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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 10/13/08 MeetingM I N U T E S Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber—Eugene City Hall October 13, 2008 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Bonny Bettman, Mike Clark, Andrea Ortiz, Betty Taylor, Jennifer Solomon, Alan Zelenka, George Poling. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Chris Pryor. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the regular meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. John Brown , 101 East Broadway, Suite 101, thanked the City Councilors and Mayor for their commitment to the community. He stressed that he was not representing any board or commission of which he was a member. He stated that he was speaking from having served eight years on the Police Commission and chairing the Auditor/Civilian Review Board Subcommittee that had helped draft the ordinance. He averred that it was a good model and could work, but if the council did not intervene soon to stop the debate on what was right or what was legal, the entire process would be “doomed.” He underscored that he had traveled to the National Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) conferences, as had Councilor Bettman. He felt he had learned the components that would make the auditor ordinance a success, as follows: ? It had to have adequate funding; ? It had to be non-politicized; ? There had to be buy-in from all of the parties involved. He did not think Eugene had those components. He urged the council to take the lead and do something to resolve things. He opined that the system was not functioning currently and people were getting frustrated. He declared that there was a lot of blame and no solutions; the council should find solutions instead of blame. He observed that too many people thought they had the answers. He believed the answers lay in the dialogue that had yet to occur. He recalled that during the process involved in formulating the draft there had been an incident that came about that caused some people to think the process should be accelerated. He said rather than accelerating the process they sat down, had a dialogue, and continued the process. He thought they had done it right; what they had passed on to the council was thought to be correct by the subcommittee, the Police Commission, the council, and the City Attorney. He now felt they had erred in not setting up a system to address problems as they arose. He underscored his desire to continue to honor what the voters had asked for, which was transparent civilian oversight. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 13, 2008 Page 1 Regular Meeting th Deb Frisch , 3003 West 11 Avenue, attributed the departure of the Police Chief and the Police Auditor to the Civilian Review Board (CRB) not functioning. She believed that the CRB needed to function better or there would be more legal and financial risks for the City. She opposed the passage of ballot measure 20- 146. She registered her opposition to the fourth item on the agenda, which would authorize the expenditure of contingency funds from the General Fund for the auditor recruitment process. Jim Hale , 1715 Linnea Avenue, observed that the community had a shortage of police officers and the county was in “disarray” in regard to public safety; public safety needed more funding across the board. He thought there should be more police and more public safety and in order to do that the City had to have people at the margins and at the middle of the political process understand that the police department was above approach. He believed this required a civilian review that was not run by the City Manager. He averred that it was not possible to have the very best police department and the best officers unless the civilian review was above reproach and “not played out in the newspapers.” He did not understand how the Eugene Police Employees Association (EPEA) could have bargained for a contract that was in conflict with the auditor ordinance. He thought everyone should be completely earnest on all sides of the political spectrum so that the ability to solve the community’s problems would not be “crippled.” He stressed that the community’s crime rate, particularly pertaining to property crimes, was soaring. He believed that people were not calling in crimes as much as in the past because many people felt there was no point as no one would be locked up. He said they needed to find solutions regarding law enforcement, which should include a good approach to police review. Carol Berg-Caldwell , 2510 Augusta Street, was angered that the Police Auditor had been blocked from access to the Internal Affairs (IA) office of the Eugene Police Department (EPD). She felt that the auditor should have complete access and the denial of it was “no small matter.” She supported the Mayor’s proposal to hold an executive session regarding this issue. She averred that City Hall and the Human Rights Commission had been “swamped” with callers who wanted to know what was going on. She opined that the Mayor’s opponent in the mayoral race “mocked” the lack of progress of the external review program. She declared that the will of the voters should be respected and nothing should trump the democratic process. She believed that reputable officers had nothing to fear and much to gain from external review. She provided her testimony in writing. Drix , High Street, stressed that there were two more days to register to vote. He said he had been encouraging everyone to vote. He declared that he was not a money person, noting that he had bought his shirt from a used clothing store for half off. He related that he tried to treat everyone with integrity. In closing, he shared two new words: no-add, which meant someone who would choose not to have an address; and p-mail, which was his word for “snail” mail. Alison M. Voss , 3345 Chambers Street, stated that she was present as co-chair of the Wayne Morse Historical Park Corporation and representing the surviving members of the Morse family. She asked the council to help correct an inaccuracy in the park’s name by approving the resolution to do so in the Consent Calendar. She briefly reviewed the history of the Wayne Morse farm. She stated that it had been incorrectly called a ranch and the name had stuck. She related that the remaining daughters of Wayne Morse had reminded the board of the incorrect name and had suggested changing it to the Wayne Morse Family Farm. She said the board had vetted this name with the Parks and Open Space division, neighbors, and dog park patrons, and they had tried to find other interested parties to see if there were any objections. Support had been unanimous for the change and it was now on the Consent Calendar for a council vote. