Springfield City Council — March 1, 2021

0:03 and you are now recording i'm going to call the springfield meeting to order with roll call mayor van gorden here counselor mo yep councillor rodley counselor stare here counselor woodrow here and counselor pictionary is on his way uh he might be here that looks is that phone his and i am asking him to unmute although i don't know how he sees that so we will keep working on this but i'm gonna say he's hearing you now okay um then please join me in the pledge of allegiance

0:53 i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republican so as we begin our meeting tonight i would like to ask members of the audience who are joining us online to please keep yourselves on mute until you are called to put on to provide public testimony there is one time this evening designated for public testimony and it will be listed as business from the audience on the agenda

1:38 if you are joining us online with a tablet smartphone or computer and wish to speak during that time please use the raise hand option to be called upon to provide comment when the designated time is announced when we will call on you please state your name in ward or general location for the record the order of public testimony is as follows anyone who who has raised their hand anyone then anyone who has submitted emails in advance if we still have remaining time neil will read the emails into the record first item please mayor your first item is springfield upbeat item number one women in construction week proclamation

2:23 and mayor you have this item perfect thank you whereas the national association of women in construction and awic was founded by 16 women working in the construction industry in 1953 and was established in 1955 in fort worth texas and whereas the national association of women in construction chapter 77 is a not for profit organization which promotes women's advancement and growth in the construction industry through education support and community involvement through eugene springfield and lane county whereas chapter 77 has promoted the employment and advancement of women in the construction industry and whereas the partners with the

3:08 chapter 77 partners with local elementary schools and high schools with their bill with their building contest and cad draft competition to promote and encourage creative construction activities in our youth i sean van gorden the mayor of springfield oregon recognized nawic chapter 77 and its many dedicated volunteers who work on behalf of and support women in construction and proclaim march 7th through 13th 2021 as women in construction week and neil i don't know if we've got anybody here from the organization it's a little

3:54 i do not know if we do we do not this evening um but they are receiving a copy of the proclamation and this video um after the meeting has adjourned outstanding next item please mayor the next item is ground is still under springfield upbeat groundwater guardians presentation and megan murphy with the dpw at the city and amy chinins with springfield utility board are both here for the staff presentation hello thanks so much for having us tonight it's really good to see all of you 2020 was springfield's 24th year as a designated groundwater guardian community though we can't present a plaque in

4:39 person this year we don't want to miss our annual celebration of this designation in springfield's groundwater protection efforts groundwater is the source of over half of springfield's drinking water supply despite the challenges and disruptions of the past year our commitment to protecting our groundwater hasn't wavered this coming sunday we join other communities around the country who also rely on this precious resource for national groundwater awareness week this year's theme is speaking up for groundwater here is the message from the national organizers our most valuable and precious resource needs advocates who understand the importance groundwater plays in our

5:24 lives and community any resource taken for granted is a resource at risk of being lost which is why we are dedicating national groundwater awareness week 2021 to the advocacy of groundwater safety and protection and increasing its access across the country springfield's groundwater guardian team proudly answers the call to be advocates for this resource and we invite the entire community to join us not just next week but all year in my role as a storm water technician of the city i incorporate groundwater awareness into the work that we do to protect water quality because groundwater and storm water are so closely connected

6:09 whether it's working with the community to reduce household chemical or pesticide use encouraging the planting of rain gardens or picking up pet waste everyone in springfield can participate in preserving our high quality drinking water if anyone would like more information about springfield's water protection programs and projects please feel free to contact amy at sub or me at the city and thank you so much for having us tonight and for supporting our community and protecting groundwater thank you thank you thank you both for the work you guys do this is a really important program and i missed the plaque with all the years on it that we would normally hand around so we'll have to do that next year we'll

6:54 get we'll make sure we get it to you thanks guys thank you all right neil next item please here the next item is the consent calendar is there a second hi second neil can you call the vote please yes counselor mo yes counselor rodley yes counselor stare yes counselor woodrow yes and counselor pictionary yes the motion passes 5-0 uh next item please the next time we have no public hearings tonight but we

7:39 do have business from the audience and mayor i can let you know that we have 82 attendees total and approximately it looks like about 10 hands raised at this point okay um is everybody getting in okay are we still having any technical problems before we get into this yes folks are getting in and it looks like folks more folks are raising their hands we're currently at 16 hands raised all right so i think we're ready to get going if you want to start bringing people up neil okay um mayor our first speaker is dana herkett and she will be followed by z wang

8:32 dana you should be able to unmute your microphone hi can you hear me yes um hello dana herkett ward one and i'm just here to offer input on the counselor appointment for my ward um but i think it would be helpful to first acknowledge where we are as a city and as a country in this moment we're facing a once in a century global pandemic a concurrent economic crisis a reckoning on police violence and accountability and a rise in hate crimes and extremist violence every single one of these issues affect our bipod communities the most and these communities currently do not have any representation on our council so let's offer a seat at the table to

9:18 someone who is representative of and able to build bridges to our neighbors who are disproportionately affected by each of the current crises we're facing my favorite candidate is damien pitts not only is he super qualified and community-minded and the most exciting candidate but he also has lived experience as a person of color in springfield and i want to restate something mentioned at the city club interviews and that is that springfield needs to be held accountable if we want to cite quote fostering an environment that values diversity and inclusion end quote in the expressed council goals

10:05 i completely agree we need to have accountability if we're going to include diversity and inclusion in our vision statements we need to prove it we can't just say it with words we need to prove it with action and i hope that you will affirm that value statement with this appointment tonight i've been attending these meetings since i moved here and have heard the council decry your lack of diversity in the past but you have the opportunity to start changing that tonight you alone have the power to do that so will you thank you thank you mayor our next speaker is she wang followed by holly shaper

10:58 your microphone should be unmuted can you hear me we can hear you thank you uh good evening i'm xiaowang thanks for your time last meeting counselor udhiro responded to the public comments regarding to cover concern thanks for your response unfortunately counselor woodrow's response is a lack of a cultural competency and i understand the counselor woodrow's feelings but i encourage counselor woodrow to do self-education about why the bipolar community is especially vulnerable to covet there's increasing evidence that the bipolar communities are being disproportionately affected by covet long-standing systematic health and social inequities

11:43 i put many people from the bipolar community at the increase the risk of getting sick and dying from covet culvert is real and following the guidelines even more important while considering racial equity i came to the u.s in 2012 i was yelled at to go back to country about five times total last friday two friends and i we were holding a sign to express our concern about along came trudy's trudy cafe's ongoing issue of violating coveted guidelines we stood at the other uh at the other side of the parking lot that there was at least 500 feet away through these customers walked all the way across the parking lot to

