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HomeMy WebLinkAbout201109 WSMINUTES – Eugene City Council Work Session November 9, 2020 Page 1 M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Virtual Work Session Eugene, Oregon 97401 November 9, 2020 5:30 p.m. Councilors Present: Emily Semple, Betty Taylor, Alan Zelenka, Jennifer Yeh, Mike Clark, Greg Evans, Claire Syrett, Chris Pryor Mayor Vinis opened the November 9, 2020, work session of the Eugene City Council. 1. WORK SESSION: An Overview of Disaster Recovery and Mitigation Plan for Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission. Wastewater Division Director David Breitenstein shared results from the resiliency evaluation and what updates are necessary to withstand an earthquake. Council Discussion  Councilor Clark - appreciated the report, noting the projected $34 million to put the community in a place to be resilient; asked if there are any ideas about funding sources for the commission’s plans; asked when the report will be completed and if there’s any portion included on the Capital Improvement Plan.  Councilor Zelenka - inquired about the date the Owosso bridge was built; discussed costs to build new infrastructure to withstand an earthquake; asked for update on COVID and RFP projects.  Councilor Yeh - shared that Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission received two awards: the Peak Performance Platinum Award and the EPA Daily Monitoring Report Quality Assurance Study Award, evidence that the organization is doing things right to ensure safety and quality; reported that the water quality and maintenance lab has been completed; thanked staff and expressed appreciation for the partnership with Springfield.  Mayor Vinis – said she was enlightened by the report and excited about the innovation of the RNG project. 2. WORK SESSION: Ad Hoc Committee on Police Policy Progress Update Lead staff for the Ad Hoc Committee on Police Policy Kevin Alltucker gave a summary of the outline and progress of the committee and requested an extension of their timeline. Council Discussion  Councilor Evans - suggested extending the timeline to end of March and then re-evaluate if another extension is appropriate; said that communication needs to be clear about payment to committee members; asked for the budget to be increased, noting the importance of getting the process right rather than doing it quickly.  Councilor Syrett - appreciated and was impressed by the work of all staff and committee members; supported extending the timeline to April; asked for clarification on the extent of what the increased expenses will cover and support. MINUTES – Eugene City Council Work Session November 9, 2020 Page 2  Councilor Zelenka - asked why the proposed action was being taken by resolution and what the original budget was; supported adding more time and agreed the process needs to be done right, not necessarily fast; shared that he participated in the meetings so far.  Councilor Yeh – expressed concern that the schedule seems tight to add more meetings and the proposed schedule may be unrealistic; said she felt the topics such as Use of Force are not a one meeting issue; supported the proposed motions with hesitation about the timeline.  Councilor Clark – clarified that the original resolution was to hear from an underrepresented part of the community and their recommendations were to be presented to the council; voiced concern about the timeline seeming overly long; recognized the need to have thorough discussions; agreed that committee participants should be compensated as the meetings occur.  Councilor Pryor – said he felt the meetings are process-oriented; recognized it takes time to work together and to build trust.  Councilor Taylor - asked how much the facilitator is being paid and voiced opposition to paying the volunteers; questions why the committee is necessary when the Police Commission is already in place to address the same issue; said there’s community concern about homelessness and traffic control, not the police.  Mayor Vinis – clarified that the Ad Hoc Committee on Police Policy was formed to directly address outcries from the BIPOC community about Police policy; agreed that the timeline is ambitious and speaks to the thoroughness of the committee.  Councilor Zelenka – said he felt that good direction wasn’t given to the committee on how to make a good recommendation to the council, noting the three things that make a good recommendation are to 1) identify the problem, 2) be clear and specific as to the change that’s being recommended with strong rationale or reasons for making the change, and 3) recommend actions that are realistic and doable.  Councilor Syrett - appreciated the idea behind the Ad Hoc Committee and noted that these will be recommendations only and the Police Chief will make the decision on adoption; expressed confidence that allowing extra time will result in quality work and helpful recommendations.  Councilor Clark - agreed with much of what has been said; said he felt it is important how the information is presented to council and what will be done with the report; shared that there is not broad support for defunding the police, but several concerns and suggestions that the council should consider.  Mayor Vinis - clarified that not all of the community is in support of the demands made by the protestors, but the council was responding to some of the demands. MOTION AND VOTE: Councilor Semple, seconded by Councilor Yeh, moved to change the date that the Ad Hoc Committee on Police Policy must complete its work from 1/31/21 to 3/30/21. PASSED 6:2, councilors Taylor and Clark opposed. MOTION AND VOTE: Councilor Semple, seconded by Councilor Yeh, moved to adopt a resolution concerning compensation for the members of the Ad Hoc Committee on Police Policy for committee and sub-committee meeting hours as set forth in Attachment B. PASSED 7:1, Councilor Taylor opposed. MOTION AND VOTE: Councilor Semple, seconded by Councilor Yeh, moved to authorize use of the City Manager’s Office general fund as the funding source for costs associated with compensating members of the Ad Hoc Committee that exceeds $12,000. PASSED 7:1, Councilor Taylor opposed. The meeting adjourned at 6:34 p.m. MINUTES – Eugene City Council Work Session November 9, 2020 Page 3 Respectfully submitted, Julie Adams Deputy City Recorder (Recorded by Niyah Ross) Link to the webcast of this City Council meeting here.