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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 04/09/12 MeetingMINUTES Eugene City Council Council Chamber —City Hall 777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon April 9, 2012 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: George Brown, Betty Taylor, Andrea Ortiz, George Poling, Mike Clark, Chris Pryor, Alan Zelenka. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Pat Farr. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the April 9, 2012, regular meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Steven Michael Todd, homeless, criticized the Downtown Guides for not being aware that he was allowed to be in certain parts of downtown. He said he was a human being but the police continued to wake people up and kicked them out of downtown at 3 a.m. in the morning. Jerry Smith, Ward 1, a member of the Opportunity Eugene Task Force, opposed the City's closure of the Occupy Eugene encampment, terming it evil. He objected that the City fined homeless people who had no money. He said many people in Lane County had no money at all and should not be punished for being poor. Carol Berg Caldwell, Ward 3, discussed her observations at Municipal Court and commended the court for being open to her suggestions for improvements. She shared some of her suggestions and submitted a copy of the flier regarding discovery developed by Municipal Court staff at her suggestion. She shared some suggestions for improving the flier. Michael Kasahun, Ward 8, shared his experience with the Eugene Police and reported he had approached the Police Auditor's Office because he did not believe the police report of his arrest was reviewed by the sergeant as required. He believed the Eugene police lacked understanding of how to deal with African American males. He had met with Chief Pete Kerns and other department members to discuss his concerns. He asked the council to review the six -month limitation policy imposed by Police Auditor Mark Gissiner's Office so that Mr. Gissiner could review his case. Irene Cardenas, homeless, suggested that addicts and mentally ill people would benefit from housing that honored their personal lifestyle choices. She recommended that if homeless shelters were to refer people to treatment that the treatment be effective as medication often made things worse. She advocated for harmonious treatments and interactions and provided the council with fliers regarding the Open Dialogue approach, which she considered effective. MINUTES— Eugene City Council April 9, 2012 Page 1 Regular Meeting Garrett Dunlavy, Ward 3, a student at the University of Oregon, was joined by Nick Beradi, Education Coordinator for the University's Sustainability Center. They shared the center's plans for Earth Week on campus and solicited the community and council's involvement. Dennis Gabrielson, Creswell, offered a failing grade to the council and manager for spending money on Occupy Eugene, for contracting with outside attorneys, and for allowing Occupy Eugene to camp without permits or bonds. He submitted a graph showing the percentage differences in exempt and represented City employee salaries over time. Carla Newbre, Ward 1, a member of the Opportunity Eugene Task Force, endorsed the task force's recommendations. She had asked staff to forward the specific committee reports to the council to ensure the details did not get lost and asked the council to request them if they had not been provided. She endorsed a homeless camp site based on the Dignity Village model in Portland and the formation of a Homeless Commission. Kimberly Gladen, Ward 1, referred to assertions that more downtown benches were needed and called attention to the 74 existing benches downtown, most of which she seldom saw used. She asked why people did not congregate at the Free Speech Plaza, which had more than 200 feet of bench space and was completely unused. People had been sitting on handicapped access ramps, which puzzled her. Ms. Gladen suggested that people needed to be educated as to the location of downtown benches. She also recommended that people seek out nearby public parks, which also had benches. Ms. Gladen congratulated the council for the bicycle racks downtown and called for more of them. She suggested the City solicit suggestions for their location from downtown business owners. Mark Rust, Ward 5, expressed concern about the proposal to expand the urban growth boundary to accommodate job growth in the Clear Lake Road area, suggesting it did not make sense to place all industrial employment in one place. He was also concerned about the infrastructure that would be needed to serve that land and suggested the decision to stop the West Eugene Parkway precluded much growth to the west. Regarding the public need for school and parkland, he suggested that the City consider expanding into the Lane Community Council basin given the City -owned parkland in that area. Mr. Rust suggested that placing 500 new homes at the headwaters of the Willow