12:28 harass us i was yelled at by by them i was yelled by them don't eat american food go back to your country i had broken my record of five times in the past nine years i was obviously years of attack the most as i was only person of color among springfield is well known in oregon with the worst racism issue racism easy needs to be talked publicly and repeatedly by ug by springfield city council meeting while at the meeting racism is a public health crisis here as a city administrative administrators you have a duty to ensure bypass community members feel they are being hurt especially when the city is considering decisions

13:13 that affect their lives diversity at the management levels creates more opportunities for springfield to better connect and engage with multiracial and multicultural populations as a woman of color it's super important for me to see the city council promoting diverse and cultural competence into water one council appointment we need a representative from the bipol community thank you mayor the next speaker is holly shaper followed by elizabeth utterback

13:58 hello can you hear me we can hear you holly okay good evening counselors and mayor my name is holly shaper and i live in ward 2. so it seems that we find ourselves once again in this position of the members of city council being the only votes to select another leader to appoint additionally we may be in this position for a longer period of time considering the near unanimous support to drastically slow down any ballot measures to allow for the people to vote in times like these regardless of the fact that a single election is the same cost as 24 of a single police per claim insurance deductible and those are happening with disturbing frequency so putting all of this aside you have a big decision to make tonight

14:44 before you make the decision i have a couple of questions for you have you asked each applicant to disclose any potential conflicts of interest that would interfere with the duties of serving on council if not why was this not something that was asked and disclosed to the public how many emails has each counselor received in support or opposition to each candidate as well also i wanted to thank mayor van gorden for stating that white supremacy white nationalism and political violence are not welcome in the city of springfield now what will council do to reaffirm this statement i hope to see you reaffirm it in your ward 1 appointment decision will you choose change and

15:30 representation of those who lack it or will you choose the status quo i think there is an obvious candidate who is very well qualified and represents those who currently lack representation i hope you consider this as you are deliberating and that you decide to choose equity and inclusion please take direct action to actively show that all people are truly welcome in springfield and give voice to those who are not yet represented at the decision making table thank you thank you mayor the next speaker is elizabeth butterback followed by thomas kephart and lizzie your microphone should be unmuted okay

16:15 thank you neil um hello council and mayor van gorden this is lizzie utterback from ward 3. i'm so sad to hear what sia had to say and really commend her bravery for speaking out publicly about the overt racism she's experienced in our city please take action on the issues she's brought forward i'm a little emotional after that um so i am emailed you this afternoon because i've been assured by mayor van gorden that these emails are read so just out of curiosity i'd like to ask how many emails did you all receive in support of each applicant um in the email that i sent earlier i shared support for kelly and damian they are the most

17:02 qualified applicants for the position which i detailed in my email and i also think tim and thomas would bring helpful and important perspectives to council as well but now i'm wondering if tonight's vote should actually be delayed it seems like the council has an obligation to ensure the applicant pool has been screened for disclosures of any potential conflicts of interest that might interfere with the duties of serving on council and also for affiliation with hate or extremist groups especially given that one of my neighbors participated in the attempted coup in washington and additionally it seems important to understand whether any current city council members have any kind of financial relationship with any of the

17:48 applicants to me this seems like critical information that should be obtained prior to the vote is this if this is something you've already screened for it might be helpful to hear what that process was as well as the information that was obtained thank you mayor the next speaker is thomas kephart followed by amy cothran [Music] thomas you should be able to mute your mic all right thank you i'm assuming you can hear me yes we can all right thomas ward 6. um appointing a new member to the council is one of the most important if not most

18:34 important decisions you will make as council members and i ask that you consider all applicants with your constituency in mind since we don't get to make that choice my hope is that your consideration will be made through the lens of equity inclusion transparency and what is in the best interest of our increasingly diverse community the council is very fortunate to have two extremely qualified applicants kelly and damian who are already well experienced in dealing with the current challenges of our community this last year has demonstrated that there are important voices who've been historically underrepresented in springfield and now you have a chance to include these fellow community members into your space a city government that truly reflects

19:19 its people will be a city government that is responsive to its constituents and one that we can be proud of a city government that ignores the pleas of its community will be status quo and further the antipathy and frustrations of our community for far too long marginalized people in this community have been victimized or ignored by our police by our schools and by our city government you have a chance to right this wrong by selecting a candidate that has experienced and addressed these very issues the issues of racial justice are not just a hot topic issue as asserted by one applicant but are essential to the very lives of people in this community who experience the realities of violence and oppression by ignoring those voices you only be

20:04 perpetuating the cycle of white supremacy i would hope that you would consider giving more time to this process so that we can get to know applicants better and allow for more public input i do have some concerns that one applicant in particular seems to have a potential conflict of interest and hope they have disclosed information to you that their appointment will not interfere with the duties of serving on the council i want to close with these final words we cannot change what we are not aware of but once we are aware we can we can't help but change you have a chance to make a change and i hope you embrace it thank you and i yield the remainder of my time thank you the next speaker is amy cothron followed

20:50 by jennifer potter and amy you should be able to unmute your microphone yeah i think i'm good now uh good evening everyone this is amy cothrin from council five another one of your gadflies uh once again i would like to speak about the upcoming appointment this is a very big issue this is a very big deal realistically speaking for 10 minutes is nowhere near enough time for these candidates to fully put across who they are and what they represent also i think a lot of people have given some really great points about disclosing conflicts of interest and publishing prior to the vote the amount of public support

21:35 each candidate has gotten that way we can you know be assured that you are voting in the interest of the public uh and you know that being said i will say damian seems like a great candidate uh more perspectives on the council will definitely help them come up with better options to solve issues it's not really about race it's not really anything like that it's diversity is not just diversity of the way people look in the way people you know skin color and things like that it's also lived experiences and i think that he really has a unique experience versus all of you living in springfield i'm transgender so i know what it's like to get that hate in this town

22:21 secondarily i just want to touch on something again for mayor van gorden i spoke about this at the last council meeting i filed a complaint with spd i still have not gotten any type of response i've emailed you about it i'm sure that you've contacted them i'm just letting you know in this very public setting that they have not gotten back to me uh let that speak for the department as it will uh otherwise i see the rest of my time thank you mayor our next speaker is jennifer potter followed by irene henjam and jennifer you should be able to

23:06 unmute all right thank you um so i want to start by thanking mayor van gorden for your recent statement against white supremacy i really appreciate that statement and i'm looking forward to seeing what you and the council will be doing to follow up with actions on that i urge you to consider the advantages of having diverse voices on the council our city government will be more representative of its citizens if our leaders reflect who we are and according to recent census data springfield at 20 of us are not white and right now our city leadership is 100 white and none of our city leaders are fluent in spanish so i urge you to take this into consideration when making your choice to

23:53 fill the ward 1 seat i think it would be a great idea to narrow the field to the top two or three choices and then take additional public comment since we the voters can't vote in this process please strongly consider our opinions thank you mayor the next speaker is irene henjam followed by sherry moore irene you should be unmuted okay can you hear me yes we can hi um first of all thank you for your time and again i would like to also thank um mayor van gorden for his statement uh

