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HomeMy WebLinkAbout200720 PHMINUTES Eugene City Council and Urban Renewal Agency Virtual Meeting Eugene, Oregon 97401 July 20, 2020 7:30 p.m. Councilors Present: Betty Taylor, Emily Semple, Jennifer Yeh, Greg Evans, Alan Zelenka, Chris Pryor, Mike Clark, Claire Syrett Mayor Vinis opened the July 20, 2020, meeting of the Eugene Urban Renewal Agency. 1. URA PUBLIC HEARING: Park Blocks and Farmers Market Projects and Funding. Senior Planner Will Dowdy presented information about the Park Blocks and Farmers Market projects and funding proposals. Mayor Vinis opened the Public Hearing. 1. Jack Richardson - expressed support for the Town Square concept plan. 2. Brett Golonka - conveyed the Chamber's support for the project; said more funds are needed. 3. Tyler Stewart - said no funds should be spent on this project; there are higher priorities. 4. Michael DeLuise - said the Downtown Neighborhood Association supports moving forward. S. John Barofsky - asked council to study the impacts of the project and expand the URD boundary. b. Lars Osterberg - said he was impressed with the proposed project; supported moving forward. 7. Laura Vetsch - supported prioritizing minority -owned businesses and COVID-19 precautions. 8. R. Will - supported reallocating the project funds for homeless assistance. 9. Zondie Zinke - opposed the proposed project; supported ending the Urban Renewal District. 10. Matthey Yook - supported year-round covered space for the Farmers Market, more housing. Mayor Vinis closed the Public Hearing. Council Discussion ■ Councilor Taylor - said the Farmers Market is the most valuable downtown business; opposed expansion of the Urban Renewal District; supported continued efforts to establish a homeless shelter. ■ Councilor Syrett - said the project will help local working people, noting the Farmers Market role as an economic driver; shared the suggestion to call the site "Community Commons"; expressed interest in exploring the idea of URD expansion and asked if such an action would benefit the Obie Company directly. ■ Councilor Clark - asked questions about parking facilities within the URD; said he is open to learning more about URD expansion, noting the idea will be opposed by many. ■ Councilor Zelenka - clarified that a change of the URD boundaries will result in taxes moving from the General Fund to the URD; said Flexibility is needed when projecting General Fund deficits. ■ Councilor Semple - voiced opposition to the URD expansion; said the Farmers Market is an essential downtown business. MINUTES - Eugene City Council July 20, 2020 Page 1 Public Hearing 2. WORK SESSION: Public Safety Funding Review The council continued its discussion from the 5:30 p.m. work session. Councilor Yeh withdrew her postponed motion from the June 24 work session. MOTION: Councilor Yeh, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved to create an ad hoc council committee to review current police policies utilizing Campaign Zero's outlined policy solutions and the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing and prepare and submit a report to council recommending policy changes to current police policy. This work shall be completed by January 31, 2020, after which time the ad hoc committee will dissolve. The ad hoc committee shall be comprised of 26 members to include two representatives from the Civilian Review Board, Police Commission, Human Rights Commission, Black Unity, Centro Latino Americano, LULAC, NAACP, Blacks in Government, Transponder, the 15th Night Youth Advisory Committee, Asian/Pacific Islander Community Action Team, Eugene Islamic Center, and a community Indigenous Peoples group. In addition to the 26 committee members, councilors can join the committee as non -voting participants. City Council members will serve as participants for the purpose of listening, learning, and asking questions to better understanding the community concerns and the recommendations that come from the committee. Each group will select two representatives to serve on the ad hoc committee and must notify the Council of the selected representatives no later than September 1, 2020. The group's notification to Council of the group's two selected representatives serves as the appointment of those two people to the ad hoc committee until the committee dissolves. No proxies will be allowed for appointed members. Any seat on the ad hoc committee not filled by September 1, 2020, shall remain vacant for the duration of the committee and quorum shall be determined by number of filled committee seats. Council Discussion ■ Councilor Clark - asked about the intent of the motion and how this committee's work would differ from the Police Commission; said the motion limits the scope of work to what is already being done; said the proposed committee composition is not representative of the whole community. ■ Councilor Syrett - supported the motion, noting it adds urgency and focus to the issues being addressed and supplements the Police Commission work; voiced concern about the proposed size of the group and suggested delegating some appointment authority to