years
of participation. She received the plaque on the City’s behalf at the National League of Cities Convention in
Reno, Nevada. There was a round of applause.
3. PUBLIC FORUM
Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the public forum.
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D. Cohen
, 2115 West 12 Avenue, #6, spoke on behalf of the Learning Education Adventure Direction
(LEAD) program. He thanked the City for providing space to LEAD for its Nuestro Lugar/Our Place Teen
Center. He said they had been busy remodeling the space. He related that many businesses donated time,
labor, and materials to make the center comfortable. He stated that the center would be opening on January
22 and the hours would be 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays and 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.,
Tuesdays through Thursdays. He read the mission statement:
“Our mission is to provide a safe, supportive, fun environment that promotes leadership, empower-
ment, personal growth, and social change by and for low-income multi-cultural and/or at-risk youth
ages 12 to 17.”
He noted that multi-cultural included ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, transgender, identity, and disability
and that at-risk included isolation, having divorced or separated parents, past and/or present abuse,
substance abuse in the home, negative peer pressure, absence of adult or supportive role models, depression,
trauma, a language barrier, unhealthy relationships, undocumented immigrant status, a parent or guardian in
prison, teen parents, a lack of support for the teen, foster care, past or present participation in criminal
activity, substance abuse, risky sex, school drop out, suicide, violence or gangs.
Will Ross
, 88470 Fisher Road, explained that the LEAD teen center held activities, some more improvised
than others. He related that the center had a computer lab with seven computers, seven comfortable
couches, an office with three computers, an “almost always fully stocked fridge,” and a homework and study
space. He said they have used the center almost non-stop and had just finished training 21 volunteers for
when the center opened on January 22. He announced that the grand opening was on January 26 from 6
p.m. to 8 p.m. and invited the councilors to attend.
Terra Williams
, 1665 Oak Patch Road, #19, representing the Nuestro Lugar/Our Place Teen Center,
explained that she was a graduate from the Churchill Alternative High School and a first-generation college
student in her family, as not one family member had pursued education beyond high school. She had not
known how to apply for college or financial aid and had no one to support her. She opined that the
Churchill Alternative School did not seem to know that graduates of the school could be accepted at the
University of Oregon and, because of this lack of awareness, they “only train the students” to enlist in the
army or go to community college. She related that Churchill Alternative School staff expressed surprise at
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her intention to attend the university, because no one had brought that up before there. She said they wished
her luck. She stated that a LEAD mentor helped her by assisting her with essays, talking to counselors, and
helping her with financial aid forms. She was now attending Lane Community College (LCC). She said
this made her want higher education training at Nuestro Lugar and because of this they started an academic
support program. She explained that with the help of some students at the University of Oregon Family and
Human Services (FHS) Department the center was providing mentors and workshops to help with training
for higher education such as SAT preparation, and on strategies to keep up one’s GPA, among others. The
help she received was “tremendous” in her pursuit of higher education. She underscored that teens want to
go to college and succeed in life.
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Caleb Pruzynski
, 470 West 27 Avenue, spoke on behalf of Nuestro Lugar/Our Place Teen Center. He
said he was glad to see the councilors again. He thanked the council and the City for the space that had been
donated. He stated that teens were commonly ignored by society. To him and others, the center represented
a change for the better. He reiterated his gratitude, adding that they had made one of his dreams come true.
Jason Georgianna
, 765 Minosa Avenue, owner of Pacific Coast Cage Fights, stated that he promoted cage
fight events and was an instructor for students wanting to learn the sport. He thought the ordinance that
sought to prohibit unregulated fighting and put some rules in place was a good step forward. He noted that
the State was already working on a parallel process. He felt in spirit that it was a good thing as it was what
the sport needed and it was good for the athletes to take up safe practices. He said he would object to a
proposed amendment that would ban minors from spectating, though he supported banning minors from
fighting. He stressed that regardless of the outcome of the vote on the ordinance, he planned to have all
fighters have blood tests before they compete and to have medical insurance in place. He underscored that
he intended to maintain his standards. He averred that a lot of young people train in jujitsu, kick boxing,
and wrestling and wanted to see such events. He called it a legitimate form of self-expression.