24:39 condemning white supremacy and uh violence uh it's very appreciated and um diversity i'm also i'm ward 3. uh and i just want to state about this ward 1 appointment diversity builds strength and it will strengthen the council to have more diverse voices on it i was very impressed with both kelly mason and damian pitts and i think they both bring perspectives that are needed on the springfield city council either one of them would be a great choice

25:24 um and i mean especially uh damian pitts and his military experience there is no no better example of a diversity building strength than the united states military and you work when you are in the military you work with people from all walks of life and backgrounds and that that's an asset and i was also impressed that kelly mason was bilingual that is also a very important and needed skill at this time but anyway um

26:10 i just want to reiterate that people who are not currently represented on the council deserve representation and seeing yourself in leadership is really a big deal and it can go a long way toward making people feel more at home and more welcome in this community and anyway again thank you all for your time and i'll yield the rest of my time thank you mayor the next speaker is sherry moore followed by claire roth and sherry you should be able to unmute your microphone ah have i done it nice to hear you

26:56 yeah i just want to drop by and say hi and thank you for all your hard work and i can't say that i miss monday nights too much but anyway i just wanted to know let you know that i hadn't disappeared and um you know i'm from word three i forgot to say that and i just want to let you know i'm praying for you all guys and i'm praying for the city as well and i really do appreciate you hanging in there thank you thank you councilor moore um neil i have us at 20 minutes so i'm going to just do a check in with the council how many folks do we have uh do we have left it appears that we've had some hands added so we're

27:44 at about 13 folks i believe okay so i'm just kind of looking around for a head nod about what people want to do we probably need to choose a time to do before we do another check-in if people want to go another 20 or 30 and then see where people are feeling i'm seeing one head nod yeah i'm good with that let's keep going hey sean yes it's leonard i um i i would definitely um i would definitely favor letting everyone speak um and i i agree that after about another half hour we should check in okay then neil i think we're good to keep going okay i'll give you a heads up as we get

28:31 closer but for now uh claire roth is our speaker followed by lori palmeiro and claire you should be able to unmute your microphone hello can everybody hear me we can excellent um so good neat good evening everybody uh my name is claire roth i am safe streets coordinator with better eugene springfield transportation also known as best best is committed to the communities that we serve we push for accessible transportation options and a safe environment for everyone to travel through comfortably a big part of what we do is educating the public and decision making bodies on matters of transportation such as with our recent transportation safety questionnaire that we sent to the candidates for the interim ward 1 counselor position

29:17 some of the sitting counselors might be familiar with that we send out a similar questionnaire in the may 2020 primaries i just want to say thank you so much to all of the four ward one candidates who participated we truly appreciate your time and thoughtfulness in talking about what transportation in springfield looks like it means to you for those who are interested in taking a look at the questionnaire results they are available on both best's facebook page as well as on our blog as a 501c3 nonprofit best is not recommending any one candidate but is providing city council with information as a result of the questionnaire thank you for your time and i look forward to what is next in store in the name of transportation safety in the city of springfield

30:02 thank you mayor your next speaker is lori palmeiro followed by david brown and lori you should be able to unmute your microphone good evening i'm lorie palermo 1602 linden avenue here in springfield and i'm here this evening to speak in support of appointing candidate grace bergen to the open position for springfield city council ward one as a lifelong springfield resident i'm delighted and encouraged at the number of candidates who've applied for the position of ward 1 city councilor i've paid very close attention to this race sitting in on interviews and doing my research and while there are some good candidates only one stands out to me as the best

30:48 choice grace bergen has lived in springfield longer than any of the other candidates she did not move here with the intention or the hope of fixing springfield she grew up here she went to school here and has been involved in our community through the good times and the not so good times grace has volunteered at community events served on the governance committee for the development code rewrite and currently serves on the planning commission she's been part of some pretty difficult processes and decision making always collaborating always listening always researching she's an advocate for fair and affordable housing and uses her experience as a realtor to that end this vote tonight is about respecting

31:34 the will of the voters who chose now mayor of sean van gorden and i think we can all agree that continuity of leadership matters it matters a lot all of this said grace bergen is the only truly qualified candidate she's the only one with experience ready to hit the ground running grace has a vision of where springfield should go and the energy to help us get there i'm respectfully asking you to choose grace bergen for city council ward representative for word one thank you mayor our next speaker is david brown and followed by kirsten vignetta and david you should be able to unmute

32:23 good evening mayor van gorden and counselors my name is david brow and i live in the centennial elementary school district area on behalf of the springfield board of realtors representing over 300 members i want to thank you for this opportunity to speak to you tonight as you consider this important decision we believe you aren't starting from scratch two years ago the voters of springfield resoundedly re-elected councillor van gorden to the ward 1 seat as you choose a successor it is critical to consider who and what those voters chose experience moderate leadership and pragmatic nonpartisan way of doing business in our opinion grace bergen is the only candidate who matches these values the voters of shrinkfield have already shown they care deeply

33:09 about grace is the only applicant before you tonight who has put in the time and thankless hours of service on the planning commission through that crucible grace has shown her ability to work with others from differing viewpoints to reach a consensus she has put in the time to learn how our city functions and can immediately step into the role and represent ward one residents additionally lane county is in a housing crisis springfield has led the way on many pro housing policy changes and we need to keep that momentum going again grace is the only applicant with professional experience in the housing realm to come alongside you all and help you work toward the

33:54 solutions that will help make housing more affordable for all our community thank you for your time and your consideration mayor the next speaker is kirsten vignetta followed by jay smith and kirsten you should be able to unmute your microphone can you hear me we can good evening counselors um my name is kirsten vignette and i'm a resident of ward 2. i would first like to thank mayor van gorden for his state of the city statement denouncing white supremacy it meant a lot to many of us around the city and for me um it signaled the potential for a new

34:40 and improved political trajectory for springfield in light of this i would like to make the case in support of damian pitts for the position of counselor in ward 1. the council is extremely fortunate to have a candidate like pitts within the list of possibilities because he has the potential to enhance the city in myriad ways his international military experience his institutional experience and his education as a sociologist make him an extremely well-rounded and qualified candidate that would bring a variety of highly relevant and needed skills additionally damien pitts as a candidate whose life experiences as a black man can bring a much needed racial perspective to an otherwise entirely white city council as somebody mentioned previously

35:25 springfield's population is 79 percent white according to the census bureau um and that's non-hispanic white um that means that 21 percent of the city's population is made up of people of color hispanic people or people that are both on the other hand our city council is a hundred percent white at this point and thereby not representative of the city's population us counselors are now being given the opportunity to bring much overdue diverse representation to the council while damien's experience is unique and can't necessarily speak for every bike person's experience in the city he can bring much needed and missing perspective of someone with personal experience living in springfield as a person of color and this is especially important right now as we address issues of race equity

