City of Eugene Human Rights Commission
Regular MeetingEugene, OR · March 15, 2016
Minutes
City of Eugene
Human Rights Commission
MINUTES
Tuesday, March 15th, 2016
5:30 – 7:30 PM Meeting
Atrium Building, Sloat Room, 99 W. 10th Avenue, Eugene
Present:
Human Rights Commissioners: Ken Neubeck, Jennifer Frenzer, Edward Goehring, Chris Nunes, Arun
Toke, Deb Merskin, Phil Carrasco Councilor Chris Pryor
Staff: Michael Kinnison and Jennifer Lleras Van Der Haeghen
EPD Liaison: Lt. Jennifer Bills
Commission and Board Liaisons: Heather Marek (Civilian Review Board), Bill Randall (Planning
Commission)
1. Agenda/Minutes Review and Approval
Motion: Move to approve the mins
Made by: K. Neubeck
Second: D. Merskin
Vote: Unanimous
Motion: Move to approve the agenda
Made by: D. Merskin
Second: K. Nuebeck
Vote: Unanimous
2. Public Comment
Larisa Varela, Associate Planner, City of Eugene Public Works – Engineering
In 2016 the City Council initiated a Vision Zero task force to establish how we will eliminate traffic
fatalities in our community. From 2014-2015 saw a large increase in traffic fatalities. Vision Zero
has seen success in Europe, many cities in the US are taking on initiatives like this. Since data
shows members of affinity groups the HRC often represents are most likely to be injured or killed
in a traffic accident staff are inviting an HRC rep for the task force. Kicking off the taskforce in
April.
3. Support Request
TAC International Film Festival –
Rick Petegrew – Thank you for the opportunity to come to you again and ask for your support.
We’ve been putting on this event for 13 years. It’s Eugene’s oldest film festival. This event is a
celebration of human cultures worldwide through time and space. We will be screening 21 films
99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401
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from many different places. We’re expanding our event this year to be a conference. There will be
films and presentations from all over the world. The films in most cases have to do with universal
human rights values and principles.
K. Nuebeck – Could you share examples of the films?
R. Pettigrew – Sure, the old Bizarre of Tehran, Ancient Culture of Peru, one on Turkey and
Istanbul, Australia etc.
C. Nunes – There are a lot of different locations to view the films this year, I see the Bijou Metro
listed.
R. Pettigrew – Yes, they will be shown at the Bijou Metro, Shed and Hilton
E. Goehring – How much is your request for?
R. Pettigrew - $200
E. Goehring – Can you meet the requirements for the co-sponsorship? I want to bring up again that
we need to determine if we can be involved or give co-sponsorship without the participation.
D. Merskin – Are you talking about the development of this request being with a commissioner?
E. Goehring – Our rules say that we’ll be involved in the planning process as a function of our co-
sponsorship. The problem is that we don’t have enough commissioners to do that for every request.
So instead of having folks come in and thinking that is a requirement I’d like to see the forms
updated.
D. Merskin – I usually attend this festival and am happy to help in that regard.
R. Pettigrew – We’re very willing to do all that we can to make it possible for an HRC member to
participate in whatever way works.
A. Toke – Will you be able to give tickets to the HRC to attend?
R. Pettigrew – Our films at the recital hall will be free this year.
Motion: Move to approve $200 with Debra attending the event.
Made by: E. Goehring
Second: J. Frenzer
Vote: Unanimous
DisOrient Film Festival
Motion: Move to approve the amount requested $200.
Made by: P. Carrasco
Second: K. Neubeck
Vote: Unanimous
Community Alliance of Land County
K. Neubeck – I’m on the planning committee for this event. This is one in a series of movies and
discussions that are being put on by CALC and SURJ. This is a film that has been recommended by
the Rural Organizing Project (ROP) who work where armed militias are active. After the film we’ll
have a presentation by Jess Campbell with ROP. She will bring us up to date and focus on what
rural counties in Oregon are experiencing with militias. We know that many of the people who
were involved in the Maulher County demonstrations are from Eugene/Springfield. There will be
small group discussions after her talk. We’ve had about 40-60 people on Sundays. What they’re
asking for is the use of the Hilyard Community Center to hold the event.
E. Goehring – How does this work with parks?
99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401
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J. Lleras Van Der Haeghen – Community groups can access the space at no cost if sponsored by an
agent of the City such as Human Rights and Neighborhood Involvement office or the HRC.
Motion: Move to support the event so that they can access the free rental.
Made by: J. Frenzer
Second: P. Carrasco
Vote: Unanimous
A. Nunes - The purpose of this is to do education right.
K. Neubeck – Yes, there is a lot of poverty and a lack of resources in those areas. There are people
who call 911 and get an answering machine or responses hours later. Many people have concerns
about what is going on in these areas and we want to show that these militias are closely linked to
white supremacists groups. It’s a strategy that they’re not outright racist, they’re all white groups
and armed.
P. Carrasco – Wanted to make a note that when we offer an endorsement we’re letting them know
that they can use the Commission’s name for publicity. One thing I want to point out is that I think
we should consider taking the banner to these events. I’ll commit to taking the banner to the three
events that we’ve sponsored tonight.
A. Toke – At the disorient events they have a screen with sponsors.
E. Goehring – A. I think this is a good idea. It would be a more beneficial if we had our brochures
and if we write this into what organizations should do once they receive sponsorship.
P. Carrasco – We can make the logo available to them for publicity as well.
J. Frenzer – These types of events are great places to be meeting potential candidates for our
commission. Maybe we should have a brochure to ask people to learn more about the commission
and invite them to join so that we can mentor and build interest all year.
4. Indigenous People’s Day Resolution Update
P. Carasco – It was awesome last night. I want to thank Councilor Pryor. We didn’t have to ask he
just helped move this forward. There were beautiful words spoken by community members. There
were a lot of new faces. This is such a small symbolic gesture and for the right reasons the
community does come out. They were passionate, respectful and vocal. It had me thinking about
how many other issues there are where we can invite people to participate. Juventud Faceta and
native youth were there. It was a great moment for the City of Eugene, demonstrates great
leadership. Passed 8-0. Proof again that we’re a human rights city and took this step forward.
Councilor Pryor – I was very proud, all of the people who spoke did so with a lot of passion. I was
hoping for a unanimous vote and any time we get a unanimous vote we’re really doing something
powerful.
