HomeMy WebLinkAbout250910 WSMINUTES
Eugene City Council
Work Session
Eugene, Oregon 97401
September 10, 2025
12:00 p.m.
Councilors Present: Eliza Kashinsky, Matt Keating, Alan Zelenka, Jennifer Yeh, Mike Clark,
Greg Evans, Lyndsie Leech, and Randy Groves
Mayor Knudson opened the September 10, 2025, Eugene City Council Work Session in a
virtual format.
1. WORK SESSION: 2025 Community Survey
City Manager, Sarah Medary, spoke briefly about the history of the community survey and
introduced Jason Dedrick, Program Manager for Policy Research, Strategic Planning &
Performance, to discuss the 2025 Community Survey Results.
Councilor Discussion:
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Councilor Groves -noted a desire for Council to be more involved in designing the
community survey and developing the questions; stated Councilors were not given
sufficient time to review or provide input on the 2025 Community Survey; agreed on
importance of continuity between surveys for trending purposes; stated interest in
having more Council involvement in the structure and question creation process in
future years; believes more Council involvement will support better policy creation.
Councilor Yeh -noted the survey results are not surprising, but still valuable; indicated
general support for feedback from staff and Council on survey development; noted the
importance of utilizing experts in the survey development process; shared thoughts
about adding emphasis on responses from underserved and minority populations in
the Belonging Section of the survey.
Councilor Zelenka -stated he found positive information and trends in survey results;
noted responses around living in Eugene, specifically concerns about homelessness,
housing and safety were not surprising; stated despite the ongoing concerns, progress
has been made in these areas; noted that these areas of concern are impacted by
perceptions and external influences, as well as the fact that there are no easy solutions
for these difficult problems; noted that progress on these issues happen over time and
may not immediately change perceptions; believes Eugene is making good progress on
these issues.
Councilor Clark -noted the survey results were not surprising; stated interest in more
Council involvement on developing future surveys; specifically, interested in asking
more follow-up questions or open-ended explanations on the answers provided; noted
interest in learning about the public's expectations of Council in addressing the areas of
concern.
• Councilor Keating -asked for clarification on results from survey about perceptions of
public safety, specifically the differences between how people feel in their own
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Work Session
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neighborhoods and downtown; asked if these perceptions have improved since the last
survey; noted interest in this topic in relation to recent actions taken by Council to
improve safety downtown, around the library, and near educational centers; asked if
survey respondents made suggestions on how to improve or make the downtown core
safer.
• Mayor Knudson -asked staff if the Community Survey is the only way the City gathers
information and feedback from the community.
• Councilor Groves -noted input was requested from Councilors after the survey
questions were drafted; clarified he would have liked to share input before the
questions were drafted; stated Councilors regularly receive feedback from community
members that could be valuable to drafting survey questions.
• Councilor Keating -indicated he was invited to respond to the survey and did so; asked
a clarifying question around the difference in responses by city council ward; asked if it
was possible to send a thank you to participants.
• Mayor Knudson -agreed about value of the information and responses received from
the survey.
2. WORK SESSION: 2023-2026 Strategic Plan Annual Report
City Manager, Sarah Medary, introduced Jason Dedrick, Program Manager for Policy
Research Strategic Planning & Performance, to discuss the 2023-2026 Strategic Annual
Report.
Councilor Discussion:
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Councilor Kashinsky -clarified whether the key performance indicators or metrics
presented may not fully represent the goal; noted areas of progress and
accomplishment, such as climate and the climate action plan, where the progress being
made may not result in achieving the goal; noted similar concerns for current housing
progress and new state-level housing goals; stated concern about not being able to
achieve set goals based on current action plans; stated appreciation for the outlined
progress toward stated goals.
Councilor Leech -thanked staff for their work on survey and report, and the
opportunity to walk through the results of each; noted an interest in Council having a
better tool for communication to the community; asked if the projected increase in jobs
means a higher projection on the need of housing, noting specifically the development
of the Clear Lake area.
• Councilor Zelenka -noted key performance indicators and measurement of progress
are a critical part of strategic plan work; stated appreciation for the work that went
into tracking and developing these measurements; noted quantifiable progress
outlined for community members exiting to stabilized housing; highlighted median
rent price increases and downtown visit increases; stated interest in the increase in
responses related to feeling a sense of community; noted the importance of telling the
City's story better, and the ongoing work the City and Council is doing in this area.
• Councilor Evans -asked for clarification about the results specific to a sense of
belonging and how it is measured; asked if the questions were around a sense of
belonging in the city or community, and how the responses received are assessed;
stated community members and business owners continue express concerns around
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Work Session
September 10, 2025 Page 2
the safety of visitors and workers in the downtown area; believes there is still a gap
between community perceptions of safety and the statistics provided by the police
department.
• Councilor Zelenka -stated the importance of doing work effectively and efficiently;
stated it is difficult to develop key performance indicators around effectiveness and
efficiency; noted perception plays a large part in the results and how to get those
results reflected in data.
• Councilor Yeh -thanked the City Manager for her leadership and contributions on the
Strategic Plan; inquired when the data analysis from the report will be provided to
Council; noted some of the topics covered may not routinely come back to Council for
discussion; asked if the right mechanism for bringing some of these important topics
back for discussion would be through Council Leadership; expressed the value of the
information and appreciation to have access.
• Mayor Knudson -noted the value of the report and the information collected; stated
the work done impacts transparency and helps to close the gap on shared
understanding in the community.
Mayor Knudson adjourned the meeting at 1:27 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Katie LaSala
City Recorder
(Recorded by Rosa Roach)
Link to the webcast of this City Council meeting here.
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Work Session
September 10, 2025 Page 3