36:12 and policing within the city and as city government tries to regain the trust of springfielders who have really lost faith in their government as a result of issues pertaining to policing and inequity within the city these are not issues that will just magically disappear someone just mentioned that grace bergen is a candidate that didn't just move here with the hope of fixing springfield except some things actually need fixing and so you not only owe it to current bipart constituents springfield is like most places only likely to get more diverse over time and so this is forward thinking as well i would be so pleased if you surprised me tonight and chose a highly qualified candidate who can finally bring racial diversity to the council the time is now and i hope that you will choose

36:58 damian pitts thank you and i yield the remainder of my time mayor the next speaker is j smith followed by samantha alcantar and jen i think your microphone should be open now i didn't i wasn't able to attend the meeting last time and i watched the video back and my heart broke a little bit when a community member came and stated that springfield doesn't have a white supremacy problem it broke a little bit more just now when someone said that springfield doesn't

37:43 need fixing i would like the council to respect the votes of those who voted for mayor van gorden they voted for someone young and practical the good sense for business and a good sense for equity and fairness mayor van gorden i just wanted to say i was personally touched by your state of springfield video i think you really showcased the things that make this a great city and showed our heart mayor and city council i just ask how well situated as a realtor to help make housing more affordable how well situated is someone who doesn't think there's a problem to fix the issues that clearly face springfield

38:28 in addressing those problems i very much enjoyed watching all of the interviews and the city club speeches for the springfield city council ward 1 candidates would have been nice if they've been able to be a campaign in an election but you have a very difficult choice in front of you of all the candidates i personally believe that damian pitts and kelly mason are the best qualified and most experienced options it was especially exciting to see that they both truly want to serve our city and that their voices could perhaps help to elevate some of the currently

39:14 underrepresented minority voices in our community i yield the remainder of my time mayor the next speaker is samantha alcantar followed by samuel benjamin and samantha you should be able to unmute your microphone hello um my name is samantha alcantar i'm a resident of ward 5. um i have been living in springfield all my life i grew up here

39:59 and i've seen the lack of diversity in those seats you're sitting in the city has a chance with this council vacancy to prove to the community about your commitment to inclusion and diversity majority of past councilmen have no background on the true feeling of walking in a person of color's shoes and for that reason marginalized communities don't feel support from the council you have the opportunity to appoint a councilman that not only has strong experience and credentials but also experiences as a person of color who can help upbring the voices of marginalized communities i hope you consider damien pitts marginalized communities will feel hope

40:46 that there truly will be change in the in the springfield community thank you and i yield the remainder of my time mayor your next speaker is samuel benjamin followed by anthony reed and samuel you should be able to unmute your microphone awesome can you hear me we can awesome good evening counselors and mayor my name is sam and i live in ward 2. uh this message may come across a little redundant um but it's important i think to get a little repetition for the message to sink in uh first i want to voice my support for damien pitts and encourage counselor mo as my ward representative to vote for him kelly mason was also a strong candidate and i would support her appointment as a

41:31 runner-up others have already made a strong case for damian and i don't have anything to add additionally i would like to encourage all counselors and ward 1 candidates to immediately disclose any possible financial conflicts and interests they may have if council is not able to effectively make these disclosures this evening i urge you not to vote on candidates tonight and leave the record open until your next session so this can be considered before final decisions are made in the future i strongly suggest that this be part of your recruitment process much earlier on and make these disclosures as soon as applicants are submitted i yield my time

42:16 mayor the next speaker is anthony reed followed by amber albert childress and anthony you should be able to unmute your microphone thank you can you hear me all right we can all right good evening my name is anthony reed and i'm from ward six i'm speaking in support of damian pitts but first i would like to thank the council for listening and taking the input of the community seriously in their consideration i've seen some of you taking notes and it is appreciated that being said i did watch all the interviews and damien stood out above the rest not only for his answers to the questions but in his kind and warm demeanor he presents as approachable and easy to talk to which is something i think we all appreciate and representative of our community he stated that he would put the team above himself elevate the voices of the

43:01 unheard work to revitalize some of the business hubs around the city and possibly most importantly of all he wants to plant seeds for our future leaders by making it possible for them to see someone that looks like them on the city council for our citizens that are people of color it sends a message that their voices are important and that they too can be a part of local government as a way to serve their community and help make the needed changes that affect them most also as a combat veteran damien is well suited to represent the almost 5 000 veterans here in springfield his military training ensures that he is prepared to work as a team to accomplish difficult goals one such goal he mentioned is eliminating all forms of supremacy and while mayor van gorden has denounced white supremacy

43:46 it would be more powerful of a statement for the entire council to do so in unity the truth is that past events in springfield make the council as a whole denouncing white supremacy and necessity but the optics alone of an all-white council is enough to make anyone question the conviction behind such a statement this is a golden opportunity to do more than just say it i ask that the council take into consideration that the fight for equality is front and center once again in this country and the people that you represent we want to be on the right side of that fight please take advantage of this opportunity to lift up our community as an example of equality and inclusion and begin to improve our our reputation thank you for your time and i i yield back the rest of my time

44:34 mayor your next speaker is amber halbert childress followed by claire rayna and amber you should be able to unmute your microphone now okay can you hear me we can okay thank you my name is amber halbert childress i was previously the lane county community organizer for main street alliance of oregon and we promote a small business with progressive values that are not only accept embrace equity and inclusion for all and i want to put my support behind kelly mason or damien pitts because representation is so important for people in our community i currently live in ward 3 but i know ward one needs representation

45:20 for marginalized communities and i wanted to talk a little bit about someone either damien or kelly that would help women and people of color have access to capital uh to start small businesses uh women owned and uh bipark communities uh employ 7.9 million employees in the united states small business and have to pay 217 billion in salaries and greatly contribute to our economy women entrepreneurs and bipart people are the largest demographic of growing small business and to have somebody that would represent and be an ally for them here in springfield uh would not only attract

46:05 new businesses here but let people know that we stand behind our inclusion and equity as part of our core belief here in springfield things are changing people are becoming more progressive i want to see a place where my children who are by ethnic can grow up and know that they have support of their city and people representing them and their issues that they face and i really am glad to see that springfield is taking a more progressive stand there and standing behind inclusion because uh we don't have the reputation for being that and i would like to see us grow that so i'm putting my support behind kelly

46:50 mason or damien pitts i think they would be great allies for all marginalized communities and um be great for us here thank you i yield the rest of my time our next speaker mayor is claire reyna followed by christy costello and claire you should be able to unmute your microphone can you hear me we can okay awesome so i would like to make a public comment in regards to kelly mason who is a well qualified candidate for springfield city council award one seat i believe that kelly mason exemplifies the important characteristics of a city council member through my years of knowing her on a personal and professional level she has always shown the ability to