5. Housing First Resolution Discussion
C. Nunes – You can find it on page 28.
J. Frenzer – The status of the resolution right now is that we were hoping to hear back from the City
Manager’s Office so that we could have their feedback on the feedback we provided about the
resolution. We don’t have that at this time, what this does is give us a chance to talk about what the
work group did. The Work Group took the drafts presented to us and we worked them and came up
with this draft. Some of this was done online and some in the meeting. We spent time doing group
99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401
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writing together. We have a lot of people’s input and for that I’m really grateful. That means a lot of
advocates and people who are unhoused have been able to look at this and contemplate what it
means for them. I don’t know how much time you’ve had to look at this. Objective is to make sure
that Housing first is seen as an approach, not the end all be all. This is one tool in the tool box in
dealing with a large and complex population and the goal is that City Council resolves to commit to
using this tool. The Poverty and Homelessness Board is already working on these projects and
pursuing funding from HUD. In the past there was an assumption that people needed to be ready for
housing. What we want to build is no threshold housing that is supported with services, tailored to
their needs, where the people are not expected to be clean and sober before shelter is part of the
service. What we’re emphasizing is that this is not in lieu of emergency shelter. When we say this is
important, we’re not saying they’re more important than resources for emergency shelter in the
short term. If someone is going to transition to the housing first program where there needs to be a
plan for the interim. Eliminate criminalization, emergency shelter and Housing First are important
strategies. There are more evidence based programs emerging in other places.
P. Carasco – What you’re proposing here is the idea that there is not one strategy that were
investing in right?
J. Frenzer – Yes it’s a piece of the puzzle.
K. Neubeck – One feature of Housing First is that it’s going to take quite a while. We need to
address what we’ll do with people in the interim. Want to really give a push to the HF thing, not at
the cost of the city’s continued support of sanctioned camps, dusk to dawn etc.
P. Carasco – In regards to tracking. This is a Human Rights issue, for educational purposes we
should track progress to see if it’s been successful. Will there be tracking of success of people who
are part of the program?
J. Frenzer – Steve Manella at the County could answer this question. These are evidence based
strategies, evaluating what works for our town is important. We want to figure out what works here.
P. Carasco- We want a standing argument about what works here. The fact that HUD is involved,
will they share local information, if not can we put something in place?
E. Goehring – For this resolution draft are you seeking us to sign off on it? And then that City
Council will adopt this?
J. Frenzer – Not sure where this is going. There were two motions that came out of that meeting.
One of them was to draft resolution. The original was drafted then the work group sent in feedback
and we’re waiting to hear from the City Manager’s office so that we’re aligning. The goal is that the
Council would be able to adopt a resolution in the end. Chris can likely fill us in to what council
thinks.
Councilor Pryor – This goes to the City Manager’s office to make sure that it doesn’t create any
unintentional problems. Jennifer is right, you want to put something in front of the City Council that
they will be supportive of. I think this draft has really advanced. It does put an obligation to find a
funding source. Putting feet to the fire in that way. It’s more than aspirational, it wants us to do
something. Need to find the resources, time and energy to do something. In that respect it’s a good
thing.
A. Toke – Went to an international conference where they discussed similar work in Canada. I
will pass it along to you.
6. A.L.I.C.E Report Discussion
Elena Fracchia – United Way Lane County
99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401
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I’m here to share research from the Pacific Northwest and Lane County in particular as it pertains to
the A.L.I.C.E. Report. Looking to figure out how we can help families get to the end of the month
with money left over and understand what that means. What we’re doing is looking at households
and what it will mean to help people get to the end of the month. The federal poverty level is not
telling us what it takes to get to the end of the month because it is not a realistic measure of poverty.
Some people in our area are using multiples of the federal poverty level to asses who qualifies for
their support. Our focus is on the Household Survival Budget first and the helping people get to a
Stability Budget.
A.L.I.C.E. households make up more people than you might think. The A.L.I.C.E. Report is telling
us that these people are our friends, families and neighbors. They’re people who work in high and
well-paying jobs, finding that the cost of living is exceeding those salaries. 2 in 5 households are
struggling to meet the survival budget. Nearly doubles the federal poverty number of households.
5 basic household costs are taken into account – Housing, Childcare, Food, Transportation, Health
Care, Taxes.
J. Frenzer – We’d like to help you get this information out. Thank you so much for coming to us
again with this information. It was very helpful to have you at the Homelessness Work Group
meeting as well. There is more to this than meets the eye, there are very interesting conversations
we can have about this data. It does help us understand how to have conversations about poverty. If
you come at it from the same page and data we can make coordinated solutions. When you realize
that 153K people in our community are faced with this dilemma. When people are talking about
how homeless people are doing this by choice, that’s not true and we can use this information to
support that. The economic recovery never occurred and we have many families in this situation.
What is the plan to get this out to community at large?
Elena – Making sure that we’re getting this to our key partners, from here we’re intending to focus
one topic at a time to discuss. For example starting with child care to figure out what the ways are
that we can collaborate on supporting families who need to access child care. We’re hoping to pull
together many people who have knowledge about each issues to discuss strategies. We want to
change the conversation about poverty, from us and them to all of us. Not just about this exact
budget but beyond.
P. Carasco – You mentioned a lot of partners, they see this happening. Not to pick a fight but is this
information being presented to the Chamber of Commerce? There is a lot being said to present false
information about low wage workers. Need to get real and talk about these facts. There is a real
ethical question that businesses have to ask themselves. If I owned a small business and looked at
that and knew what I paid my employees I would have a dilemma.
Elena – One of the conversations we’re having is with employers. This conversation is top of mind
right now. You see this data today but that doesn’t mean that employers can change the salaries
being paid tomorrow. We are seeing employers ask questions about the bigger picture and thinking
about collaboration. They’re thinking about what partnerships are possible to meet the
transportation, child care needs of their employees.
E. Goehring – One thing that is driving Oregon’s cost of living up is that were one of the
destinations to move to. People from around the country are coming here because of the cost of
living. I would love to see a column that is 1 or 2 people who are seniors or folks with disabilities.
That’s going to look different, as those of us who are boomers know we’re costing a lot more. It’s
not up here in this presentation.
Elena - It is addressed in the report. We’re also working with AARP in Oregon to see what this
looks like.
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C. Nunes – I’ve been looking at this in conjunction with my day job at a credit union. You’ve been
touching on this a little bit in addressing a lease on a car or student loans. What is the analysis of
where loans come into this? A lot of these families have a loan or two. The other aspect, if they’re
not making ends meet, credit card debt may be going up. How does that factor in?