Rachel Rodriguez Parra
, 2036 South Shasta, Vice President of the NAACP, announced that the Martin
Luther King, Jr. March was planned for January 15 starting at 10 a.m. at EWEB. The march would
proceed down Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to the National Guard Armory where it would culminate
with refreshments and a program of guest speakers. She stressed that it was a great day to commemorate a
great man.
Arbrella Luvert
, 2036 South Shasta, member of the NAACP Executive Board, said members of the
Executive Board attended the study circles on racism January 5 through January 7. She called it one of the
“most outstanding things [she] had gone to.” She urged the council to participate in the study circles. She
stated that the circles featured some of the best materials she had seen and they were very well done. She
averred that Cindy Carlson and Dr. Phyllis Lee had done an “outstanding job” in training the group as
facilitators. She believed that if the councilors had not experienced the process they were missing out on
something as a city that would increase the dialogue. She pointed out that tension arose because of lack of
dialogue. She strongly encouraged councilors to train as facilitators, to take the training, and to participate
in the circles. She stated that the circles would be starting in a few weeks and she believed it to be an
excellent opportunity for City staff and elected officials to help to move the council priority on race forward.
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Eugene Drix
, 307-½ East 14 Avenue, expressed his love for the City. He wanted to talk about the two
holes in downtown Eugene. He said most people start from the ground up, but given that they were holes,
we could start from below the ground. He commented that this showed the City was a living organism
because “most living organisms have two holes.” He suggested the City fill the holes with things the City
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needed. He invited everyone to submit ideas about what to do with the holes. He averred the future was
coming quickly and he hoped to inspire people to move forward.
Zachary Vishanoff
, Patterson Street, wished the council a happy new year. He suggested that Mayor
Piercy participate in another City Club forum and that the topic should be the riverfront. He felt Kevin
Matthews would be a good partner to speak with on that issue because he considered Mr. Matthews to be
“brilliant.” He felt a City Club forum on the topic would motivate community members to become more
involved in the riverfront property that the City could potentially purchase from EWEB.
Mayor Piercy closed the public forum and invited comments and questions from councilors.
Councilor Ortiz thanked everyone for coming to the meeting. She surmised that a group of young people
was present as part of a class and thanked them for picking a council meeting to attend. She also wished to
acknowledge the LEAD teens for keeping the council updated.
Councilor Clark echoed Councilor Ortiz’s comments to the young people. He conveyed his appreciation for
the invitation to the Nuestro Lugar/Our Place Teen Center grand opening. He added that he wished to
respond to Mr. Pruzynski’s assertion that teens were easy to ignore as he believed that Mr. Pruzynski would
be a “young fellow who would be very difficult to ignore some day.”
Councilor Solomon commended Mr. Georgianna for his persistence as the ordinance had progressed. She
said he had elevated her understanding of the sport and she appreciated his conscientiousness in working to
keep the fighting a safe sport and his emphasis on education and self-defense. She said she would be making
the amendment requested to not prohibit minors from watching the sport fighting events.
Mayor Piercy thanked everyone for coming. She said she wished she could attend the grand opening of the
Nuestro Lugar/Our Place Teen Center but she was scheduled to be out of town. She also wanted to thank
Mr. Georgianna for working with the council and keeping it council informed.
Mayor Piercy said to Mr. Vishanoff that if the City Club wished to invite her have a discussion she would
be eager to discuss connections to the riverfront and the possibilities.
4. CONSENT CALENDAR
A. Approval of City Council Minutes
- November 8, 2006, Work Session
- November 13, 2006, Work Session
- November 15, 2006, Joint Elected Officials’ Meeting
- November 20, 2006, Work Session
- November 20, 2006, City Council Meeting
- November 27, 2006, Work Session
B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda
C. Adoption of Resolution 4898 Authorizing Issuance of Parks, Athletic Fields, and Preserva-
tion of Open Space Bonds
D. Adoption of Resolution 4899 Acknowledging Receipt of the City of Eugene, Comprehen-
sive Annual Financial Report for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2006
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Councilor Ortiz, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved to approve the items on the Consent Cal-
endar.