47:35 listen respectfully take and give perspective and most importantly has the ability to make decisions that are best for all individuals she is serving rather than what's best for one individual as we can see over the past year younger generations are wanting to become more involved in policy change within our city springfield city council does not have any council members who even come close to representing our city's youth or young adults which is concerning given our city council is in charge of making in charge of representing and making critical decisions that reflect all residents of springfield this is one of many reasons i believe kelly mason would be a great addition to springfield city council i believe she would be able to give a much needed perspective to other city council members to ensure that decisions being made are a true and genuine representation of all residents of springfield

48:20 she has shown her ability to be a great ally for marginalized groups within the city and is able to give professional perspectives to others who may not be aware of injustice injustices happening in our city we need someone who cares about what's actually going on in our city for example on july 29 2020 when myself along with other black unity leaders and other residents brought our peaceful message to thurston in doing so we were denied our rights physically abused and assaulted by paid servants of the people also known as springfield police department this reflects not only the state of policing in this country but specifically the city we cannot keep referring to this behavior as patriotic but this is white supremacy one of kelly mason's most powerful characteristics and ability is that she is empathetic

49:06 rather than sympathetic the ability to have empathy is powerful it brings people together and can lead to true inclusivity while those who are sympathetic whether they mean to or not lead to creating an uneven power dynamic that leads to exclusive behavior and the sense of feeling unheard kelly masons listens to hers around us with the intent to learn rather than to respond which i feel in the last year this pretty this uh springfield city council has been lacking as a latina woman she has been there for me personally and many others helping us break through barriers and that was not just by luck but rather truly understanding what it takes to be an ally to all marginalized communities i asked the city council to take time to reflect on all this thank you for your time

49:53 mayor your next speaker is christy costello followed by diane peterson and christy you should be able to unmute your microphone thank you can hear me we can great um good evening my name is christy costello i live in ward 2. um and i am i'm feeling hopeful tonight um at the opportunity you have in appointing our next counselor um you know while this may be one decision and an invitation for just one person to join join this larger collective body this one decision and this one invitation are significant um and as with every election every appointment um this will impact our community in substantial ways and so as i see it tonight is

50:38 is the chance to either continue to diversify the voices experiences and perspectives that we consider and we value as a city or a chance to continue upholding the status quo springfield is stretching and reaching and growing in new ways and i'm hopeful that this appointment will be another strong example of how council and this city are continuing to expand to be more inclusive of all folks who call springfield home based on what we've learned of applicants uh damian pitts seems to be the strongest candidate to me as well as kelly mason from the get-go both explicitly named the importance of engaging marginalized communities in our city's decisions and that many communities in springfield

51:24 do not have seats at decision-making tables do not have the privilege to ensure their needs and perspectives are considered other candidates did not make these distinctions and kelly themselves have experience and skills connecting with marginalized communities and have held leadership roles making decisions for the greater good kelly being bilingual and sharing cedak but damien in particular with his extensive leadership team building and intercultural experiences um that he has likely had in the military plus his service on the lane um county equity and access advisory board his skills and experiences will will truly be invaluable to the council and so you know each of you

52:11 is is equally responsible for bringing and holding various perspectives when representing the common good of our community and no one person can speak for any entire community's experience however it is undeniable that the broader and more diverse perspectives you bring on to council will only enhance the decisions you make for our city uh lastly i would be remiss if i did not add that while i understand being a lifelong springfielder is a point of pride for many people and can bring helpful perspective to positions i am also really disheartened to hear that people still believe that i or

52:56 anyone who chose to move to springfield is less qualified committed or capable of contributing to our city simply because we are not born here this bias against people who have not grown up here is harmful and it's an example of the thinking that we actually should really be questioning and challenging within our city um with that thank you uh i appreciate the time mayor the next speaker is diane peterson followed by brianna gutierrez thorne and we'll also do a time check if you don't mind after the next speaker mayor then we'll be at a half hour but christy um you should be able to unmute your microphone i'm sorry diane you should be able to

53:42 meet your microphone i think you unmuted me chris hi this is diane can you hear me yes we can thank you good evening counselors and mayor to my knowledge there has only ever been one person of color on the springfield city council that would be jesse main and yet people of color have been living in springfield for quite some time now there are two well-qualified candidates of color for the ward 1 position for a more just representation of the community springfield city council needs to appoint damian pitts or kelly mason for ward 1 counselor black brown and latinx voices are underrepresented in local leadership you have an opportunity here to remedy

54:28 this problem our community is unfortunately very well known for its white supremacist population and aggression by the police towards people of color as in the blm protest last summer i would much rather our community be known as a beautifully diverse place where people of color are and feel safe and for its strong leadership by people of all races and ethnicities furthermore a diverse team of counselors with different backgrounds perspectives and life experiences will yield decisions that are inclusive creative and powerful this is exactly what our community needs if more deliberation is needed for you to make this appointment please do take the time for that and keep the line open for more public comment thank you i

55:14 yield the rest of my time so neil how many more people are in the queue mayor it appears we have uh four and um three four yes four left folks want to keep going or okay yeah i think but i do need that yeah we need to be careful good we all of a sudden end up with a whole whole bunch yeah so so neil maybe you could cross the we can just kind of close the queue at whoever the fourth is right now yes we can do that of course mayor um so we actually have uh three speakers we seem to have lost uh brittany gutierrez

56:01 thorne i will try to find her in our list here the next speaker then would be meal box followed by kevin shaper and neil if you're ready i've unmuted your microphone great thank you i appreciate the opportunity um i would just like to acknowledge the fact that we do have a ton of diversity on our city council and all one has to do is read the bios of our council members and you will find that their mothers their fathers their business owners they've had tons of experiences in in education and different uh and different types of careers lived in

56:47 different states remade themselves multiple times i greatly respect where they come from and what they bring to the table so we get to bring another one on and it's a great opportunity and i encourage the counselors to do to assess people based on their diversity of thought where they've been to uh the experiences they've had the successes they had the businesses they've built the relationships they have to to basis on color would be very short-sighted and we don't um we we don't uh solve any any problems by judging people

57:33 by their by their color and putting them in positions because of their color nor do i think any man or woman of color would want to win a position because they are a person of color um it's no good for anybody i believe that we are this this comes up over and over again and we're ignoring issues in our city such as education such as housing such as the businesses uh falling apart because they've been they've been closed for so long because of coven there's so many issues at hand and we we need to start addressing those and looking at those thank you

58:18 okay your next speaker mayor is kevin shaper followed by someone who has listed just as community member and we are still looking for briana and kevin you should be able to unmute your microphone hi my name is kevin shafer i'm from ward 2 and uh it turns out my comment is exactly about africans being chosen or not chosen based on the color of their skin uh tonight we heard some comments about how the only qualified candidate is a member of the planning commission and in regards to that i want to read a portion of a letter that i sent to counsel about we absolutely know that people of color do not have equal access to climbing the civic engagement ladder at springfield we have the rare opportunity to see it