Elena – It’s not factored in. We’re looking at the survival budget but the reality is that we’re seeing
that these are the salaries that people are living on. We have to start asking, what are the tradeoffs
that people are making? Maybe taking up another loan means you need to take up another job
which impact child care. There are many levers and pulleys that impact this. The other piece of this
is the stability budget, the one line item that is added is a savings budget. Either for an emergency
savings or paying for loans. But when we look at that salary we know people are not making that
kind of money. We’re working with folks to think about how case workers can talk about budgeting
in order to normalize this conversation.
7. City Council Update
Councilor Pryor – We already talked about the Indigenous Peoples’ Day resolution. At the same
meeting the City Council voted to extend the sunset dates of the Rest Stops and Dusk to Dawn
ordinances. We find these programs to be very successful and have decided to remove the word
“pilot” from their description. We continued to talk about down town. This is the nexus for where
these issues come together around human rights and other areas. I serve on a task force that the
mayor put together to address these issues. We’ve been getting a lot of back ground information so
that we can best respond to populations and their characteristics. The meeting I had just before this
one was the Housing Policy Board. In looking at this material, one thing we’re looking at is that a
lot of projects are funded on the area median income. Terry McDonald was there to ask about the
increasing of the minimum wage, rapid increase medical increases and the rolling impact will be on
how HUD funding works for low income housing projects. We’re talking about minimum wage at
the council level as well. We want to see what the state roll out looks like and then we will continue
these discussions at a later time. We will be thinking about this as we have budget discussions this
year. We’re not shying away from things, we’re taking them on, although maybe not as quickly as
you might like. I’m very pleased with the progress we’re making. The meeting with the HRC from
December was very helpful.
J. Frenzer – The pilot programs now being considered programs, does that increase the likelihood
that we’ll see an updated list of potential property for new sites? We’ve shown that the model is
effective but haven’t been able to expand because of the limited sites.
Councilor Pryor – The original Rest Stop program was built around sites that were owned by City
of Eugene. We had talked about trying to identify and finding other sites the City didn’t control but
we’re not there yet. At least 3 or 4 other councilors have been keen to look for other partners.
Having Lane County do what they have has been very positive. We’re going to look for industrial
and private locations. When I proposed a Rest Stop site I had my head handed to me in a basket.
We run into a natural fear on these issues. You’re absolutely right but it’s going to take time to get
into this.
J. Frenzer – How much commitment is there to coordinate with the Neighborhood Associations? If
they’re bringing the ideal locations, you’re side stepping this all together.
Councilor Pryor – We did talk about a need to distribute the locations to all of the wards,including
mine and everyone else’s. Involving the neighborhoods does not get us completely away from
NIMBY response.
J. Frenzer – It really does have a different impact if people are engaged from the beginning. What
about 4j, EWEB or state property?
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Councilor Pryor – I believe these organizations have been approached but I don’t know what the
responses have been.
J. Frenzer – I would be curious to know who is working on property outreach. It would be great to
do the inventory work.
Councilor Pryor – I will find out.
J. Frenzer – The UO has not engaged.
Councilor Pryor – I talked with them personally a few years ago and it was a giant stonewall.
J. Frenzer – That was a long time ago, people have shifted. We now have the A.L.I.C.E. study to
walk in with. UO Grad students did an evaluation of the Rest Stops and it was great.
Councilor Pryor – When you talk about people being involved, Neighborhood Associations only
reflect their neighborhoods to a certain degree. We’ve seen things fall apart when we only work
with Neighborhood Associations. We’ll endeavor to try broader outreach especially when we talk
about camps in wards like my own. As we learned in the South Willamette process traditional
forms of public participation will not keep it together.
J. Frenzer – Full engagement is what we really need to get to.
Councilor Pryor – This is really a matter of resources. Engagement costs significantly more than the
cost of notification.
K. Neubeck – If these become programs will we then have budget items that identify these
programs?
Councilor Pryor – These programs have been set up to be minimal costs to the city. That is a
conversation council needs to have to see how far they need to go.
J. Frenzer – A group of us had lunch and you said you’d do an update on that meeting here, can we
plan on that for the next meeting?
Councilor Pryor – Yes, it will take longer than a few minutes.
8. EPD Update
Lt. Bills – I want to follow up on the hiring process for EPD as it is lengthy. The first phase is an
application where we had well over 400 applicants. Applicants are then invited to do the physical
test and from there we move to prehistory questionnaires and background checks. A large number
did pass the physical test. We did get to a high number of prehistory questionnaires. We’ll take 69
people to interviews and full background checks and from there we’re likely to lose at least half.
Organizationally we’re having a major change, Assistant Chief Durr has taken a new position. The
Assistant Chief position is new to EPD. Captain Meisel will move over to the Chief’s side and will
take over the body worn camera, in car video etc. In Investigations we’ve had another change. For
many years the Violent Crimes Unit was investigating hate and bias crimes. I moved bias crimes
over to the Special Investigations Unit. That’s a big change.
P. Carasco – When violent crimes was investigating, the fact that it was investigated by Violent
Crimes Unit with special investigation did that put it at a higher threshold to potentially connect it
to state or federal hate groups?
Lt. Bills – When a case comes in it is given a special code. That’s the code that we report out on to
the Federal Government. In terms of where it is put that doesn’t matter, it’s the code. The Special
Investigations Unit does work on gangs, sexual exploitation, and terrorism they also serve as the
liaison to FBI, DEA and Dept. of Justice. They do the big cases. An example was the students who
were looking for amnesty during the track meeting last summer. The Special Investigations Team
led this effort. They’re the best liaisons for hate and bias work.
P. Carrasco – My concern is that someone graffiti’s a swastika and that’s a hate crime.
99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401
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Lt. Bills – the reason why it was moved frankly was that our Violent Crimes Unit is focused on
domestic violence, child abuse and child sex abuse. So it’s a crime against a person who is
vulnerable in that moment. Graffiti is not something we can take immediate action on or removing
someone from a situation. Protocols and criteria for investigating will still be the same. We always
call and offer the HRC services and UO services depending on what is appropriate. The only thing
that is changed is where it is housed and investigated.
A. Toke – On the 10th I had gone to the community conversations and Sam Kamkar was wonderful!
He was the guest speaker there.
E. Goehring – As for Captain Meisel, some of the police commissioners get to participate in the
interviews. I was very impressed that she stayed so long in Detroit. It struck me that she had done
what I have seen a number of women in policing do. Women in the officer level will form a club to
help each other study and prepare for tests etc. When the Captain was speaking about this I was
happy to hear her talk about this model. I think well of her.
9. Commission Liaison Updates
E. Goehring – The Police Commission met, you all got the weekly update with the information
about that meeting.