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 13, 2008 Page 2 Regular Meeting Bob O’Brien , 3525 Gilham Road, declared that he believed in trusting the police. He felt the use of force to deter crime and maintain safety was a big responsibility. He averred that the trust in police had been “basically destroyed” in the community. He thanked the Mayor and the council for trying to work things out in the latest dispute so that it followed the charter amendment. Paul Prensky , 1270 Jacobs Drive, said he had asked City Manager Jon Ruiz when he would give the auditor full backing. He wanted Mr. Ruiz to speak out. He had gotten to know the current Police Auditor, Dawn Reynolds, and had found her to be “regardful and fair-minded.” He called her an “ardent student of the rights of the homeless.” He felt she was providing a resource the community really needed. He shared his suggestion that Joseph McNamara, PhD., from Stanford University be brought to Eugene to help the situation between the citizens and the police. He averred that everyone needed to sit at the table and talk and listen “regardfully” and they would arrive at agreements. Zachary Vishanoff , somewhere on Patterson Street, averred that transparency was “not a brand,” and Mr. Ruiz should “do it” and not just talk about it. He had read that Councilor Zelenka had supported more accountability for the police. He opined that Councilor Zelenka had a lack of accountability on “certain very massive projects.” He asserted that the City Manager had been meeting behind closed doors about a “huge project” that Mr. Vishanoff felt he was not allowed to talk about. He wanted to know when the minutes from those meetings would be available. He said if there was a draft memorandum of understand- ing, he wanted to know when he could see it. He alleged that there was a plan called the “Farkas Report” and it was now missing. He wanted to know where it was and he wanted a copy of it. He also wondered how soon “form-based codes” would be instituted. Ruth Duemler , 1745 Fircrest Drive, thanked everyone for their support for the Police Auditor. She felt there should be a transparent system, given that the people had voted for it. She supported having an executive session and supported having a performance auditor akin to that in Portland. She asserted that the performance auditor had been very successful and had made a big difference to the police department there. She thanked the councilors who had supported Ballot Measure 20-146. She averred that it would help to develop more trust with the police department. John “Mac” McFadden , 575 Knapp Lane, stated that ten years earlier he had been hired as the liaison for the St. Vincent DePaul car campers. He said in the first couple of weeks of the job he took inventory by driving around at night and finding out who was out there and what their needs were. He related that he had seen a police car on one of those trips and was certain he would be stopped by the officer so he pulled over. He had done so because he believed that in order to do his job he needed to be able to trust the police and they needed to be able to trust him. He declared that this was how to build trust – with openness and transparency and a willingness to answer their questions and not secretiveness or withholding information. Jim Torrey , Ward 4, respectfully requested that the Mayor and City Council ask legal counsel and members of the planning and transportation departments to review the decision made on August 13 regarding the removal of the term West Eugene Parkway (WEP) from the Transportation Plan (TransPlan). He explained that Goal 12 stated that there must be a replacement before removing a program that would remove congestion from West Eugene. He underscored the need to seriously look at the implications of this decision with regard to the ability to develop property in West Eugene until a replacement for the WEP had been determined. He added that the WEP terminology did not refer to the alignment that had been terminated in 2005, it referred to an arterial that would reduce congestion. He wanted to make sure that the unintended consequences of the efforts in the August 13 decision would not stop the community from being able to develop businesses and other things, such as an urgent care facility in West Eugene. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 13, 2008 Page 3 Regular Meeting Paul Moore , 2586 Potter Street, wanted to discuss the plan for the Crest area that had been approved in April, which was a plan for two narrow nine-foot-wide traffic lanes on winding and sometimes steep upgrades in that area. He reiterated that testimony from the bicycling community there had been that it would be unsafe and unsuitable; 100 area residents had signed petitions requesting more space on those roads. He said 100 attendees of the Eugene Bicycle Summit had signed the same petition. He related that since then the cost of gasoline increased to more than $4 per gallon and more people than ever were riding bicycles. He stated that around the country things such as the Complete Streets Initiatives, which were planning initiatives supported by planners all over the country, to make streets complete for bicycling, walking, transit, and