59:03 spoken out loud when councilor dave ralston opposed the appointment of newfoundland clement to the springfield police advisory committee on the basis that there was already a quote minority appointed while the focus that media attention at the time was on the one particular particularly toxic counselor we should focus on the fact that the council voted unanimously in agreement with that position since members of the council were part of that vote it's an uncomfortable thing to point out but i think it's very relevant to this discussion thank you mayor it looks like our last speaker is ready and that is under just the name community member so

59:48 i'll unmute your microphone can you hear me we can hear you okay i am a parent and community member in ward 4 and i am another vote for recommending the appointing of damien to the city council he from his interview is totally relatable and life experience that is different from other members on the council already so that's bringing great diversity to the council so another vote there i would also like to address the issue while i have the time of the fact that there are some city council members who believe that springfield is not racist nor do they see any issues with the community and the stanford

1:00:34 police department there are in fact a long history a proven history of these issues and it would be great if the council would take it seriously i would like computer city council members stand up and take responsibility and trying to eliminate racism in the community as well as making changes that are going to better the community and lessen the destructive environment that the police department is providing in our community um i appreciate your time that is all thank you mayor that was our last speaker we were looking for brianna gutierrez thorne

1:01:19 it looks like she's dropped off the call uh thank you for everybody that's quite a bit of a public comment so thanks for hanging in there with us um i don't a lot of this is about a different item as far as the feedback goes but i wanted to at least give the council a chance if they saw anything they wanted to respond to before we went on to the next item counselor woodrow i i just wanted to make a comment that depending on what our decision is tonight i know i know how i where my considerations are but before i even state them later on um i'm hoping that this is a bridge or an opportunity to show that anybody in the community can put themselves forward to have a

1:02:05 position on council i i've not ever seen um the city restrict anyone or bad mouth anyone or put somebody in a bad position because they wanted to run for council or they wanted to run for a city position um i'm concerned that people have that impression uh be just because of looking at who we are on council but i don't think i don't i look around council and i don't see any one of us that have any concern as far as someone's background someone's culture someone's lifestyle uh being able to put themselves forward and run for an opportunity to be in our position and i just i i'm just concerned about somebody having an impression like that because i realize

1:02:50 that it comes from from their perspective and i and i respect that i just hope that they have an opportunity now and continued to realize that that's that um we don't look at it that way anybody else all right neil i think we're ready for the next item mayor the next item is business from the city council item number one the interim counselor deliberation nancy newton and mary bridget smith are here for the item good evening mayor and council i'll be working with you tonight in the deliberations for the ward one uh vacancy with a few housekeeping items

1:03:38 before you move on to your deliberation that um i wanted to be able to do first first i wanted to point out an error in the ais i had drafted that the successful candidate must obtain four out of six votes but actually now that you have an appointed a mayor you have um the vote should be three out of five the mayor only votes in the case of a tie so i apologize for that i wasn't trying to quiz you up or anything but um that was a you want to make sure we were paying attention you know i tried to write these out earlier so anyway that's one bit of housekeeping the second is that i am going to ask that you move to find um the position of the ward one

1:04:24 counselor vacant before you deliberate and vote our charter does not require a resignation letter and that bit of housekeeping will help us move on to the next step and then the second thing i recommend is that you decide on your voting method before you start deliberating so everybody kind of knows how the process is going to go and the public is clear so we're all on the same page um it can help everybody feel confident going into the deliberation so i did list out two options on your ais for potential ways to vote there's an a and a b option unless a counselor has another option they would like to propose but a option is essentially keep all eight candidates in your deliberation and sort of through

1:05:09 a series of um voting or discuss all of them or the other option is you could narrow down with an unofficial or a straw man vote to try and get down to a less number to have a deliberation on so whatever you'd like to do but i i think it would be important to choose that path before you get going just for clarity so if unless anyone has any questions about the voting methods um the other thing that you can do when you get down to the vote since this is a we're in the remote format we'll do what we've done before where we call your name and then you say your selection um instead of doing sort of a roundabout of lots of votes if that makes sense so

1:05:54 when we get there um that's what we'll do does anyone have any questions or discussion about the voting preference so i think i would entertain the motion to find the ward one unless joe you got a council you got a question to find the ward one vacant and then we can start talking about the voting process second there it's been moved and seconded is uh neil can you call the role please counselor mo counselor rodney yes counselor stare yes counselor woodrow yes and counselor pictionary yes motion passes five to zero

1:06:40 that and so i think we're ready to discuss the uh discuss the voting method first before we deliberate my suggestion was go ahead joe i was just going to have a throw a proposal out there and see how well it lands um first of all i was i've been on council as everyone knows a very long time and i consider it very much of an honor um to be there and a privilege and i am very uh taken back and in a good way as to how many people had shown an interest in applying for the position it takes a lot of guts and uh fortitude and um it's it's awesome i've been very impressed i'm very impressed with the the the breadth of the applicants and

1:07:26 um i appreciate all of you that applied i wanted to i was just thinking it kind of seems like there's a couple two or three names that have percolated up to the top they have they're the same ones that are percolated up to the top for me as well and i was just thinking on proposing that maybe we can we as a group can can uh look at the top three in our minds and find out who the top three are and then deliberate more direct directly on those top three to make a decision um i think that was going to be my my suggestion too right i might my bet is if we could get to three uh that would make a lot of sense is it that maybe we just go through and collect everybody's top four and see if there's a three that kind of pop up to the top go ahead

1:08:11 leonard yeah i i agree i think we should take a straw poll and then uh let's be guided by how many votes the top four get if you know mathematically you could have the fourth place finisher with one vote and obviously that's not going to be the the one who prevails but i'd i'd like to just check the vote totals before we decide how many finalists we've got so from a process perspective that would mean that i would turn it uh essentially turn turn it over to the staff they'd read your name and then you would give the top four with no preferential order you would just say this is the line this is these are the four that i would like to talk about or i'm kind of seeing some head nods okay so all right i'm going to turn it

1:08:59 over to mary bridget or neil or and so you guys can kind of call people out and get their preference okay so i'll just restate for the record the plan and then neil can call out like he typically does for a vote so the plan is before you start deliberating that each counselor will call they can list their top four candidates not in a particular order but the top four that they'd like to continue to discuss then you'll deliberate on those four and see where the discussion goes from there does that sound accurate yes okay all right i'm uh ready for neil to um ask your names okay counselor mo only have one daniel

1:09:48 can someone restate that i didn't understand him i can only have one and that's dangerous counselor rodney well i picked four because i was told to pick four damian pitts kelly mason timothy cantor and michelle webber are my four counselor stare yes um i have uh kelly mason damien pitts um grace bergen and michelle webber counselor woodrow uh i only have two and uh one damien and grace