J. Lleras Van Der Haeghen – Bonnie provided you all with the Civilian Review Board update
which is printed here.
E. Goehring – Informally I’ve been told that when the resolution from this body was shared to the
Civilian Review Board at least one person said they were offended that they received input from us.
I am dismayed by this. The recommendation we sent was specific to human rights.
C. Nunes – Jen and I are doing work behind the scenes on this. We’ll bring an update to you at the
next meeting likely.
J. Frenzer – If you’re willing, your experience in working in other commissions could be helpful.
There is clearly some rapport building that needs to happen.
M. Kinnison – Heather is here form the Civilian Review Board.
K. Neubeck – Heather took the lead in arguing for the recording of the meetings at the Civilian
Review Board. I heard she did an incredible job.
J. Frenzer – That might be helpful I know you were able to show that the manner that minutes are
being take right now are really falling short of what the Civilian Review Board was believing they
were doing. Recording with summary minutes are going to be far superior. If you’re willing to be
part of the conversation I’d like to keep you in the loop.
Heather Marek – I would like to help build a good working relationship between the two groups. I
think that you have a lot to say that can inform the work being done at the CRB. I also want to think
more specifically about how we can make the process more accessible and transparent to the
community. We’re concerned about whether or not people in the community feel that the Police
Auditor is a good resource for them or even know the Police Auditor exists. We’d also like to see
more diverse voices on the Civilian Review Board.
10. Work Group Lead Updates
J. Frenzer – There are two events coming up. I know our budget continues to shrink. These events
and sponsorships are to ensure that Human Rights work is happening in the community. I’d love for
us to be able to show a movie on criminalization. I’m encouraging THRIVE and the Work Group to
come to this body to get the $200 sponsorship for that movie. I’d like us to keep this event in mind
and the youth event we’re scheduling for June 3rd. Part of that event can happen in the Bascom
Tykeson room. I’m also trying to connect with LCC to get space there. We’re trying to get to at risk
99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401
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youth and people who are already on the streets. There will be music, food and services tabling.
This is a follow up event to last spring’s event. Two budget items I’d like us to consider finding
funding for. I’m going to make contact with the 15ht night youth board to see how they might want
to participate.
We also had a work group meeting with Mark Johnson and the Director of LTD about data that was
requested through a public information request. The request looked at people who have been
excluded from LTD services. We’re going to do follow up on that. One thing we can do is to figure
out how to do better work with LTD. We could be helping people when they go to do an appeal.
There may be other groups in the community to support them in going through the appeal process.
One more thing is fences, there are a lot of fences going up under bridges. There is money going to
keeping people from taking shelter from weather and not to supporting people. It’s confusing that
the money is going into fences and not into dumpsters and port-a-potties. We’re tracking that and
want to have a response to it. Maybe this body can respond to this. We’re still recruiting HRC
members. We have until the 31st before the processes closes and I would love for us to have a
conversation about how we go about doing this next year.
P. Carasco – What if we held a forum to review the work we did in a previous year. This will allow
us to get some input form the community and to help tell people what we’re doing. Could create a
pool of applicants.
JLVDH – I will look into what the process is of retaining applications.
P. Carrasco – I would like people to have access to staying in the pool.
JLVDH – I’m willing to keep an interested party list, then when applications are due we can send
emails to them.
P. Carrasco – How many people are you envisioning for your youth event?
J. Frenzer – Open house style, if we have two venues we’re figuring they’ll just be flying through.
Starting at 4:30 and ending around 6:30 or 7. I’d love to see a couple hundred kids go through there.
We’re going to flyer and encourage people to show up. I have a youth designing a poster right now.
Hopefully we have a number of types of posters to make it intriguing.
P. Carrasco – What do you think a rough budget would be?
J. Frenzer – Probably around $500
P. Carrasco – I wonder if the food pantry and the Warming Centers would want to participate or
help.
Kiwanis Club update
C. Nunes – Jen and I went to Kiwanis where they try to learn about aspects of the community. I just
gave a basic overview of what the commission does, Jen went more in-depth on what the
homelessness work group is working on. It was a good conversation and good publicity.
Anti-Discrimination Work group
P. Carasco – For the Latino Focus group meeting, I heard great things, youth came out feeling like
this is the real deal. They tend to be cynical and they really liked it.
K. Neubeck – We gathered a lot of rich information we have two more coming up later this month
and early April 6th.
11. Staff Update
J. Lleras Van Der Haeghen – Take a look at the staff update in your packets. Let me know if you
have any questions.
99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401
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12. Announcements
E. Goehring - June will be my last month with this Commission. I will be asking for a transfer to
the Police Commission. I am specifically asking that the Council consider placing youth, women
and people of color in these positions. One thing I’ve learned is that there are a few hundred people
or more qualified as I to sit at this commission. There are few people in Eugene with police
operations understanding who can serve the Police Commission. I’ve been a good translator and
clarifier there. I will miss you and I will be continuing my Human Rights and Diversity work via
social media. Right now those pages are meeting well over 10k people.
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Agenda
City of Eugene
Human Rights Commission
Human Rights Commission Meeting 3/15/15
Packet Contents
Draft Agenda Page 1
Minutes from 2/16/15 Page 3
Funding Requests
TAC International Film Festival Page 17
Militia Movement in Oregon Page 20
DisOrient Film Festival Page 23
Indigenous People’s Day Resolution (City Council) Page 26
Housing First Resolution – Homelessness Work Group Response Page 28
A.L.I.C.E. Report Page 29
Work Group Updates and Supporting Document
Anti-Discrimination Work Group Update Page 31
Staff Updates Page 32
Office of Human Rights & Neighborhood Involvement | City of Eugene | 99 W 10th Ave | Eugene OR 97401 | (541) 682-5272
City of Eugene
Human Rights Commission
The mission of the Human Rights Commission is to promote implementation of universal human rights values and principles in
all City of Eugene programs and throughout the wider community.
To carry out this mission the commission shall affirm, encourage and initiate programs and services within the City of Eugene
and in the wider community designed to place priority upon protecting, respecting, and fulfilling the full range of universal
human rights as enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To support and promote human rights, the
commission will: provide human rights education, be proactive in human rights efforts, address human rights violations, ensure
active public participation, be transparent and open, and be publicly accountable for human rights progress.
