CC Minutes - 03/15/99 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES Eugene City Council Council Chamber--City Hall March 15, 1999 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Scott Meisner, Nancy Nathanson, Pat Farr, Bobby Lee, Betty Taylor, Gary Rayor, David Kelly, Gary Pap~. Mayor James D. Torrey called the council meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Torrey outlined the rules for the public forum. Nama Glenn, 2740 Edison Street, Eugene, referred to a petition previously submitted to the council regarding Year 2000 preparedness and indicated she had more names to submit. She asked those present to indicate their concern about Year 2000 by standing. Eleven people stood. Ms. Glenn said that people either did not think they could do anything about Year 2000 or thought that the government would take care of them. She said that concerned citizens, businesses, hospitals, and the Sheriff's Department had prepared suggestions for actions the City and County could take. She said that people are interested in the topic, are generating positive ideas for action, and people can become involved and take action. Ms. Glenn said that there were no down sides to the Year 2000 issue as it led to the development of emergency preparedness plans and there was time to address its ramifications. Leah Frankel Podolsky, 2325 Riverview Street, Eugene, expressed concern about the community's lack of preparedness for Year 2000 and the City's unwillingness to take a leadership role in helping the community become prepared to face whatever emergencies that could happen, including earthquake and flood. She said that people wanted support to become empowered to handle crisis. She asked the council to support the Citizens Emergency Response Team (CERT) and that Eugene become active in that organization. Ms. Podalsky suggested that the City take advantage of the neighborhood associations to mobilize residents. Bob Podolsky, 2325 Riverview Street, Eugene, urged the council to take the Year 2000 situation seriously. He believed there were many ways it could turn out to be a disaster across the world. He endorsed the use of neighborhood groups and CERT in addressing the issue. Mr. Podalsky said the council could have an effect on the quality and persistence of life for community members. He said the council should take advantage of the information available, most of which indicated the situation was serious. He encouraged the councilors to call him with questions. Bruce Miller, PO Box 50968, Eugene, supported the continuation of the downtown mall exclusion and closure ordinances. He said that there were violent incidents on the mall and predatory behavior on the part of adults against Iow-income youth. He said that such a mix of streetwise adult predators and weak, "street-dumb" youth was dangerous.