HomeMy WebLinkAbout210628 WSMINUTES
Eugene City Council
Virtual Work Session
Eugene, Oregon 97401
June 28, 2021
5:30 p.m.
Councilors Present: Emily Semple, Matt Keating, Alan Zelenka, Jennifer Yeh, Mike Clark, Greg Evans,
Claire Syrett, Randy Groves
Mayor Vinis opened the June 28, 2021, work session of the Eugene City Council in virtual format.
1. WORK SESSION: Police Commission Annual Report
City Manager Sarah Medary introduced and gave background on the topic. Police Commission Analyst
Jeremy Cleversey introduced the team who gave a presentation on the report.
Council Discussion:
Councilor Zelenka - commented that the Police Commission reviews the policy and procedures of
the police department; shared some of the policies that have been reviewed in the last couple
years; said the Police Commission does important work and complimented the work plan;
commented the city has eight special areas downtown with unique rules which creates a confusing
enforcement environment and suggested the council look at this for possible changes.
• Councilor Groves - shared that he is interested in making downtown enforcement districts more
cohesive; said he looks forward to simplifying this for officers to achieve compliance; commented
that he was happy to see health and wellness at the top of the list of priorities.
Councilor Syrett - said she was impressed with the outcomes of the past year and is grateful for
the priority areas for the coming year; noted the value of the diversity of perspectives on the
commission; expressed appreciation for and hope that the Police Commission continues to
promote community engagement by holding formal meetings outside of the police headquarters;
said she is pleased to see the progress made in connecting the commission in a more robust way
with officers focusing on different tasks forces and areas of operations; asked for clarification of
the leash ordinance in the downtown area.
Councilor Semple - commented there are too many boundaries downtown and said she would like
to see them better organized.
• Councilor Yeh - complimented Sean Shivers and Vi Huynh for an excellent job leading by example;
said leadership is valuable and thanked them for their leadership.
Councilor Keating - thanked Sean for his leadership on the commission; asked if the commission
will still utilize the digital space to allow more access.
• Mayor Vinis - expressed gratitude to the Police Commission for the work done through challenging
times.
2. WORK SESSION: Civilian Review Board and Police Auditor's Office Annual Reports
Interim Police Auditor Leia Pitcher and Civilian Review Board member Bernadette Conover introduced
and gave background on the topic.
Council Discussion:
• Councilor Keating - asked for clarification of the process to get cases in front of the Civilian Review
Board; asked why one case was reviewed and the other 12 were not.
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• Councilor Syrett - appreciated reminding the community of the three pillars, noting the creation of
the Police Auditor position and the CRB were both citizen -initiated; said a robust civilian oversight
model has been created independent of the police department and the work being done is
remarkable, especially the work done at incident command to support the Spanish-speaking
population.
• Councilor Yeh - said she likes the idea of a DA Officer; asked if outreach to the Spanish-speaking
population will resume to earlier levels; appreciated the outreach and tabling efforts done by the
Police Auditor's Office.
• Mayor Vinis - extended her thanks and appreciation to the Police Auditor and CRB, particularly for
rising to every occasion to keep this work going while taking on new things.
• Councilor Syrett - asked clarifying questions about the number of employees who interact with the
public.
• Councilor Keating - commented that a large police department was referenced and stated that the
Eugene Police Department is on a smaller scale; asked for a better sense of size when comparisons
are made with other cities.
• Mayor Vinis - appreciated reading this report and getting a sense of the deliberations and
reasoning around chosen cases; said it was revealing and helpful to understand the kinds of
challenges officers and community members are facing; appreciated the commitment of the entire
CRB to the community and improving the quality of work.
Meeting adjourned at 6:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Beth Forrest
City Recorder
(Recorded by Niyah Ross)
Link to the webcast of this City Council meeting here.
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Work Session