Human Rights Commissioners: Chris Nunes (Chair), Jennifer Frenzer (Vice Chair), Andrew Thomson, Ken
Neubeck, Edward Goehring, Philip Carrasco, Edward McGlone, Arun Toke, Debra Merskin, Bonnie Souza,
Councilor Chris Pryor
Staff: Michael Kinnison, Jennifer Lleras Van Der Haeghen, Lt. Jennifer Bills
The Human Rights Commission typically meets on the third Tuesday of each month.
Tuesday, March 15th, 2016
5:30 – 7:30 PM Meeting
Atrium Building, Sloat Room, 99 W. 10th Avenue, Eugene
Contact: Jennifer Lleras Van Der Haeghen, 541-682-5619,
jennifer.e.vanderhaeghen@ci.eugene.or.us
ITEM _______________ACTION______ TIME
1. Agenda/Minutes Review and Approval (Chair) Discuss/Vote 5:30 - 5:35 (5 min)
2. Public Comment (Chair) 5:35 - 5:45 (10 min)
3. Support Request (Chair) Discuss/Vote 5:45 – 5:55 (10 min)
• TAC International Film Festival
• CALC
• DisOrient Film Festival
4. Indigenous People’s Day Resolution Update Discuss 5:55 – 6:00 (5 min)
5. Housing First Resolution Discussion 6:00 – 6:20 (20 min)
6. A.L.I.C.E Report Discussion 6:20 – 6:40 (20 min)
7. City Council Update 6:40 – 6:50 (10 min)
8. EPD Update (Lt. Bills) 6:50 – 7:00 (10 min)
9. Commission Liaison Updates 7:00 – 7:10 (10 min)
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10. Work Group Lead Updates 7: 10 – 7:20 (10 min)
• Kiwanis Club update
11. Staff Update 7:20 – 7:25 (5 min)
12. Announcements 7:25 – 7:30 (5 min)
Upcoming events, activities or meetings the HRC needs to be aware of:
April 1st, First Friday Community of Color Network; 5:30 – 7:00 pm, [location TBD—I’ll know
more detail at next week’s ECC meeting]
April 2nd, Current Immigration Reforms; Application Process Workshop hosted by Centro
Latino Americano, 5:30 - 7:30pm, Centro de Fe (540 Adams St. Eugene)
April 6th, Lane Equity Coalition Kickoff, 5:00 – 7:00 pm, Oregon Research Institute, Whale
Room, 2nd floor, RSVP required. Contact Lucy Zammarelli at lucy.zammarelli@co.lane.or.us
April 9th, Damsels, Divas and Dames: A Benefit for HIV Alliance, 7:30pm, Hult Center Soreng
Theater
April 11th, Exploring Mexican Immigrants Engagement in Oregon Civic Life, University of
Oregon 12pm – 1:30pm, University of Oregon Condon Hall Room 330.
April 14th, Uneven Playing Fields: Systems of Inequity, NAACP Eugene-Springfield, 5:30pm –
8pm, EWEB North Building Community Room.
April 15th, Everyday Experiences of Race and Racism in Latin America, Center for Latino/a and
Latin American Studies, 12pm - 1pm, Jane Grant Room, 330 Hendricks Hall.
April 15th, Out of the shadows: Implicit Bias, Institutional Responses, symposium hosted by
Wayne Morse Resident Scholar Erik Girvan and the Appropriate Dispute Resolution
Center. 8:30 am – 7:00 pm, Knight Law Center. Register at
https://law.uoregon.edu/explore/out-of-the-shadows.
April 22nd and 23rd, Northwest PeaceJam Conference (Young People ages 14-18), University of
Oregon Gerlinger Hall.
April 29th – May 1st - DisOrient Film Festival, Bijou Art Cinemas and Broadway Metro,
Schedule at www.disorientfilm.org
The Eugene Human Rights Commission welcomes your interest in these agenda items. This meeting location is wheelchair
accessible. For the hearing impaired, FM-assistive listening devices are available or an interpreter can be provided with 48
hours’ notice prior to the meeting. Spanish-language interpretation will also be provided with 48 hours’ notice. To arrange for
these services, contact staff at (541) 682-5177.
La Comisión de Derechos Humanos agradece su interés por participar en los asuntos de esta agenda. El local de la
reunión tiene acceso para personas en silla de ruedas. Para las personas con dificultades auditivas ofrecemos sistemas FM
para ayudarlo a escuchar, o intérpretes de lenguaje de señas. También ofrecemos intérpretes de español. Si necesita
cualquiera de estos servicios por favor solicítelos con 48 horas de anticipación, llamando al (541) 682-5177.
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City of Eugene
Human Rights Commission
MINUTES
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
5:30 – 7:30 PM Meeting
Atrium Building, Sloat Room, 99 W. 10th Avenue, Eugene
Present:
Human Rights Commissioners: Andrew Thomson, Ken Neubeck, Jennifer Frenzer, Chris Nunes, Bonnie
Souza, Arun Toke, Edward McGlone, Deb Frenzer, Councilor Chris Pryor
Staff: Michael Kinnison and Jennifer Lleras Van Der Haeghen
EPD Liaison: Lt. Jennifer Bills
Commission and Board Liaisons: Heather Marek (Civilian Review Board)
1. Agenda/Minutes Review and Approval
Motion: Move to approve the agenda
Made by: J. Frenzer
Second: D. Merskin
Vote: Unanimous
Motion: Move to approve the minutes from
Made by: K. Neubeck
Second: B. Souza
Vote: Unanimous
2. Public Comment
Michael Carrigan – Program Director Shelter Rights Coordinator CALC
Thank you to the HRC for meeting with the council re: Housing First. After reviewing the draft I
have concerns about section two. The language appears to read in a way that would end the non-
traditional approaches. Need to move forward with more car camping, rest stops in every ward and
push forward with housing first. We need both.
Misa Joo – Former HRC member
I’m here to express my support for Indigenous People’s Day in place of Columbus Day. In 1992
there was curriculum that every teacher in 4J and Bethel taught that looked at the true voyage of
Columbus. This curriculum that was taught told the story of what really happened. The twin legacy
he left with slavery and genocide. There has been an indigenous solidarity day for almost a decade,
celebrated here in Eugene. I’m here to ask that there is 100% support from the HRC for this
resolution because we’re a Human Rights City. So that we can go to the city council to make sure
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that we have a holiday that celebrates that indigenous people are still here and are still leading in
this community. It’s important that the city leaders remain relevant, because the time to celebrate
genocide and slavery is in the past.