1:10:42 and counselor pictionary um i'll go ahead and i had three in my head but i fourth one popped up so i'm gonna go with uh damien and kelly michelle weber and grace there's one candidate everybody had so we're going to stall for a second and give neil a chance to kind of circle the names that pop up and make sure we don't miss anybody go ahead counselor rodney and i can i say something while we stall um i really appreciated counselor pictionary um

1:11:28 and is saying his appreciation and i wanted to echo that um i wanted to really echo my appreciation that we had eight candidates who in a it within a very short period of time um threw their hats in the ring and i as i was very inspired by the diversity in my race i was doubly inspired by the diversity and all the folks who wanted to get involved and it it gets me very excited about the future of springfield and to see all these these folks and i know that we're only going to choose one but i really hope that those of you who applied will continue to be involved and will you know join committees and boards and just continue to be involved

1:12:13 because i've i feel like i'm just barely starting to get to know you virtually and i would love to just see that continued involvement well always keep in mind that we have budget committee open up right now and then we probably have two at least two planning commission appointments that will be coming up right behind them and those are critical to building sort of civic experience go ahead counselor withdrawal to add to that the one thing that i heard and read in the emails that we got in the uh positions that people took and brought to council is that when we have somebody on council that reflects a certain part of the community then we have other members and younger members look at that person and they can and they can can aspire to those positions they can put

1:13:00 themselves in a position to learn or set themselves up or be um inspired to apply for those commissions or those committees so i i that to me really came through in everything we received with the letters and the and the public testimony is having that type of uh opportunity for people to see uh themselves reflected in in what's in front of them all right uh neil are you ready to kind of to share what kind of where where people's names are yes and i'll ask mary bridget to make sure our math is the same but we had five votes for damien pitts

1:13:45 three votes for kelly mason three votes for michelle webber three votes for grace bergen and one vote for timothy cantor um so to me that sounds like the four that are kind of coming to the top and then i'm gonna see if we can would be damien kelly michelle grace right that is correct okay do we need to put it in a motion to drop the other folks are we just sort of good moving moving on from here i think you're good to um the strawman

1:14:32 bowl is an unofficial poll so i think you're good as long by consensus to move forward you're going to start discussing uh pitts damian pitts kelly mason michelle webber and grace bergen um then i will open the floor for people to discuss ask questions uh go ahead joe i was just thinking it was there's some disparity as far as the numbers are concerned and what kind of tells me is that there's we kind of have a top two is that correct already from that top four

1:15:17 three didn't have grace and and michelle i think we i think we have the top one we have one with all i was kind of trying to kind of say that but but prophetically but um i re i mean it's it's really this is a position i've been in before and whatnot and i think that all of us are aware of what we want to see and i think we can probably um i think we ought to just go ahead and deliberate and see who we want as the next city councilor and just give everybody a chance to bark in there and and go from there yeah then i will turn it to you guys and see um and maybe just maybe we can start with uh steve and we'll go right down by wards and just

1:16:02 you know show your thinking and then we'll see if we can't get this done with the vote so i get to be last okay fine you want to go into reverse word order joe we could go in reverse i thought it was my idea come on okay let's go and reverse this time no go ahead this time around i do want to leonard's still going to be in the middle so yeah there you go good spot for leonard so anyway he knows i love him um you know i will and i think that i this is uh i'm kind of excited because i feel really good i i like damien um as would be for the next

1:16:47 counselor um and i am definitely not minimizing i think grace would bring a lot of great things to the table your experience with the planning commission would be awesome um you know but we have strength from the planning commissioner already on council not steve mo and so um i think that that we have that um and that the diversity with with uh kelly and damian i think that's that's you know some great diversity with kelly but i think with damien what really appeals to me is that he his background his uh his mention of and several times his mention of teamwork and i think that that that is so important for this council to make sure and keep in mind that we are a team um and that that's how we get things

1:17:33 done and um and his his you know a person of color he's got the military background he's got his involvement in the community he's very well spoken i was very impressed with his interview and frankly i'd be excited to work with him so i think he'd be a great addition i think be a great new face for springfield and so that's why i support him not to minimize the other folks please you know understand me but i think that standing out on top i think it would be great to be able to work with damian okay i'm done thanks counselor woodrow yes um one of the things that's always been recognized for springfield city council is the ability to be able to set everything else aside

1:18:18 and focus on the issues focus on the decisions focus on the policies and each one i mean i've paid attention for the last 21 years and um each one uh that has been a counselor has come with their history of experience their ability to work with everybody else to have a consensus to have a conversation um to focus you know to set their ego at the door and walk in and focus on city business and that has been a reputation that springfield city council has had for a long time uh i deliberated over all the applications when they first came in i spent a lot of time making taking notes with the interviews um i took notes tonight and what people said especially ones that that personally knew the candidates

1:19:04 and the person that comes to the top again i i say the same thing as joe i'm not minimizing any of the i'm i'm thrilled to think that there i had to look and deliberate over eight candidates there wasn't a one that just flopped out at all all eight of them were strong and perfectly capable of taking that seat um but the one that came through for me through all the different um venues that the information came forward with um was damien and that's where my vote is that's where my that's where my leaning is

1:19:51 yeah thanks um well uh i'd like to echo merrily and not just thanking everyone who came uh to apply for this position i think joe did too um i i think it was a really strong field of candidates i i listened to all of the interviews of great interest um i'd like to speak a little bit about the four that i um that i narrowed it down to um grace interviewed very strongly i think she was as poised and as confident as anybody up there um she had it when she was um asked for her three things that she would work on with the city she got outside the box um she said that she wanted to concentrate on businesses and restaurants in thurston and marcola which i think is sorely needed she was working on she wanted to work on

1:20:39 representation for the residents of springfield who are outside the city limits i think it's a great idea we may want to look at another counselor out there but i um i also thought that michelle was a strong candidate she was i and i'd like to just note her service to the city over the years she's been a strong she's been a strong advocate for the community and for uh and for springfield citizens um i also i think kelly mason would be an incredibly strong candidate um with her uh experience with cdc she would have experience to bring to the table on housing and on in particular uh the cdbg which i think is vital vitally important

1:21:25 to housing in our community um now to get to damien i set aside all of the issues surrounding equity and inclusion that all of the speakers have talked about tonight i think that damien i found incredibly refreshing and and he um brings a new background and a new perspective to the council he would have experience in community outreach and in organizing and uniting the community which i think is desperately needed right now as as far as the issue surrounding people of color in springfield he damien would not just represent people of color in springfield

1:22:11 he would also represent the people who never came to springfield and wanted to for whatever the reason maybe because they felt afraid maybe because they didn't feel that they would be included and i think that it would be a self-fulfilling prophecy if we were to add damien to the council and i think it would add to the diversity in our community just by giving people the confidence to move here i i can't i can't speak highly enough about it and i um damien is my choice officer rodney first of all i'm so proud of you all i'm just i'm so proud of my colleagues here um so i already mentioned that i really appreciated

