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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 10/24/11 Work SessionMINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room —City Hall 777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon October 24, 2011 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Betty Taylor, George Brown, Andrea Ortiz, George Poling, Mike Clark, Chris Pryor, Alan Zelenka, Pat Farr. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the October 24, 2011, work session of the Eugene City Council to order. A. COMMITTEE REPORTS AND ITEMS OF INTEREST FROM MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, AND CITY MANAGER Mayor Piercy said she attended the "Railvolution" Conference in Washington, DC, and promised to share more information about the many excellent presentations made at the event in the future. She had also attended her first meeting of the Oregon Passenger Rail Leadership Council and spoke on rail issues before the Cascade Collaborative in Portland. Mayor Piercy had attended a Bureau of Land Management meeting earlier that day at the Hilton Hotel regarding the West Eugene Collaborative. She and Springfield Mayor Christine Lundberg had addressed the Women's Business Network earlier in the month. Mayor Piercy thanked Craig Weicker of the Financial Planning Association of Mid Oregon, Division Manager Keli Osborn of the City Manager's Office, and United Way for their efforts in putting on Free Financial Planning Day on October 22. She also recognized the hard work of Eugene Chief Pete Kerns and Eugene City Manager Jon Ruiz in maintaining calm conditions at the site of Occupy Eugene. Mayor Piercy concluded by reporting that she had issued a proclamation that day in honor of Eugene Food Day. Ms. Taylor had attended the Eugene Ballet performance of October 23 and said it was wonderful. She also attended the Lane Work Force Partnership Executive Committee meeting, and reported that the partnership continued to focus on job training and had received some additional grant moneys. She said the partnership provided up to $5,000 per employee for on-the-job training to employers who paid $10 an hour for a minimum of 30 hours of week and agreed to retain the employees for a certain time period. Ms. Taylor said that residents living just outside the parking districts near the University of Oregon were experiencing spillover parking and could not find a place to park their cars on their own streets. Ms. Ortiz reported that she read to children as part of the recent "Smart Celebration." She was participating in a work group for Food for Lane County that would meet for six months to provide input into the organization's work plan. She had met with residents to discuss their concerns about the Rental Housing Code. Ms. Ortiz had sat in on a portion of the River Road SCRROL Community Forum and then participated in a Trainsong Neighbors meeting that Captain Rex Barrong of the Eugene Police MINUTES— Eugene City Council October 24, 2011 Page 1 Work Session Department also attended. Ms. Ortiz had also attended the most recent meeting of the Public Safety Coordinating Council (PSCC) as well as a meeting of the PSCC's Juvenile Committee, which heard presentations from Greg Evans and John Larson and discussed street gangs. The committee planned to write a letter supporting more funding to fight the problem to the PSCC. She had also attended the recent Business -to- Business Expo and had many conversations with different people on varied topics. She concluded by saying the Ambulance Transport Fund Committee would meet on October 27 with the goal of completing its work by the end of 2011. Mr. Pryor commended the recent American Planning Association conference. Mr. Clark also attended the Business -to- Business Expo and found it well- organized. He was also a member of the Ambulance Transport Fund Committee and looked forward to the work of the committee. Mr. Farr reported that residents in Bethel were looking into the possibility of year -round community gardens. He noted widespread community backing for council actions that supported food security. Mr. Zelenka complimented staff on the recent Neighborhood Summit. He had also attended a meeting of the Sustainability Commission, which discussed its work plan, liaisons, and the work of the Coordinated Land Use and Transportation Advisory Committee. He noted that the commission had four new members. Mr. Zelenka reported that the South University Neighborhood Association was working to establish a parking district modeled on the Arena Parking District. Mr. Zelenka said he had taken a bicycle tour of his ward in company with advocates for alternative modes and examined the sites of proposed projects and recently constructed improvements. Mr. Poling noted the upcoming Harlow Road Neighborhood Association on October 27 at the North Park Community Church. He had also attended the recent Business -to- Business Expo and agreed the event was well- organized. He had attended a meeting of the Executive Committee of Travel Lane County, which had reviewed a draft of the annual audit. Mr. Poling recommended that residents view the Willakenzie Crossing, an affordable housing development being constructed at the site of the former Willakenzie School. Mr. Poling congratulated Eagle Scout Blake Schumacher of Troop 100, who led the effort to install a handicap access ramp at the