Majeska Seese-Green – A Community Together
I appreciate the process that this has gone through where this commission was able to get by email a
draft of the Housing First resolution. I also appreciate the work of the work group and that we could
see the draft in advance as well. The first draft was pretty atrocious. The draft in the packet is an
improvement but not quite good enough. Section two seems to pit short term solutions against long
term solutions. We cannot have a situation where that is what is coming from City Council. Do all
that you can to prevent something like this from being passed by the council. Putting it that way,
“housing first strategy is a better investment..” leaves too many openings for the city to end up
reducing the level of support that is present and needed. Please change that, or make it clear what
the intention is. Consider taking more time. There is a lot of confusion about Housing First,
Housing First seems to come across as a magic bullet. 100 – 150 beds will not be enough of a
solution. Housing First also needs to be applied in shelter situation, Shelter First.
Kris Cunningham –
I’m here to talk about the draft resolution for Housing First. Last night we slept in our church with
10 families who were unhoused. 30 people, 14 of whom were children/teens. Like others in 2 dozen
faith communities who participate in overnight programs we commit time, space and resources
because it’s the right thing to do. I am here to advocate for expanding not reducing our programs.
We will always have needs for short term resolutions and housing. I urge the city to consult with
Housing First experts who have successfully implemented programs like this and implement
locally. Provide space and shelter for those who need it.
Richard Guske –
One of the things that comes up with this new resolution is the terminology that says “homeless
persons”. We need to have an understanding of what it means in this 20th century environment.
HUD defines it as an unattached/accompanied individual with a disability. What it clarifies is that
there has to be a difference when we go about selecting who gets housing on a regular basis. Right
now only the people who have experienced homelessness the longest and show the highest need.
The definition of chronically homeless people is someone who has been unhoused for at least a
year, so a family with a recent experience of losing housing would not qualify. Housing first means
permanent housing for life. For more information visit facebook.com/socialimpactfinancing.
Ada Ball –
I have lived in Eugene for 5 years, I am a member of Confederated Tribe of Siletz. Thank you Phil
for drafting this resolution, I hope you vote to approve it tonight. I am happy to see that this is
coming from the HRC. This is a great opportunity for the city to commit to your promise of being a
Human Rights City. We can’t be a Human Rights City if you’re not talking about Indigenous
Peoples. This is a good opportunity to go beyond tonight and on to City Council. Please vote yes.
Naomi Strauser –
We have tribes throughout the United States and there are 9 federally recognized tribes of Oregon.
Each of these are represented in the club that I’m a representative of. I am excited that we may be
changing Columbus day to Indigenous People’s Day. Today also happens to be Elizabeth
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Peratrovich day in Alaska, she’s my great aunt. Back in 1946 before civil rights, she is credited with
the passing of the first non-discrimination act. You all have the opportunity to do this today. I’m
honored to be able to speak in front of you and hope that you will make the right the decision.
Columbus did not discover this land, he was a man that got lost. Hurt the entire civilization and
decimated the population.
Leilani Suplalian –
I am Alaskan Native and I want you to think about me as a mother, I’m here with my child today. I
want you to think about what it is to raise him in the context of a community that celebrates
genocide, colonization and dispossession. At one point we celebrated Columbus maybe in
ignorance and now moving forward and celebrating him is a matter of arrogance. Please do not
make the choice to continue celebrating this history.
Jane –
I’m here to speak to support changing the name of Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day.
There is very much a disconnect of how recent this past is and how much it affects people to this
day. On a daily basis I experience discrimination I have had rocks thrown at my head, been called
prairie nigger and it is a constant thing people like me experience. Changing this day will show that
our town knows what happened, respects that native people are still here and these injustices are
still occurring. Even as an adult I have met people who do not understand the true history of
Columbus, they don’t realize how very real and cruel things were. Choose to celebrate natives still
being here, coming together and being strong. I hope that people who have a chance to put this
through will choose to do so.
Wayne Martin –
Here to testify on behalf of homeless people. Those who come here and find nowhere to be, stay or
make a living. They then turn to camping. In effect we have a camping first procedure here.
Because they do not have other options. The problem is that camping is illegal. You can see the
inherent problem with that. Over a year ago I met with David Natt, doing that on and off for 15
months. On 2/3/16 I got a call from Mike Canfield who with Laura Merical are leaders of a camp
called OURS. Said, “has been a situation, the police are here and they are tearing down our
kitchen”. I called David Natt, he said we could meet on Friday. The camp was rousted. They were
at Roosevelt and Terry over the weekend. Three days later they had to move, chose site near
Bertelson and 1st. With help of non-profit were able to supply a Port-a-potty. 2 days later they were
again posted and had to move. This on-going regiment of constant moving is very challenging.
They have now been posted and don’t know where they’re next move is. I’m asking you to process
this information and other information given the plight of homeless camps to see if you can
convince people to be allowed to camp in a dawn to dusk setting so that people who lead these
camps can work with the city.
Ana Marie Lara –
I have been a resident in Eugene for last 3 years. I am from the island where Columbus’ ship first
crashed. I live in Eugene and I want to go home and tell them that there is another city and town
that has recognized the destructive history of Columbus. When I explain to people that there are
days in the US that celebrate him they don’t understand. When we go to towns on the island we can
remember and understand the history of people being killed and raped. We don’t understand why
this thief would be celebrated. Our leaders were tricked and burned alive in their homes. We feel
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the battle for indigenous rights not just for human rights but for indigenous people rights. After the
declaration of IDRP, doc used by our people to try to assert rights. It would be an honor to say that
a place that I live in, so far from my home, recognizes the real history.
Erika Lincango -
I am from Quito, Ecuador, I’m Quito Pansaleo. I have been living in Eugene for 12 years. I came
here in part because I had learned about this being a cool progressive town. When I came here I
looked for this cool city where everyone worked for a better life for everyone and rode bikes
everywhere. I came to LCC, couldn’t find the native people like me. They were far from the city.
Little by little I got involved and met many native decedents. Came today to talk as a journalist, PR
professional and indigenous people’s right advocate. Even though I’m native from another country,
what we have in common is that we are treated as foreign in our own land. We are treated under
international laws. Need you to abolish this day. The abolition of Columbus Day is very simple and
can be done. The big fight is legal, the ratification of our rights. This is an opportunity for you to
make change. My daughter was born here, whether you like it or not I’m a Eugenian by association.
I’m here because as a journalist I see that the fact that we celebrate Columbus Day affects us a lot.
Ideas of who is and is not a native have impact. Being a native is a way of doing thinking etc. The
way the media represents us is not how we are. We have this historical trauma. I know that
sometimes you feel guilty and you know that something bad was done, sometimes you want to
change it and this is something you can do. Hope you can vote for this and support Indigenous
People’s rights locally and federally.