Councilor Poling said that he submitted a minutes correction electronically.
Councilor Bettman said she electronically submitted minutes corrections. She thanked Councilor Poling for
taking Councilor Kelly’s place in terms of finding some omissions and errors in the minutes. She remarked
that she hoped councilors would not have to act as proofreaders.
Mayor Piercy deemed the minutes corrections, without objection, approved.
Roll call vote, the motion to approve the Consent Calendar passed unanimously, 8:0.
Mayor Piercy adjourned the Eugene City Council and convened the Eugene Urban Renewal Agency at 8:10
p.m.
5. ACTION:
Resolution 1041 Acknowledging Receipt of the Annual Financial Report of the Urban Renewal
Agency of the City of Eugene, Oregon, for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2006
Councilor Ortiz, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved to adopt Resolution 1041 acknowledging
receipt of the Annual Financial Report for the Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Eugene for
the fiscal year ended June 30, 2006.
City Manager Dennis Taylor pointed out that the Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Eugene had a clean
audit “again” with no comments whatsoever. He called this a phenomenal achievement for any city.
Mayor Piercy thanked the City Manager and staff for both of the reports, noting that it demonstrated that
City staff was doing a good job at being fiscally responsible.
Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0.
6. ACTION:
Resolution 1042 Delegating Authority to Declare Official Intent to Reimburse Expenditures
City Manager Taylor asked Financial Analysis Manager for the Central Services Department Sue
Cutsogeorge to explain why the resolution was before the council.
Ms. Cutsogeorge stated that the resolution granted authority to the Agency Director, also the City Manager,
to sign the paperwork that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) required under certain circumstances. She
explained that if an entity thought it was going to spend its own money and then later come back with a tax
exempt bond to repay itself, it was required to declare this prior to spending the money. She said the IRS
did this because it had an interest in ensuring that the fewest number of tax exempt bonds were issued. She
underscored that the resolution did not authorize any spending or any debt nor did it require any issuance of
any debt. She stated that the reason one of the delegations had been used by the city in the past was because
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of the General Obligation Bonds approved for parks. She said the City routinely did so at the point in time
the council had committed itself to issuing debt.
Councilor Ortiz, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved to adopt Resolution 1042 delegating au-
thority to declare official intent to reimburse expenditures.
Councilor Bettman understood that this was a different process than delegating the authority to the City
Manager for Parks and Open Space bonds which was a defined amount of money. She asserted that the
Urban Renewal District had a provision in its plan that indicated that $250,000 could be spent without
coming before council for any project that “could be even loosely construed as benefiting the Urban Renewal
District.” She did not think there were any constraints. She believed that this was not a $250,000 per year
cap, rather it meant the City Manager could authorize “$250,000 period for any expenditures.” She called
this vast latitude for expenditures. She was inclined not to support the resolution. She felt the same thing
could be accomplished by bringing these things to the council.
Mayor Piercy asked if there was a reason for following the procedure as per the resolution over the way that
Councilor Bettman had mentioned in her comments. Ms. Cutsogeorge replied that the biggest difference
between supporting the resolution and opposing it would be that opposition would result in Finance staff
coming to three meetings instead of two, as staff would have to come and request the delegation authority
that the City Manager would be given by the resolution.
Mayor Piercy suggested that the resolution would cut a meeting but having these items come before the
council alerted the council to activity. Ms. Cutsogeorge responded that the council would know about the
activity because the first step in the process would be that the council would say it wanted to fund the
project. This was the trigger for such a resolution.
City Manager Taylor pointed out that every debt to be issued would require council action.
Councilor Taylor said anything that caused the council to focus more on expenditures and caused the public
to be more aware was a good thing. She was concerned about “how easy it is” to spend urban renewal
funds.
Councilor Bettman asserted that these items do not come often and could “certainly” be in the form of a
Consent Calendar item with an explanation. She thought the “inconvenience” would be negligible but in
terms of the “accountability factor” it seemed to have significance.
Roll call vote; the motion passed, 6:2; councilors Taylor and Bettman voting in opposition.
Mayor Piercy adjourned the meeting of the Eugene Urban Renewal Agency at 8:16 p.m. and reconvened the
meeting of the City Council.
