HomeMy WebLinkAbout04.29.20 City Council Work Session MinutesMINUTES
Eugene City Council
Virtual Work Session
Eugene, Oregon 97401
April 29, 2020
12:00 p.m.
Councilors Present: Betty Taylor, Emily Semple, Alan Zelenka, Jennifer Yeh, Claire Syrett, Chris
Pryor, Greg Evans
Councilors Absent: Mike Clark
Mayor Vinis opened the April 29, 2020, work session of the Eugene City Council.
1. WORK SESSION: COVID-19 Update
Karen Gaffney, Lane County Incident Commander, and Dr. Patrick Luedtke, Lane County Public
Health Officer, spoke about flattening the curve, contact tracing, testing capacity, isolation and
quarantine, and data gathering.
Council Discussion:
• Councilor Zelenka - asked questions about Sweden's test and herd immunity.
• Councilor Syrett - thanked the presenters; inquired about Lane C ounty's role in expanding
testing; asked if Dr. Luedtke could share his response to the California emergency room doctors'
interview/video.
2. Applicant Statement for Budget Committee and Planning Commission
The applicant was not able to join the meeting to give her statements.
3. WORK SESSION: State Update - Governor's Framework
Sarah Means, Regional Solutions Coordinator in Governor Brown's office, presented the
Governor's public health framework for reopening Oregon.
Council Discussion:
• Councilor Syrett - thanked Ms. Means for the thorough presentation; inquired what is meant by
the term "at -risk health care workers'; asked where the Governor's team will be setting up
sentinel surveillance sites and who within the community the team will be engaging with to
determine those sites; inquired how a county goes about formally requesting to begin to
reopen; asked when personal services businesses might reopen; stated she hopes the Governor
is considering the interplay between reopening an industry and understanding those in the
industry will have safety concerns; stated she is very supportive of coordinating with other
states for reopening.
• Mayor Vinis - shared that she meets with groups of business owners (restaurants, breweries
and downtown retailers) in Eugene; asked if businesses had a way they could review and give
feedback on the Governor's reopening plan.
• Councilor Zelenka - expressed thanks to Ms. Means for the presentation; asked if Lane County
had made it to "day 1" of declining symptomatic cases.
MINUTES - Eugene City Council April 29, 2020 Page 1
Work Session
Councilor Syrett suggested Boards and Commissions applicant could record her statements for the
Budget Committee and Planning Commission and submit them to Council; staff responded they
would follow-up with the applicant to arrange this.
The meeting adjourned at 1:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Beth Forrest
City Recorder
(Recorded by Jessica Gebb)
Link to the webcast of this City Council meeting here.
MINUTES - Eugene City Council April 29, 2020 Page 2
Work Session