3. Support Request
Youth Summit, Courageous Conversations
Leah and Rena Dunbar - It is beautiful that were here in this moment and can hear this request for
Indigenous People’s Day. We’re classroom teachers in 4j teaching Courageous Conversations. We
discuss the stock stories and transformational stories of resistance when we allow space for those
stories. Here with a support request working with Lorna Flormoe from HRNI, planning a youth
summit in May at the LCC Long House. This will be a celebration and workshop for students who
have been working in tandem in Courageous Conversations to investigate the history of African
American Communities in Lane County. Looking for support for funds for a Key Note speaker and
food for our kids.
Morning workshop and event for students from Churchill, Echo and Sheldon High School. There is
a documentary project that our students are transcribing.
J. Frenzer – What is the date?
L. Dunbar – 5/19/16
K. Neubeck – Will this be held at Churchill?
L. – No, it will be at the LCC Longhouse.
B. Souza – Is it open to the public?
L. Dunbar – Limited space, if there are community members who would like to attend we can try.
The youth and elders are our priority.
A. Toke – Is it a Saturday?
L. Dunbar – A Thursday, one incidental is that it costs $50 to bring a school bus anywhere.
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Motion: Motion to approve request.
Made by: A. Toke
Second: P. Carrasco
Vote: Unanimous.
Ken and Bonnie are interested in attending.
4. Indigenous People’s Day Resolution
P. Carrasco – I’d like to take the time to thank people who came to speak, it was great because I
could tell what you were feeling as well. Very courageous public comment, disclosure of instances
of bad treatment given the legacy that Columbus has left. We looked at the West Coast and know
that Portland and Seattle have accomplished this. One comment is that this is a symbolic gesture we
have waited too long to pass. Ada Ball was convening a group at the UO to talk about this specific
topic. Through this collaboration we were able to create a resolution that is very concise and gets to
the point of what we’re trying to say. It sets the tone of what we want to do to help ratify it. The
response to this document exceeded any post I’ve ever put up. 1,000 people looked at it. This is
very important and healing. I’m humbled at the outpour of support. Simple first steps and we’re
going to go further than this. Thank you to the HRC, who has always been very supportive of it.
Motion: Adopt and declare the second Monday of Oct as Indigenous People’s Day.
Made by: P. Carrasco
Second: D. Merskin
Discussion:
Councilor Pryor – I am glad to see this and assume it will pass today. I will vote to support this. I
will also commit to taking this to the City Council. We no longer celebrate Hitler day, or others and
I believe there is sufficient support on the City Council. This is symbolic and should pass.
A. Toke – In total support of this. In 1992 Skipping Stones did an issue on Indigenous People’s
Day.
Vote: Unanimous
5. S. Willamette Special Area Zone (SW-SAZ)
Terri Harding, Principle Planner with the Planning Division. Heather O’Donnel, Senior Planner.
There is a memo in your packet, we are available for questions.
SW-SAZ was begun as an area planning process that would demonstrate a strategy of Envision
Eugene that would guide growth in that area. What is happening now is that that process is moving
forward in another direction and we have decoupled the SW-SAZ from Envision Eugene.
K. Neubeck - SW- SAZ did it go through a TBL?
T. Harding – Yes, it’s an internal working document.
K. Neubeck – Will it become public?
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T. Harding – Yes, I can make that available to the commission.
K. Neubeck – What things have you heard about as feedback about the process?
T. Harding – Housing affordability and housing availability for all members of the community are
expressed needs. It has been hard to get renters, low income individuals to come to the table as we
were planning. Our goal was participation and access to the process by a broad cross section. For
Envision Eugene and SW-SAZ the city has a big role in trying to increase community involvement.
Sustainability Commission has a subcommittee devoted to Envision Eugene. Phil Carrasco
participated in a subcommittee working on a Clear Lake Expansion, an example of where Planning,
Sustainability and Human Rights came together. We welcome your continued engagement. Heather
is leading the community outreach on Envision Eugene.
H. O’Donnell – If anyone is not on the Envision Eugene or SW-SAZ interested parties list just let
me know and you’ll get notification on any of the events.
T. Harding – Are there other equity issues that have come up for you regarding these projects?
K. Neubeck – We’re looking for education on the equity issues that you see.
T. Harding – Oregon Consensus is conducting interviews this week. Looking for the broadest
representation they can. Will develop a report from this about the best way to proceed forward.
J. Frenzer – how much feedback have you gotten on the notice procedures themselves. Have you
been collecting this?
T. Harding – Yes, we’ve gotten a lot of feedback through the formal process itself. The SW-SAZ
process is a legislative process which means it’s a very open process. Throughout the history of the
SW-SAZ project, there was a turning point once the legal notice was sent about the rezoning. When
the legal notice was sent out there was an increased level of interest.
J. Frenzer – What have you heard? I heard from people in the paper that people are feeling
completely taken by surprise. What is your feedback on the process of notification?
T. Harding – Pretty broad response. There is some confusion and it’s a challenge to provide
information in a way that can help people know the difference between land use application and
larger city zoning.
Councilor Pryor – The big questions is what is the nature of engagement that the city should have
with the people who live here? What we’re realizing is that if it’s a high profile issue the legal
requirements do not seem to meet the needs of making sure people feel beyond notified but actually
are engaged. Getting people engaged is a much harder task than just informing them. Part of what
we’re doing is rethinking what engagement looks like, it’s in our best interest to know what people
really think. There is a lot of work here today. The City has done a really good job of meeting the
legal requirement. Now we need to work on the next level of engagement.
J. Frenzer – What do you think went wrong?
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C. Pryor – People think that this process began as soon as they knew about it. This has been going
on for years but people didn’t always feel part of it. The question is how do we fix that part?
T. Harding – Some people participate through their Neighborhood Association, receive mail, see it
on social media etc., there are options that we can use to communicate better. One thing that has
happened is that we have since created a subcommittee on public engagement. Our goal is to reach
more people and make sure that we’re engaging people sooner.
K. Neubeck – Did the Public Participation guidelines help you at all?
T. Harding – Those are great resources, with every process we have to adjust and find what works
for people you’re talking to. Still think we can do better at raising the voices that are not in the
conversation. What you see in the media is a slice of what is being experienced. This does not
capture all experiences. I hope that the Planning Subcommittee digs into that a little bit more. Not
just responding to squeaky wheels but others as well.