7. ACTION:
An Ordinance Prohibiting Extreme Fighting; Adding Section 4.740 to the Eugene Code, 1971; and
Amending Section 4.990 of that Code
City Manager Taylor asked City Attorney Jerry Lidz to briefly describe the ordinance and the issues before
the council.
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Mr. Lidz stated that the council had held two prior work sessions and a public hearing on the item. He
indicated that the City had the right to ban or regulate amateur mixed martial arts, but the State had the
exclusive authority to regulate professional fighting of all kinds. He said the general approach of the
ordinance was to prohibit extreme or cage fighting, but to exempt fights that comply with regulations the
City Manager would adopt from that ban. He noted the four things that the regulations would cover were
listed in the Agenda Item Summary (AIS). He added that a motion to amend the ordinance to prohibit the
attendance of and participation by minors proposed by Councilor Bettman was listed as Option 2 in the AIS.
Councilor Ortiz, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved that the City Council adopt Council Bill
4930, an ordinance prohibiting extreme fighting.
Councilor Taylor asked what would happen if the council did not adopt the ordinance. Mr. Lidz replied that
amateur mixed martial arts would continue to be unregulated within the city limits of Eugene.
Councilor Taylor commented that she had difficulty in adopting regulations for something she felt should be
banned. She asked if Mr. Lidz believed the fights would be safer under the ordinance. Mr. Lidz responded
that he was not an expert on mixed martial arts, but he thought in light of Mr. Georgianna’s comments and
some of the regulations that had been proposed, regulating the practice was safer than allowing it to continue
unregulated.
Councilor Poling, seconded by Councilor Solomon, moved to amend the ordinance to add a Sec-
tion 5 to require on-scene medical personnel with minimum paramedic rating.
Councilor Poling believed it was imperative to have on-scene medical personnel who could address a crisis
situation that might occur.
Councilor Ortiz offered a friendly amendment to require a registered nurse or medical personnel
with minimum paramedic rating on-scene.
Councilor Poling said he was seeking to have someone on the scene with both the training and the equip-
ment.
Councilor Ortiz surmised that what Councilor Poling was suggesting was that Emergency Medical Services
(EMS) personnel should be standing by. She asked if he meant he wanted a unit of service at the scene.
Councilor Poling responded that he was not specifically thinking of an EMS vehicle.
Councilor Bettman averred that such a person should be an emergency medical technician (EMT) with
access to equipment. She felt there were ways for such services to be obtained, such as on an hourly basis.
She believed it would help to have such treatment for all injuries and also for an immediate recognition of
more severe injuries.
Mayor Piercy asked if having paramedics on site was a requirement for any other sport where significant
injuries could take place. City Manager Taylor was uncertain of the answer. He felt the rationale for
Councilor Poling’s amendment was understandable given that mixed martial arts presented a unique
environment and the council was voting on an originating ordinance.
Mayor Piercy asked if there were enough EMS personnel to provide that kind of coverage. Mr. Lidz replied
that the City did not have a lot of occasions where there was more than one event needing an EMS unit
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occurring at the same time. He said whether one unit or one EMT with equipment was available would have
to be determined.
Councilor Solomon remarked that she was having a hard time envisioning that an EMT with the equipment
would just be available. She wondered whether personnel qualified for hire “on a Friday night” would
already be working in the public sector. She said it was difficult to vote on the amendment given that she
was uncertain whether that was a reasonable expectation.
Councilor Ortiz stated that the whole city was in grids for paramedic coverage and when one unit was
engaged, other units had to cover the area. She said there was never a time that a unit would not be
working.
Councilor Bettman said it seemed there were plenty of events at which EMTs stood by. She predicted that if
the amendment passed, staff would assess it and, if the ordinance needed further tweaking, staff would come
back to the council.
Councilor Pryor ascertained that Councilor Poling’s amendment was not specific to a government-employed
EMT. Councilor Poling added that the person on site could be a doctor, as an example.
Mr. Lidz said if it was council’s goal to require on-scene medical personnel but the council was wary of
specifying exactly what kind, the ordinance could be amended to say that the City Manager’s administrative
rules must require appropriate on-scene medical personnel without specifying the level of training. He
suggested that the City Manager could then investigate what various levels of training would be appropriate
and what equipment was available.
