City Council - Regular Meeting

you good evening everyone and welcome to the june 8th 2026 eugene city council meeting thank you for joining us tonight in this hybrid meeting format and anyone who wishes to access the meeting remotely can do so by watching the live stream on our website the broadcast on comcast channel 21 or by following the access instructions listed on the city of eugene's public webcast and meetings materials page Tonight's meeting will include a public comment period, and if you wish to speak, please fill out a request to speak form on our public webcast and means materials webpage or at the entrance to this room. And we will accept request forms until 7.35 p.m. this evening. These forms will be used to generate the order of speakers and to accurately enter speakers' names into the public record. Public comment period will be limited to 90 minutes or conclude by 10 p.m., whichever occurs first. And if the number of speakers exceeds the time that we have allotted, we encourage speakers to consider abbreviating their remarks so that the maximum number of speakers can be heard. For those joining the meeting remotely, you are welcome to email your comments to council, and that is true of anyone giving public comment. As a reminder, Council's meeting rules of conduct apply to all attendees, both in the chambers and in the lobby, and include no flags, signs, loud or disruptive language, noise or conduct that obstructs the business of the Council. Please keep the room quiet and respectful for all speakers, and you are welcome to wave your hands in silent support. We encourage all those that are ill to join us remotely rather than in person and have masks available in the lobby if you need one. And during public comment, please address your comment to the council and elected officials in this room. In case of a medical emergency, an automated external defibrillator is located on the counter behind the staff on the one side of this room. And emergency exits are through the double doors located at the back of the room and the double doors located near the front of the room. The doors to the patio can also be used as needed. And with that, I call the June 8th, 2026 meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. And we'll begin this evening with a land acknowledgement. Since time immemorial, the Kalapuya people have been the indigenous stewards to our region, building dynamic communities, maintaining balance with wildlife, and enacting sustainable land practices. This land acknowledgement is a way of resisting the erasure of indigenous histories and to honor native communities by inviting truth and reconciliation. Following treaties between 1851 and 1855, Kalapuya people were dispossessed of their indigenous homeland by the United States government and forcibly removed to the Coast Reservation in Western Oregon. As we consider the impacts of colonization, we also acknowledge the strength and resiliency of displaced indigenous people. The city of Eugene is built within the traditional homelands known as Kalapuya-Ilihi. Kalapuya descendants are citizens of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon. They continue to make contributions in our communities here and across the lands. We express our respect for the inherent political sovereignty of all federally recognized tribal nations and indigenous people who live in the state of Oregon and across the nation. Our first item on tonight's agenda is the Pledge of Allegiance in recognition of Flag Day. And so we will open tonight's meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. And to lead us in the pledge this evening, we are joined by Zev Wax, a graduating senior from South Eugene High School, a two-year member of the Youth Advisory Council. The Youth Advisory Council, also known as the YAC or the YAC, gives Eugene High School students a chance to have their voices heard by the city of Eugene and the broader community by creating a space where student perspectives can influence and initiate and participate in policy at the city government level. And so Zev will now lead us in the pledge and please stand if you are able.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you, Zev. Our second item on tonight's agenda is ceremonial matters. And first, I would like to share a few words about the seven proclamations that I've asked the city of Eugene to prepare for the month of June, 2026. Proclamations are ceremonial documents requested and signed by the mayor, and you can find all of these proclamations cached at the City of Eugene website. This month, we are celebrating Eugene LGBTQ Plus Pride Month for the entirety of June, culminating with an all-day Eugene Springfield Pride Festival on Saturday, June 27th, at the Lane Events Center, and I hope to see many of you there. This past week, we've also recognized National Gun Violence Awareness Day on June 5th and National Cancer Survivors Day yesterday on June 7th. Every year, more than 44,000 Americans die from gun violence, 120 Americans every day. And there are over 18.6 million cancer survivors living in our country, the United States, today. This week, we are also collectively celebrating the graduations and the last day of school for our local Bethel and 4J and college-age students on Friday, June 12th. Congratulations to all graduates from kindergarten through secondary education and beyond in our community, as well as to the family and friends and loved ones, teachers, coaches, and mentors who have been a part of each and every one of these educational journeys. And welcome to summer, everyone. We're here. Following Friday next week, we celebrate Juneteenth on June 19th, and we will gather in downtown Eugene for a family-friendly community celebration honoring the history, resilience, and achievements of African Americans while also commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. And I want to thank our partners at Black Youth Incorporated, the Downtown Program Fund grants, and our community sponsors for supporting this event at the Market Pavilion and encourage everyone to join us on Juneteenth. And to conclude this month, we will celebrate the summer solstice, the longest and brightest day of the year, coming up shortly on June 21st. And the day before, we will recognize World Refugee Day on June 20th in the city of Eugene. In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our incredible community partners with Catholic Community Services Refugee and Immigrant Services Program and with Pacific Refugee Support for their tireless work to support our refugee and immigrant community members. That gratitude is extended to all of the community volunteers, organizations, sponsors, and partners who are working every day to connect our community, to lift up our shared history and future, and to celebrate each and every Eugenian for being exactly who they are. Look forward to celebrating and recognizing all of these proclamations with you throughout the month of June. Also, as one of our ceremonial manners this evening, we will be learning about the Youth Advisory Council's annual report. So shortly, we will be receiving a brief summary of the YACS, the YAC's annual report, and the full text will be sent to Council, was sent to Council with the last week's packets. Before we begin this report, I would like to recognize the members of the Youth Advisory Council who are graduating this year and ending their service on the Council. many of whom are here with us this evening. These seniors include J.P. Barnhart, Clue Buchanan, Anya Feldoff-Choi, Logan Green, Ella Killingsworth, who is co-chair of the YIC, Layla Schropp, who is the community ambassador, Gao Shaik, who's also a co-chair, Flora Stubert, Zev Wax, secretary, and Lily Yao. I want to thank you all, the entire YACC, for all of your hard work and for making student voices heard in city government and participating so enthusiastically and robustly in many conversations over this past year. And now I would like to invite YACC co-chair, Gauche Saik, to the podium to deliver the annual report.

