HomeMy WebLinkAbout161109.WS.SIREMINUTES
Eugene City Council
Harris Hall, 125 East 81h Avenue
Eugene, Oregon 97401
November 9, 2016
12:00 p.m.
Councilors Present: George Brown, Betty Taylor, an Zelenka, George Poling, Mike Clark, Greg
Evans, Claire Syrett, Chris Pryor
Mayor Piercy opened the November 9, 2016, meeting of the Eugene City Council,
1. WORK SESSION: Downtown Update
Police Chief Pete Kerns and Assistant City Manager Sarah Medary gave a brief PowerPoint
presentation on downtown, including the history and context, social services and public
safety, parks plazas and facilities, programming, health, smoke -free parks, amenities, and
additional strategies for improvement.
Council discussion:
• Acknowledge the difference between homelessness and antisocial behavior.
• Create ashort-term shelter; certain behaviors should not be tolerated.
• Provide more safe spaces for people to go; donation meter was a great idea.
• Provide additional dog waste stations, public restrooms, and way -fording maps.
• Park blocks feel unsafe and unwelcoming; appreciate all the tools that are being utilized.
• Closing the park or taking away the shelters is counterproductive to goal of creating
welcoming environment.
• Dog license requirement should not be limited to downtown.
• Installation of security cameras could raise serious civil liberty issues.
• Many behavioral issues cannot be solved by public safety strategies alone.
• Send outreach team to address issues before using a police response.
• Presence of security cameras will just move the problems somewhere else.
• Focus on making actual changes/improvements to parks, rather than on closures.
• Greater concentration on the arts is needed.
• More emphasis on control of dogs by their owners is needed.
MOTION AND VOTE: Councilor Evans, seconded by Councilor Zelenka, moved to have
further discussion on the installation of security cameras in the Park Blocks as part of the effort to
improve safety and discourage illegal activity in the area. FAILED 3:5 Councilors Poling, Clark,
and Evans in support.
MOTION AND VOTE: Councilor Evans, seconded by Councilor Zelenka, moved to have
further discussion on the temporary closure of the areas under and around the concrete awnings in
the Park Blocks, except for when the awnings are being used for permitted events, as part of the
effort to improve safety and discourage illegal activity in the area. PASSED 5:3, Councilors
Brown, Taylor and Syrett opposed.
MINUTES —Eugene City Council November 9, 2016 Page 1
Work Session
MOTION AND VOTE: Councilor Evans, seconded by Councilor Zelenka, moved to hold a
work session and direct the City Manager to schedule a public hearing on adopting smoke -free
areas in the downtown activity zone. PASSED 5:3, Councilors Brown, Taylor and Clark opposed.
MOTION AND VOTE: Councilor Evans, seconded by Councilor Zelenka, moved to direct the
City Manager to schedule a work session on a code amendment that requires any dog brought into
the downtown activity zone to be licensed.
PASSED 5*3 Councilors Brown, Taylor and Zelenka opposed.
The meeting adjourned at 1:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Zi
Chuck Crockett
Deputy City Recorder
MINUTES —Eugene City Council November 9, 2016 Page 2
Work Session