Councilor Poling asked if adding at the end of his amendment “a paramedic rating or the equivalent to that”
would be the same as Mr. Lidz’ suggested wording. He reiterated his feeling that it was necessary to have a
high standard for the medically trained person on the scene.
City Manager Taylor said the intent of the amendment was clear and wording that included “the equivalent
to” would allow staff to clarify what that would be. He thought the amendment would be more understand-
able if the delegation to staff to do so was clear. He added that it would be up to the promoter of the event
to procure the medical personnel if required.
Mr. Lidz suggested the following wording:
“…require on-scene medical personnel with a paramedic rating or equivalent training.”
Councilor Poling agreed that this was the motion he wished to make, as did the second.
The amendment passed, 5:3; councilors Solomon, Clark, and Ortiz voting no.
Councilor Bettman, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved to amend the ordinance by adding a
new subparagraph 5 to Section 4.740(2)(a), as follows:
“Prohibit attendance of and participation by minors.”
Councilor Bettman appreciated Mr. Georgianna’s intentions to modify the environment in which the events
occur. She added that Mr. Georgianna was not the only promoter in the City of Eugene and the ordinance
was being written to protect the public. She believed that it was “particularly egregious” to allow minors at
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these events where they could watch people locked in cages “go after each other.” She acknowledged that
ultimately it was the parent’s responsibility, but she believed the fights desensitized young people to
violence.
Councilor Zelenka said the issue for him was whether this really rose to the level of having to ban minors.
He pointed out that young people can watch this sort of sport on television. He had been struck by
Councilor Ortiz’s discussion of the cultural aspects of sport fighting. He did not support having a group of
10 to 14-year-olds go off against their parents’ will to participate and/or attend the events.
Councilor Zelenka offered a friendly amendment to specify that minors could not attend unless
accompanied by a parent.
Councilor Bettman said this sounded good in theory, but she did not think they would be able to determine if
a young person was being accompanied by a parent without checking identification. She asked the City
Manager if the administrative rules would then require that identifications be checked and that minors were
accompanied by the parent. City Manager Taylor replied that this was not a decision he could make based
on the information provided. He said if this was the council’s will he would likely look at how other
parental requirements were enforced.
Mr. Lidz said the question in his mind was whether the administrative rules would add anything to Councilor
Zelenka’s intent. He stated that the burden would be on the promoter of the event to ensure the rules were
adhered to.
Councilor Zelenka asked how age limits were monitored at movie theaters.
Councilor Bettman said teens could go to a movie that was rated R with an adult. She opined that
enforcement was lax.
Councilor Pryor asked what the rules were for boxing and whether minors were allowed to attend. It seemed
to him that the activity was similar to boxing and similar rules would be helpful. He underscored that the
ordinance had been generated by concern for the safety of the participants and questioned the wisdom of
“moving into public morals.” He did not want to get into what young people could or could not do. He felt
that Councilor Zelenka made a good point. He was willing to support the notion of requiring young people
to be accompanied by a parent. He said that if the amendment failed he intended to offer an amendment to
that end.
Councilor Solomon said she would not support the amendment. She did not favor prohibiting minors from
attending. She felt the ordinance had done a good job of cleaning up the event. She also wanted to be
careful if it came to crafting language requiring a minor to be accompanied by a parent given that some
young people were being raised by guardians.
Councilor Poling agreed with Councilor Solomon. He did not feel minors should participate but he did not
want to restrict youth from attending. He reiterated that young people could watch worse on television. He
said he would be amenable to including language that said no minors should attend without an accompany-
ing adult.
Councilor Ortiz said she was unwilling to support the amendment to prohibit attendance by minors, though
she agreed they should not participate. She noted that watching such events was a part of her upbringing
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growing up in the Latino community. While she would not choose to attend such an event at this point in
her life, she could not support preventing attendance by minors, given that it was still a spectacle some
people watched as a family. She added that she would consider supporting an amendment that required an
accompanying adult.