automobile usage, had proliferated. He stressed that Eugene was set to build streets in the Crest area that would last forty years, that did not provide bicycle amenities for the multiple cyclists who live in that area. He said the Oregon Bike Bill required that all streets that were undergoing a complete rebuild must include suitable facilities for bicycle usage. He noted that the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: a Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) funding bill, increased the focus on bicycling as transportation. He believed that respect for the future of the simple transportation needs of Eugene citizens called for taking a different approach on Crest Drive, Storey Boulevard, and Friendly Street. Mayor Piercy closed the Public Forum. Councilor Bettman thanked everyone for their testimony. She clarified that the language on the ballot measure would amend the charter and not the ordinance. She disagreed with Mr. Brown’s perspective on the auditor’s office taken from the NACOLE conference. She did not remember people saying there was any way to move forward with independent oversight without there being political issues. She asserted that the police union in Seattle, Washington, had sued its civilian review board to keep a report from being published. She declared that transparency and openness were the only powers in the oversight system. Regarding the WEP, Councilor Bettman noted that Mr. Torrey had sent an email regarding the August 13 decision. She disputed his argument that having no planned transportation corridor would affect develop- ment in western Eugene, declaring it to be untrue. She recalled that the recommendation from staff had been that the plan should include a footnote that basically said inclusion of the WEP in the plan could not be used for planning any development. Councilor Clark also thanked everyone for coming and testifying. He appreciated the comments regarding the Police Auditor. He supported having an effective police oversight system. He concurred that the Mayor and City Council should take a stronger leadership role with the auditor’s office. He felt the council could do a better job of communicating with the Police Auditor, noting that he had met with her earlier in the day. He related that they had a productive conversation about the sorts of things that would make for a more effective oversight office. He looked forward to the council as a whole setting up clear expectations for the office and more regular communication. Councilor Solomon observed that inflammatory and accusatory rhetoric would not help the Police Auditor’s Office improve. She hoped people would “tone it down” so that they could work together and arrive at a solution that would work for the whole community. Councilor Solomon commented that her recollection of the August 13 meeting regarding the WEP did not seem to be the same as Councilor Bettman’s. She requested that staff provide a memorandum regarding the consequences of that meeting and what can and cannot happen in the interim. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 13, 2008 Page 4 Regular Meeting Councilor Solomon expressed disappointment that no one had come to speak about Ballot Measure 20-145, the measure that would provide funding to fix 70 miles in city streets over the next five years. She said it was a $35.9 million bond measure that would slow the deterioration of the streets so that the “$170 million problem would not turn into a $225 million problem by allowing more streets to fall from fixable to damaged beyond repair.” She stressed that the bond measure was intentionally crafted to raise only enough money to demonstrate that it could do what it said it would do. She encouraged the voters to support the measure. Councilor Zelenka opined that Mr. Torrey was “making a mountain out of a molehill.” He asserted that they had only “cleaned up” and made consistent the transportation planning documents so that they were consistent with “reality.” He disputed the claim that what they had done would stop development in West Eugene. He believed that the West Eugene Collaborative (WEC) was the alternative effort that was being “pushed and led” by the Mayor. He averred that it was the right type of process as all of the parties were being brought together to arrive at a solution that worked and was durable. Councilor Zelenka did not believe the Police Auditor system was at issue; he believed it was the “consistent and constant” challenges to any accountability that caused the problems. Continuing, Councilor Zelenka urged the community to support Ballot Measure 20-145. He said people should just drive around and that would be the campaign for the measure. Councilor Ortiz thanked Mr. McFadden for his work. She also wanted to add her support for Ballot Measure 20-145. Councilor Ortiz related that when she ran for office she had promised her constituents that she would do something about the WEP. She averred that the WEC was working more in alignment with what she believed. Regarding the Police Auditor’s Office, Councilor Ortiz thought the council needed to agree what they wanted from the auditor. She supported holding an executive session in order to have a candid conversation. She underscored that the City Council had three employees and gave the City Manager and the Municipal Court judge clear direction, which they did not provide to the Police Auditor. Councilor Taylor thanked everyone for testifying. She agreed that both ballot measures should be passed. She opined that the Police Auditor had been prevented from doing her job in some cases. She said the council had no control over the EPD. She supported holding an executive session to further discuss the auditor’s office. Councilor Bettman alleged that the WEP had been dead long before Eugene representatives had voted against it in the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC). She reiterated her assertion that the cost of the project had been doubled and that it had “died of its own weight.” She averred that it had been kept alive on paper and that people had wanted it to be on paper in case enough money was available, but locally people needed “money to fill potholes.” Councilor Bettman said both of the measures that had been placed on the ballot had been passed almost unanimously by the council. She noted that a lot had been said about how divided the council was. She opined that the community had been divided as well, and the council reflected the community. She felt the council had been able to come together on important issues. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 13, 2008 Page 5 Regular Meeting Continuing, Councilor Bettman declared that the Police Auditor knew what her job was; it was very well- described in the ordinance. She asserted that the problem lay in her need to have cooperation from the EPD. Councilor Clark expressed disappointment that some of his colleagues were pointing their fingers at the EPD and accusing the department of obstructing the auditing position and the success of the office. He underscored that this was not his opinion. He said, for the sake of balance, he believed the auditors, both present and previous, had exceeded their mandate and their authority on several occasions. He believed they had made mistakes in judgment that were contrary to the ordinance and that were challengeable. He felt there was enough “blame here to go around for everybody” but for him the bottom line was that the council needed to exercise greater authority and supervision of the office and he hoped they would do that. Councilor Clark recalled that the staff member who made the presentation on August 13 mentioned that he had some questions about how the motion would affect any potential zone changes that might take place in West Eugene, because it would adversely affect the TransPlan. He also recalled that the staff work required for that particular motion would set back the work to fix the Delta Highway/Beltline Highway connection by an additional six months. Additionally, Councilor Clark observed that a couple of times during the evening the Mayor had been given credit for having led or created the WEC. He had attended a meeting at the River Road Community Organization at which he related that the Mayor had stated that she created the WEC. He had also heard the Mayor say at many meetings that it was not “owned” per se by the Mayor, rather it consisted of a group of citizens who had come together to do that work. He called on the Mayor to clarify this. Councilor Poling reminded his colleagues that he had requested a meeting of the council to figure out a process for handling complaints when a complaint had been made about the office the previous summer. He had wanted to determine what they were supposed to do to address other issues that arose as unintended consequences of the charter amendment. Councilor Poling also wished to speak to Councilor Bettman’s declaration that there was near unanimous agreement among councilors on the two ballot measures. He stressed that he supported placing the measures on the ballot to allow the voters to decide. He stated that he had specifically voted for one and had indicated that he would not actively campaign against the other. Councilor Poling echoed the request for a memorandum from staff regarding the specific ramifications of the decision to remove references to the WEP on August 13. He understood that the language had been left in as a placeholder. Mayor Piercy thanked everyone who “cared so much” about the success of the Civilian Review Board that they had come to express their “concerns and hopes” for the council to get any disagreements settled. She said the City Manager would have more information in the next couple of days for the larger discussion. Mayor Piercy expressed appreciation to the councilors for bringing up the ballot measures. Mayor Piercy also wanted to make clear that the elected officials could not comment on criminal cases. She thought everyone would continue to work to ensure that the auditor and the CRB would continue to work both for the police and the community. She added that she wished to thank Police Chief Robert Lehner for his service to the community. She wished him well. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 13, 2008 Page 6 Regular Meeting Continuing, Mayor Piercy said she had talked to staff about the WEP issue. It was her understanding that the council had only initiated a process and it would not affect anything in the present. She noted that they had to look at the TransPlan again anyway. In response to Councilor Clark, she lauded the work of the WEC. She believed they would arrive at “some affordable, doable solutions” for transportation in West Eugene. She averred that she took no claim for the WEC, other than that she had helped to get the collaborative process going. 2. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes - June 16, 2008, Work Session and Public Hearing - July 14, 2008, City Council Meeting - July 15, 2008, Joint Elected Officials Meeting - July 30, 2008, Work Session - August 13, 2008, Work Session - September 8, 2008, Work Session - September 8, 2008, City Council Meeting - September 10, 2008, Work Session - September 15, 2008, Public Hearing - September 22, 2008, City Council Meeting B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda C. Adoption of Resolution 4948 Annexing Land to the City of Eugene (School District 4J, A 08-1) D. Ratification of Intergovernmental Relations Committee Actions of September 10, 2008 E. Adoption of Resolution 4957 Renaming the “Wayne L. Morse Ranch” as the “Wayne Morse Family Farm” Councilor Bettman, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved to approve the items on the Con- sent Calendar. Councilor Bettman noted she had submitted corrections to the minutes. Councilor Taylor also noted that she had submitted corrections to the minutes. Mayor Piercy deemed the corrections, without objection, approved. Roll call vote; the Consent Calendar passed unanimously, 7:0. Mayor Piercy congratulated the Wayne Morse Family Farm Board members on the adoption of the resolution to change the name of the park. 3. ACTION: An Ordinance Amending the 1999 Street Classification Map to Add a Newly Constructed Section of Hilyard Street from East Broadway to Mill Street Which is Designated as a Minor Arterial Councilor Bettman, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved that the City adopt Council Bill 4990, an ordinance amending the 1999 street classification map. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 7:0. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 13, 2008 Page 7 Regular Meeting 4. ACTION: Request for Contingency Funds for Cost and Expenses Associated with Recruitment and Selection of a New Police Auditor and Approval of Brochure Councilor Bettman, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved to authorize the expenditure of funds from the General Fund contingency account for recruitment and selection of the Po- lice Auditor, estimated to be approximately $50,000. In response to questions from the councilors, Assistant City Manager Sara Medary said her understanding was that they would address the expenditure and the brochure at the present meeting and then address the job description on October 20. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 7:0. Councilor Bettman, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved to approve the updated Police Auditor brochure. Acting Director of the Human Resources Division, Alana Holmes, stated that it had been the recruiter who said it was his preference to have the job description embedded in the brochure. Councilor Bettman asked Ms. Holmes to describe the legislative changes that had been made to the brochure. Ms. Holmes reviewed those changes, hard copies of which were provided to the council. She noted that there were 327 budgeted positions and currently there were 312 employees in the police department and a budget of $43.3 million in FY09. She asked if the council had a preference as to which figure was used for the employees. Councilor Bettman preferred to include the budgeted figure. In response to a follow-up question from Councilor Bettman, Ms. Holmes said that given the current proposed timelines there might be a need to push the closing date out one week. She related that the recruiter felt that six weeks were needed to engage in an active recruitment process. Councilor Bettman asked if staff wanted to edit the closing date to change it to December 16. Ms. Holmes responded that staff would revise the documents to reflect whatever the council approved at the present meeting. Ms. Holmes stated, in response to another question from Councilor Bettman, that the recruiter had indicated that he would utilize the opportunity that the council break in late December would provide, to conduct the full background checks on the applicants. She suggested that the councilors could ask him if there were other things they should be doing, such as crafting interview questions. She noted that the recruiters would be verifying degrees, looking at certifications and credentials, and conducting reference checks during while the councilors were on break. She said they would return before the council to report on their findings after the break. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 13, 2008 Page 8 Regular Meeting Councilor Clark offered a friendly amendment to add the following language to the motion: “Pending approval by the City Council of the embedded job description on October 20.” Councilor Bettman declined the friendly amendment. Councilor Clark stressed that he wished to ensure that the council was not acting precipitously. Mayor Piercy ascertained from City Attorney Jerry Lidz that the motion would simply approve the brochure with a placeholder for the job description. Councilor Poling indicated he would not support the motion, but not because of the position or the ordinance. He could not support it given that the minimum qualifications had been altered to require a juris doctorate. He believed this would limit the number of qualified applicants for the position. Councilor Zelenka supported the motion. He reiterated his support for the requirement of a law degree. He added his feeling that the NACOLE conference would provide a rich recruitment environment. He thought the City had hired a good recruiter. He ascertained from Ms. Holmes that it was staff’s belief that six weeks was the appropriate window for recruitment. Councilor Zelenka asked if making the window longer would make any difference. Ms. Holmes replied that six weeks was adequate, though the requirement that applicants have a juris doctorate would take more of a recruitment effort. Councilor Clark said he would support extending the recruitment as he wanted to make sure there was adequate time for the process. He reiterated his concern for the requirement for a law degree. He believed it was a mistake for the council to limit itself unnecessarily as the councilors had the discretion when reviewing candidates to choose only those who had a juris doctorate. He thought to say they would not consider, nor look at any information from, nor take applications from, nor review any person’s other qualifications for, those who did not possess a law degree, was a mistake. For this reason, he indicated he would oppose the motion. Councilor Bettman reiterated her support for requiring a law degree. Ms. Holmes noted that the recruiter, Eric Middleton, also planned to attend the NACOLE conference. Roll call vote; the motion passed, 5:2; councilors Clark and Poling voting in opposition. Councilor Clark asked if staff could create a PDF version of the brochure that could easily be circulated. Ms. Holmes said staff could do so. The meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jon Ruiz City Manager MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 13, 2008 Page 9 Regular Meeting (Recorded by Ruth Atcherson) MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 13, 2008 Page 10 Regular Meeting