I'll keep this relatively short, but good evening, mayor and counselors. My name is Gau Shaikh, and I'm a senior at South Eugene High School. And this past year, I've had the privilege of serving as co-chair of the Mayor's Youth Advisory Council. And just some background, since its founding in 2020, the YAC has worked to amplify youth voices across Eugene and the Bethel 4J school district areas, and provide meaningful opportunities for civic engagement at the municipal level. This year, we continued that mission through a variety of projects focused on policy, outreach, and civic education. One highlight was our continued collaboration with the Urban Growth Strategies, which you all have heard much about. We provided feedback on home energy efficiency recommendations and the city's equity atlas. giving members the opportunity to see how youth perspectives can directly inform policy discussions and planning efforts in our city. We also focused on strengthening the future of the YAC itself. To better understand the youth we represent, we began developing a citywide youth survey and conducted demographic research within our own council. These efforts will help future members better engage with and represent Eugene's diverse youth populations that we are so...

I'm here representing roughly 1,000 Greens, registered Greens in Eugene. I'm the Secretary of the Pacific Green Party. And I live in Ward 5. Be represented by Athena Aguirre. My name is Justin Phillip. As I said, I'm the Secretary of the Pacific Green Party, and I'm here tonight. I'm here to offer comment on the EPD and the body cam footage recently released as part of discovery in a court case. It revealed some very troubling, if unsurprising, attitudes among our police force. Now, I'm not expecting every officer to share my worldview, but I do expect them to respect the public they serve and to be professional. EPD needs to be held accountable for the toxic culture within the department, and the buck stops with Chief Skinner. Now, while firing Chief Skinner won't fix all the problems, the community needs to send a message that we will not tolerate a racist police force that has contempt for the public it serves. What else can we do? Is the police commission doing its job? How about the civilian review board? Should the police commission be located in the police station? Does that make sense? Are we ever going to get serious about sensitivity training in the EPD? I know a lot of us have probably taken some sensitivity training and probably know how that goes. You check a box, but we need to really make an impactful change there. Simply replacing the chief of police is not enough, but it might be a necessary step in repairing the damage done. and working toward an EPD that protects and serves our community without bias. And to go further, I'll offer this comment. Can we imagine a society without police? Policing in the US began as slave patrols. The history of policing is rooted in white supremacy. We need public safety personnel, people trained in de-escalation, conflict mediation, non-violent negotiation, and non-lethal disarmament, and restorative justice. We need people trained to protect and serve the most targeted in our society, not the wealthy and powerful. We need people trained in dispute resolution and active and compassionate listening.