Councilor Bettman wished to make a point about “children being allowed into these events.” She related
that Mr. Georgianna acknowledged in one letter that one concern had to do with “cage girls that [were]
dressed too lasciviously.” She noted that Mr. Georgianna asserted he would tone down the way the “girls”
would dress. She said she was sure that “half-naked women presiding over a bloody spectacle in a cage,
with people beating each other to a pulp, makes money.” She averred this was fine for adults but it was not
fine for “children.” She reiterated her belief that minors should be prohibited from the premises.
Councilor Taylor indicated she would support the amendment. She noted the comparison one councilor had
made to movies and commented that seeing something in real life was not the same as seeing it in a movie.
Roll call vote; the motion to amend failed, 6:2; councilors Bettman and Taylor voting in favor.
Mayor Piercy observed that there was support for the ordinance. She asked the councilors to consider
whether they wanted to pass an amendment and have it come into play in the face of the impending state
legislation.
Councilor Pryor supported imposing some level of oversight. While he did not want the ordinance to be too
prohibitive, he said he would like to see an effort to determine what the boxing industry did and to craft
something similar to that. He did not want the people who were promoting mixed martial arts to go forward
from this ordinance wondering what sort of restrictions the City would next place upon them.
City Manager Taylor suggested that he and staff provide a range of options as a council assignment and
provide it in the regular Thursday packet. Councilor Pryor said he was amenable to that.
Councilor Zelenka, seconded by Councilor Bettman, moved to amend the ordinance to impose
limitations on participation and attendance by minors without parental or guardian consent.
Councilor Bettman offered a friendly amendment to delete the word participation. Councilor
Zelenka accepted the friendly amendment.
Roll call vote; the motion passed, 7:1; Councilor Clark voting in opposition.
Councilor Poling, seconded by Councilor Bettman, moved to prohibit participation in the mixed
martial arts fights by minors.
In response to a question from Councilor Solomon, City Manager Taylor said he would provide a range of
options as part of a response to the question raised by Councilor Pryor. He stated that he would, based
upon the council’s action, probably promulgate rules that the council could comment on.
Councilor Zelanka asked Councilor Poling to elaborate on the reasons for prohibiting minors from
participating in the events given that minors participated in other sports. Councilor Poling acknowledged
that minors did participate in other rough sports such as football, but he believed mixed martial arts fighting
might be too aggressive for the younger age group.
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Councilor Pryor asked if minors were permitted to box. Mr. Lidz replied that he did not know. He noted
that only professional boxing was regulated by the State.
Roll call vote; the amendment passed, 5:3; councilors Clark, Ortiz, and Solomon voting in op-
position.
Councilor Zelenka moved to amend the motion so that the ordinance would be enacted 30 days
after the close of the legislative session.
Mr. Lidz said he would have to look into it to be certain, but he had some doubt that an ordinance could be
adopted with an unspecified enacting date.
Councilor Zelenka rephrased his amendment so that it stated that the ordinance would be en-
acted on August 1, 2007.
City Manager Taylor said if the legislature took action sooner the council could take action before the date
certain for enactment.
Mr. Lidz noted that the City Manager would need some time to develop some administrative rules.
Councilor Pryor provided the second.
Councilor Poling could not support the amendment. He stated that staff had put a great deal of time into the
ordinance. He felt the ordinance should be put into place now.
Councilor Bettman indicated she would oppose the amendment. She pointed out that the council did not
know what restrictions the State Legislature would approve and they could ultimately be a watered down
version of the council’s intent in the ordinance. She underscored that the City’s legislative document was
based on home rule.
Councilor Zelenka said while he was prepared to vote for the ordinance and put it into place, he was
concerned about spending a lot of staff time to create something that could potentially be redundant to what
the State was doing. He felt passing the amendment and subsequent ordinance showed financial prudence
and concern for staff time.
Roll call vote; the amendment failed, 5:3; councilors Zelenka, Clark, and Solomon voting in fa-
vor.
Roll call vote; the main motion, as amended, passed, 6:2; councilors Clark and Ortiz voting in
opposition.
The meeting adjourned at 9:13 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
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Dennis M. Taylor
City Manager
(Recorded by Ruth Atcherson)
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