HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 09/12/2012 Work SessionMINUTES
Eugene City Council
Bascom /Tykeson Room - Eugene Public Library
100 West 10 Avenue — Eugene, Oregon
September 12, 2012
5:30 p.m.
COUNCILORS PRESENT: George Brown, Pat Farr, Betty Taylor, Mike Clark, Chris Pryor, George
Poling, Alan Zelenka, Andrea Ortiz
Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the September 12, 2012, Work Session of the Eugene City Council
to order.
A: WORK SESSION:
Police Auditor / Civilian Review Board Annual Report
Police Auditor Mark Gissiner introduced Tim Laue, chair of the Civilian Review Board (CRB).
Mr. Laue reviewed some of the elements of the CRB annual report to the City Council,
including:
• The CRB is performing as intended and has fulfilled the role of reviewing process and
procedures for Eugene Police Department (EPD) officers.
• The biggest area of need is to have more in -car video capability in order to provide a
much needed context for the interaction and conversation between officers and
community members
o The hard work done in setting up the program has led to things working well at
this stage of the program.
Several councilors expressed their thanks for the work that has been done and noted they
appreciate the professional manner in which the report was prepared and how the information
was provided to the council. Councilors also commented on the neutral and fair way in which
case file information is reviewed . Mayor Piercy said she finds the newsletter very informative
and wants to see it continue.
Mr. Gissiner noted:
• Appreciation for the work that was done to set up the program - it was very staff -
involved.
• EPD and the Auditor are now able to differentiate between criminal activity and
nuisances, which is quite helpful.
• One of the reasons he feels this system is working so well is that EPD, the Auditor's
Office and the CRB are communicating with each other.
o Many other cities with this model are not having the same success, in part due to
the lack of trust and communication between the working parties.
• Eugene has also seen a significant rise in mental health and substance abuse issues, so the
work is a bit more challenging because of these changing and increasing dynamics.
• He hopes to see improvement in definitions of roles for the officers within EPD. The
lieutenants who work in Internal Affairs will need better role definitions regarding the
differences between criminal vs. office or policy investigations.
MINUTES – Eugene City Council September 12, 2012 Page 1
Work Session
Councilor Farr noted that the Police Auditor position is one of only three employees who report
to the City Council, so the general public may feel a greater degree of trust about the program
because of this reporting structure.
B: WORK SESSION:
Public Art Master Plan
Assistant Community Events Manager Isaac Marquez gave a PowerPoint presentation of art
pieces in different places around the United States, and the stories that went along with each
piece. The point of this presentation was to reiterate the importance of public art and further, to
acknowledge the need for a public art master plan to help guide future choices, implementation
and decisions. Mr. Marquez touched on a few local art pieces and then provided information
about the current project of painting traffic junction boxes pink and having teens in an art project
paint words from poems on the boxes.
Councilors seemed impressed with the presentation and noted the following things:
• Some councilors would like to go on a tour to see all the public art the City currently has,
like poetry in the Overpark, the walking path between downtown and the U of O, etc.
• The City should ensure the art in the old City Hall building is protected, saved and
retained for future use.
• Communities that invest in art are healthier and self - confident.
• Efforts should be concentrated on Highway 99 and the "other" entrance into town, from
the Airport into Eugene itself. This is one area that really needs some attention and art
would be a great way to spruce it up.
• The 1% for art initiative is codified and important, but staff needs to educate the general
public. A lot of community members don't understand it and the City gets a lot of
complaints about money being spent on art in tough financial times.
• Art is needed which recognizes the African- American community in Eugene.
• Publicity about the pink utility boxes is needed, so more people understand what the
project is and why it is being done.
• Some art is needed commemorating Native Americans.
• A way should be found to link the things the community loves about Eugene through art
projects, maybe through each neighborhood association.
Mayor Piercy adjourned the meeting at 1:25 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Michelle Mortensen
Deputy City Recorder
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Work Session