1:22:56 all of the applicants and just inspired and hope that i get to work with you all moving forward and in full disclosure as some of you probably know i sat with damian we worked together on the equity and access advisory board for lane county and very often came at things very differently and did not agree and he is still my number one candidate because i think he does um bring amazing perspective and an ability to find the conversation which is something that i work very hard to do um when i disagree is to find the conversation that we can have and to bring the different perspectives in so that we can all pull the train together so i'm i'm excited that you are all

1:23:42 excited and um i can also vouch for what he did say in the interview is that he does love food and love to feed people so um just just that but i really did appreciate so many and i i was very moved by kelly and i had one that none of you had which is timothy cantor and what i really appreciated that i hope we carry forward is um you know he was he's very interested in transportation and how to make springfield a more walkable bikeable um community for folks who don't necessarily drive and i think that that's something for us to really think about moving forward is how our transportation supports the future so i really appreciated that perspective that he had

1:24:27 but i also damien has been my number one choice is my number one still is on stands out is having female leadership qualities also represents a part of the springfield population every counselors think they understand but let's go and i know we need that uh

1:25:19 okay um i i would just add some comments and echo a lot of what people are saying here i think there's a list of candidates and you know the four that we had on the top is the top four that i had um i didn't share them to so that i didn't influence the deliberations but there's a lot of good people that i think would benefit a lot from budget committee or planning commission and i would encourage people to make time and apply to that um and make sure that they get on the right committees to build sort of long-term experience for for for folks um i think damien sounds like he's going to be going to be the one is going to be a great asset to the council and i look forward to working with him um michelle weber has done a great job in this community and has contributed on so many different levels and i think it's important to recognize

1:26:05 recognize that as well as with grace bergen i've had the opportunity of working with grace for a couple of different things and we've got a lot of great and she contributes a lot to this community we've got a lot of great people in in this community and i just appreciate everybody sort of showing up and finding the spot and just doing the civic work to move the community forward um i will open it for a motion so that we can formalize this and then we will and then we will get this wrapped up

1:26:59 he made a motion to to have damian pitts as this council or awards ward one counselor and it was seconded by councilwoman i'll second that or somebody can second that yeah counselor woodrow already seconded i think uh curry it's been moved and seconded uh neil can you call the vote please yes uh counselor mo counselor rodley yes counselor stare of an emphatic yes councilor woodrow another emphatic yes and counselor pictionary go with a let's see how about a strong yes all right so i'm only going to count up the yeses to confirm that the motion pass and not sort them into their you know adjectives

1:27:44 uh the motion passes 5-0 um congratulations to damian pitts who's going to be our new ward 1 counselor um we have been in contact with him the the staff's double checked he will be ready to go next next week is when we are scheduled to swear him in on a special session so that will give everybody a week to get his email set up and give him an opportunity to have folks that want to join him for for that special event show up i hope i hope he is on the call but damian i would expect a call from the staff very very shortly and i'm sure we will talk either today or probably tomorrow because i will probably be right behind them to give you a call mary bridget is there anything else that we need to do here

1:28:30 nothing else you need for tonight i'll be back before you next week to do the oath of office are you going to warn him that continuance therein is the hardest part of the oath yeah well we'll we'll practice it okay um next item please great mayor and just to confirm mr pitts has been on uh the meeting this evening um the next item is any additional business from the city council

1:29:24 he wants everyone to know that he also denounces his wife okay i got it that second time yep any anybody else for business from the council oh yes i have one's last thing i was so busy thanking all of the applicants i also really appreciate everyone who engaged in this process and an extra big shout out to um springfield city staff for all of the outreach i kept seeing it out there and i just really appreciated that because i think it gave us it wasn't the number one but like many things in the time of covet it was the best worst choice of how to what we could do so i think we did really well in engaging as many people as possible and i want to thank folks for getting involved counselor woodrow yes

1:30:10 um now that now that we've stepped away from some of the positive stuff i i wanted to to feel badly to feel empathetic for um xiwang and her experience um in the parking lot there um i'm with steve and what the council or what mayor ben gordon said in his state of the city i don't tolerate that kind of violence i don't tolerate that kind of intimidation i'm certainly disgusted to think that we have people in the community that think that they can make a point that way um and so i'm i'm very empathetic with what she experienced i'm very concerned to think that people think that they can get their points across by intimidating others or make or

1:30:55 putting others in that kind of a position she should never have been treated that way um normal everyday life there are going to be people like that no matter what we do um they're just going to be people that turn up that way but we need to just keep saying that we don't put up with that we don't tolerate it um and and and the more we say we don't tolerate it the lesser it will become so uh we i just wanted to remark about that because as she had related that experience my heart just broke for her because it was an awful experience for her to go through and there was no reason for it so just just wanted to point this now that we've got the other out of the way my it

1:31:40 came back to my mind that i wanted to say something and respond to to her testimony perfect thank you councilor woodrow um anybody else with business i have one quick piece if nobody else has anything um so the city of eugene's reaching out um they've appointed a fire governance committee and they want to meet with us to talk about um finding efficiencies in the fire department i'm still getting information about what that would entail and what the scope of that would be um in general um i'm curious what people are sort of thinking and i think there's a big opportunity to have have it for a couple of counselors to sit down for a discussion with them to look for logical improvements in our in

1:32:26 our fire governance structure i will definitely share more when i've got it but i just want to at least share that that conversation's out there and sort of coming up i don't have any more details than simply an email saying hey we're thinking we're we want to get together and talk about the the governance structure and i will give people an example that always pops top of my my mind with with the fire governance structure right now our city manager doesn't specifically have the you know have rights to hire the fire chief right that would be something that i would look to fix right is to give us more control over who's the fire chief over both areas right just sort of a top of mind always pops out when we tell that story yes leonard yeah

1:33:12 thanks john i well i i wasn't going to chime in but since we we've got um some council business we um did at the planning commission um just approve a very ambitious um housing project at um the uh at the marcola meadows site at uh 28th and q and it'll be coming to the council soon all right anybody else all right next item please mayor the next item is business from the city manager good evening counselors it's good to see you all tonight i just wanted to take a moment to thank

1:33:57 our city staff i wanted to thank amber fossen for the outreach that she did in this process i also want to thank mary bridget smith and city attorney's office there's a lot of research that has to go into doing a process like this and i also want to thank all of you for your wise decision making and for making this a smooth process um that's always helpful for staff and i also want to let you know that i will be calling mr pitts tomorrow and i look forward to meeting him and working with him as well that's all next item please any business from the city attorney no additional business tonight thank you all for your help

1:34:47 and we are adjourned thank you very much have a good night everybody good night