historic Willakenzie Grange as his Eagle Scout project. The ramp would facilitate community access to the grange for all users. He noted the many hours that Mr. Schumacher and volunteers from Troop 100 and their families put into the project and thanked the mayor for her remarks at the dedication ceremony. Mr. Brown said he had attended the McKenzie Watershed Council's annual work planning retreat at Camp Harlow. The council had reviewed progress on the 2011 work plan and approved the 2012 work plan. He had also attended a weeding party at Civic Stadium. Participants had cupcakes to recognize the birthday of Civic Stadium. City Manager Ruiz noted the Bravo Breakfast scheduled on November 4. He called the council's attention to a ribbon cutting scheduled on November 11 for a remodeled house intended to serve veterans and their families. City Manager Ruiz had also participated in a bicycle tour led by Safe Routes Coordinator Shane Rhodes of the 4J School District. He thanked City Transportation staff members for their commitment to the community and its quality of life. MINUTES— Eugene City Council October 24, 2011 Page 2 Work Session Mayor Piercy said she and City Manager Ruiz had met with representatives of PeaceHealth, who indicated that the organization still planned to renovate its University area facilities. B. WORK SESSION: Human Rights Project Recommendations Mr. Farr, the council's representative on the commission, introduced Chair Toni Gyatso, Vice Chair Ken Neubeck, and Elizabeth Andrade of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) and Guadalupe Quinn of the Human Rights Think Tank. Equity and Human Rights Manager Raquel Wells, Recreation Services Director Craig Smith, and City Attorney Jerome Lidz were also present for the item. Mr. Farr assured the council that the commission was in good hands, and he believed it was at the beginning of a new era that would allow it to be more responsive and less reactive. Staff and commissioners then led the council through a PowerPoint presentation entitled Human Rights Listening Project. The presentation provided an overview of the six -month project and the resulting recommendations to 1) revise Chapter 2 of the Eugene Code to align with the current framework, 2) reduce the number of commissioners to 11, 3) repeal the commission's current subcommittee structure to facilitate a more flexible ad hoc approach, and 4) increase commission involvement in the member recruitment and appointment process. Ms. Wells called the council's attention to a draft ordinance that incorporated the commission's recommendations and asked the council to forward the ordinance to a public hearing. Mayor Piercy asked the commission to think about how the council could work on the issue of human rights over time in a more consistent manner. Ms. Ortiz supported commission review of commission applications and welcomed the commission's recommendations, but could not promise that the council would automatically accept those recommendations because such appointments were wholly within the council's purview. She did not support holding positions for different wards or certain identified groups. Mr. Brown expressed appreciation for the community feedback gathered by the commission. He supported the four recommendations offered by the commission. He believed the proposed revisions to the ordinance made sense and would result in the commission being more agile and getting more done. Speaking to the recommendation that the commission screen applications and recommend applicants, Mr. Brown thought that was a good idea, although he anticipated the council might not always act on those recommendations. Responding to a question from Mr. Poling about the proposed reduction in numbers, Ms. Gyatso believed that the reduction would allow the commission to more narrowly focus on the task at hand. Mr. Poling was unaware of any. other City commission that played an active role in recruitment and concurred with Ms. Ortiz and Mr. Brown that the council made a final decision. He did not favor codifying that language. Mr. Farr believed the recommendation for commission involvement in recruitment and appointments was in line with his experience working with nonprofit organizations, but he acknowledged that such appointments were within the council's purview. MINUTES— Eugene City Council October 24, 2011 Page 3 Work Session Mr. Farr was impressed with the work being done by the commission and was excited for its future. Mr. Zelenka supported the commission's recommendations. He believed that many City commissions were already involved in member recruitment. He determined from Ms. Wells that the reduction in the number of commissioners would be realized through attrition. Responding to a request from Ms. Ortiz about information about commission contacts and human rights complaints, Ms. Wells indicated she would forward the commission's monthly reports to the council. Ms. Taylor, seconded by Mr. Brown, moved to direct the City Manager to schedule a public hearing on proposed code changes to Eugene Code Chapter 2 regarding the Human Rights Commission. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Mayor Piercy adjourned the meeting at 6:38 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ' 86 Jet Beth Forrest City Recorder (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES— Eugene City Council October 24, 2011 Page 4 Work Session