the Mayor; suggested including representative by those working with mental health issues. ■ Councilor Zelenka - asked how the proposed membership list was created; supported the size and composition of the committee; said council engagement will be important. ■ Councilor Taylor - opposed the creation of an additional committee, noting the Police Commission and City Council were appointed and elected to make policy decisions; said there are other avenues for community input. ■ Councilor Pryor - said the proposed committee complements the other oversight committees; expressed general support for the size and composition and suggested consideration of the use of subcommittees to facilitate the committee's work. ■ Councilor Syrett - suggested amending the motion to include an additional four at -large members to be appointed by Mayor. MINUTES - Eugene City Council July 20, 2020 Page 2 Public Hearing ■ Councilor Zelenka - proposed a friendly amendment to add four members appointed by Mayor, change "utilizing" to "related to" and "2020" to "2021"; said subject warrants a bigger tent and prioritized equity lens. ■ Councilor Yeh - noted that the motion represents just the first step in a bigger conversation; said she planned to issue a work session poll related to equitable community engagement. ■ Councilor Clark - said he would support the motion since its intended goals were clarified; encouraged council to take any recommendations in context. ■ Councilor Evans - agreed that the motion represented a first step and that the composition of the committee would not be comprehensive; said he hoped the conversation would encourage people to get involved. RESTATED MOTION (with friendly amendments) AND VOTE: Councilor Yeh, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved to create an ad hoc council committee to review current police policies related to Campaign Zero's outlined policy solutions and the President's Task Force on 21St Century Policing and prepare and submit a report to council recommending policy changes to current police policy. This work shall be completed by January 31, 2021, after which time the ad hoc committee will dissolve. The ad hoc committee shall be comprised of 30 members to include two representatives from the Civilian Review Board, Police Commission, Human Rights Commission, Black Unity, Centro Latino Americano, LULAC, NAACP, Blacks in Government, Transponder, the 15th Night Youth Advisory Committee, Asian/Pacific Islander Community Action Team, Eugene Islamic Center, and a community Indigenous Peoples group. In addition to the 30 committee members, councilors can join the committee as non -voting participants. City Council members will serve as participants for the purpose of listening, learning, and asking questions to better understanding the community concerns and the recommendations that come from the committee. Each group will select two representatives to serve on the ad hoc committee and must notify the Council of the selected representatives no later than September 1, 2020. The group's notification to Council of the group's two selected representatives serves as the appointment of those two people to the ad hoc committee until the committee dissolves. No proxies will be allowed for appointed members. Any seat on the ad hoc committee not filled by September 1, 2020, shall remain vacant for the duration of the committee and quorum shall be determined by number of filled committee seats. The Mayor will appoint four members of the ad hoc committee. PASSED 7:1, Councilor Taylor opposed. MOTION: Councilor Yeh, seconded by Councilor Syrett, moved to direct the City Manager to return to Council in September with a funding strategy for compensating the ad hoc committee members at $15.00/hour for all meeting hours and the mechanism for establishing this $15.00/hour payment to the committee members as an official compensation package. Council Discussion ■ Councilor Yeh - noted that is common practice to compensate equity panel members. ■ Councilor Clark - asked where the funds for compensation would come from and how many hours the members would be expected to contribute. ■ Councilor Zelenka - suggested providing a stipend would be easier as it eliminates the record - keeping aspect of hourly calculations. MINUTES - Eugene City Council July 20, 2020 Page 3 Public Hearing • Councilor Syrett - suggested the City Manager bring back both models (stipend and hourly) For council consideration. RESTATED MOTION (with friendly amendment) AND VOTE: Councilor Yeh, seconded by Councilor Syrett, moved to direct the City Manager to return to Council in September with a funding strategy for compensating the ad hoc committee members at $15.00/hour for all meeting hours or an equivalent stipend and the mechanism for establishing this $15.00/hour or equivalent stipend payment to the committee members as an official compensation package. PASSED 7:1, Councilor Taylor opposed. The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Julie Adams Deputy City Recorder (Recorded by Beth Forrest) Webcast of meeting available here. MINUTES - Eugene City Council July 20, 2020 Page 4 Public Hearing