Creek might not be the best idea, noting that much of the land in the land was purchased to be preserved for natural use. He encouraged the council to keep the potential of Goshen in mind for industrial growth. Eugene Drix, Ward 3, was grateful that the downtown pits had been filled and for the Public Forum. He was glad that Eugene was not Portland. He said change was inevitable, although sometimes it was not noticed. He was still trying to brand the community and suggested that if everyone shaved their eyebrows that might help; if it did not work out they could always grow back. He noted that alleys in his neighborhood, the West University Neighborhood, had been dated when paved and he thought that was useful. Robin Bloomgarden, Ward 8, posited a situation involving an emergency that left residents homeless but the council was unable to act because of restrictive codes that took years to change. She said the community had a homeless crisis. The homeless were unwanted and illegal but they wanted someplace to be and somewhere to store their belongings while they attended school, looked for work, or ate at The Dining Room. She encouraged the City to identify a homeless camping site and modify its zoning and building codes quickly so the homeless had a place to be now. David Ivan Piccioni, Ward X, was concerned about trees being cut in Eugene to accommodate construction activities and infrastructure development. If a tree had to be cut for some unavoidable MINUTES— Eugene City Council April 9, 2012 Page 2 Regular Meeting reason, Mr. Piccioni recommended that alternatives be considered first and that the trees that were removed be replaced. Mayor Piercy closed the Public Forum. She thanked those who offered comments and said the council would discuss the recommendations of the Opportunity Eugene Task Force on April 11. She thanked Ms. Berg Caldwell for her work with Municipal Court and thanked the University of Oregon students for sharing information about Earth Week. Mayor Piercy invited people with general questions about City operations to contact its Public Service Officer at the City Manager's Office. She said the City of Eugene had an Urban Forestry Program and trees were important to the community, as evidenced by the recent Arbor Day activities. The City had a policy of replacing trees and the council was notified of all tree removals. Ms. Ortiz concurred with Mayor Piercy about the importance of urban trees. She thanked those who offered testimony on a variety of issues. She invited Mr. Kasahun to contact her to discuss his concerns. Councilor Taylor thanked those who testified. She believed Eugene needed a stronger tree ordinance and suggested it was preferable to reroute sidewalks than to remove trees. She believed only urgent reasons should compel the removal of a tree. Speaking to the issue of benches, Councilor Taylor believed downtown needed more places to sit. She suggested that there could be stationary tables and movable chairs that residents could place as they chose while they talked, drank, and ate. 2. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes - December 12, 2011, Regular Meeting - January 11, 2012, Work Session - January 18, 2012, Work Session - January 25, 2012, Work Session - February 11, 2012, Workshop - February 13, 2012, Work Session B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda C. Approval of Neighborhood Matching Grants for Fiscal Year 2012 D. Ratification of Intergovernmental Relations Committee Minutes of March 6, 2012 Mayor Piercy and Councilor Poling pulled Item C. Councilor Brown, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved to approve the items on the Consent Calendar with the exception of Item C. Roll call vote: The motion passed unanimously, 7:0. At the request of Councilor Zelenka, Cindy Clarke of the Neighborhood Program reviewed the successful applications being funded through the Neighborhood Matching Grants Program. Councilor Poling commended the Willakenzie Grange project. Roll call vote; item C passed unanimously, 7:0. MINUTES— Eugene City Council April 9, 2012 Page 3 Regular Meeting 3. ACTION: Adoption of a Resolution Initiating Celebrations Acknowledging the 150` Anniversary of the Incorporation of Eugene Mayor Piercy shared the story of Eugene's incorporation as recounted by Lucia Moore, Nina McCornack, and Gladys McCready in The Story of Eugene. She reviewed the resolution before the council. Councilor Brown, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved to adopt Resolution 5056 initiating celebrations acknowledging the 150' anniversary of the incorporation of Eugene. Councilor Ortiz recalled her request to staff that all Eugene's history be told, both the glorious and inglorious. She supported the motion. Roll call vote: The motion passed unanimously, 7:0. Mayor Piercy adjourned the meeting at 8:23 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Beth Forrest City Recorder (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES— Eugene City Council April 9, 2012 Page 4 Regular Meeting