H. O’Donnell – We have been taking in the feedback and thinking about what could have been
done differently. At the Southeast Neighbors meeting we got feedback on how to better involve the
public t in land use process. Because it was right on the heels of SW-SAZ project and SE Neighbors
has a portion of their area within the study boundary there were many comments on how we could
do this differently. We’ve talked about beginning engagement before the required public notice,
then the notice (legal), and then we got another wave of response from the community. There are
ways to make post cards engaging and urgent and we plan to wrap that into future efforts.
C. Nunes – Part of the Envision Eugene goals was to incorporate low income housing in some
areas, right? Does the current process create precedent for other communities who do not want low
income housing in their area?
T. Harding – Housing is one part of the plan for SW-SAZ. Offering options from single family to
high rise. Decoupling it addresses a need to pass 20 year planning without holding up the process.
Does not take away strategy of corridor planning for housing and jobs. Still a long term vision and
goal. This is illustrating that it’s hard to get to implementation. Our direction from policy makers
has been to address growth needs.
M. Kinnison – Can you explain how what was being proposed would address equity issues? What
was important about that for housing affordability?
T. Harding – Housing options in transition areas. Eugene is made up of low density housing areas.
The whole overall city vision focuses on building corridors. We’re asking these parts of our city to
do a lot for us. Already a good mix/variety. Intent is to show that if you do careful planning, design
standards then you can add to what is already working in a neighborhood by adding jobs and
housing. Envision Eugene is a 20 year planning project, can be hard to wrap one’s head around at
times. One of the narratives in the media is that, “the plan is a threat to affordable housing”, which
is simply not true. Obligated to do a housing plan for all Eugene residents at all income levels. The
City doesn’t construct housing or set pricing. There are very limited things we can do to influence
affordability. One big thing is to plan for housing in places that are not so car dependent, reduce
travel cost. Another is encouraging a housing mix that includes single and multi-family housing.
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Community development maintains a land bank for affordable housing projects and staffs the
Housing Policy Board.
6. Update on Paid Sick Leave
Laurie Trieger – Family Forward
I’m here to provide a dual update on Minimum Wage and Sick Leave.
Status of Minimum Wage is that it’s passed out of House Business and Labor Committee. Will
likely go to a floor vote later this week. Current proposal has 3 tiers. Lane County falls into the
middle tier. There is good news and bad news about this bill. There has been a lot of talk about the
levels and creating 3 regions capturing the Portland Metro Area, Willamette Valley and rural
Oregon. Best news is that the glide path is long, 6 years overall but the soonest increase happens
this July. Looking good that this will be passed in legislative process. Lane County will get to
$13.50 min wage by 2022.
M. Kinnison - What is the first increase?
L. Treiger – 9.25 to 9.75 in July.
K. Neubeck – Does this contain a preemption clause?
L. Trieger – Yes preemption will be retained. We’re not happy about this because if we’re going to
recognize a need that is different in three regions we’d prefer for communities to set their own rates.
Local governments can still pass min wage for their own workers.
C. Nunes – What is the fluctuation?
L. Trieger – It’s written into the legislation, as a wage schedule.
J. Van Der Haeghen – Are there any exceptions?
L. Trieger – No we didn’t leave any workers behind. Does not have any carve outs.
Sick leave –
L. Trieger – A lot of the same conversations were had about carve outs. When we passed the state
law it preempted local law. The state law is essentially the same except that it has an employer size
threshold. Everyone is still covered and accrues, differences is if it’s paid time or not based on
company size. Important because the people who didn’t have sick leave are low wage earners. What
we know is that now we have people who are protected against retaliation, loss of job etc.
The policy allows for the accruing of 1 hour for each 30 hours. Began January 1, but employees
cannot use for 90 days. No one has been able to use it yet. Can be used for self or family member,
illness, preventative care and issues related to Domestic Violence. This is a complaint driven
system. Employers should be posting, showing accrual on pay stubs and telling workers of benefit.
Right now we’re developing know your rights trainings. We’re also wanting to get the word out
about this benefit and could use your support.
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E. McGlone – Many employers will show accrued time. Will that happen with any employer now?
L. Trieger – Yes it should. They do have to show you the accrual.
K. Neubeck – Can you carry over to following year?
L. Trieger – Yes there is a carryover provision.
K. Neubeck – Some employers allow for banking and donation of sick hours. Is it possible to do
that?
L. Trieger – It is still possible but a policy would have to be put in place.
B. Souza – Can you accrue beyond one year?
L. Trieger – No, only 40 hours per year roll over.
C. Nunes – What about the 90 day wait, could an employer choose to allow their employees to use
this?
L. Trieger – That’s right no one has used this time unless an employer allowed.
J. Van Der Haeghen – What causes the threshold to be met? How are seasonal workers adjusted in?
L. Trieger – Refer to BOLI rules. There are a few people for whom it’s going to depend. The vast
majority of people who are benefiting are in service industry, homecare workers etc.
K. Neubeck – Is this avail in Spanish?
L. Trieger – I’m sure it’s on its way, they were just created. Please help push this information out.
7. Work Group Lead Updates
- Budget Discussion
B. Souza – Anti Discrimination work group – asking for funding for food for 5 meetings and
translation of two documents. Translation is happening for a few focus groups and the HRC will be
able to use this in the community. Ken got 5 different bids on translation, all of the people came
recommended and took the one that cost the least. Asking for $432 dollars total.
J. Frenzer – I know we had a question about where we are at in the budget.
J. Lleras Van Der Haeghen – This budget in your packet is up to date, does not include tonight’s
expenditures or any travel.
K. Neubeck - I have been invited to attend an event in DC in May and there could be costs accrued.
I can cover some out of pocket.
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J. Frenzer – The current balance is $1,800.
K. Neubeck – The trip is a 2 day gathering of people who are doing or aspire to have their cities do
human rights work. Trade information about best practices. There are going to be people there who
are writing about it. Going to be a variable group of people. Good to go to something like that to
talk about what is happening here in Eugene. Also gets communicated out by a few articles. On the
other hand, I get to find out what is happening elsewhere and could share with the City’s Equity and
Human Rights Board and HRC. Not as high a priority as the things we’re trying to do here.
C. Nunes – We’re a little over half way through the year.
J. Frenzer – We can anticipate additional asks right?
M. Kinnison – In the past we have had support requests from TAC and Disorient during this period.
K. Neubeck – Will Jen V. be going to the event in DC?
M. Kinnison – It is an option for professional development.
J. Frenzer – 3 events could take us up to $600 immediately.
E. McGlone – My perspective is that this funding is crucial for the work being done. Food is a
secondary expense. Translation is critical to our success. This work is informative for next year’s
work plan. Understand that we have competing funding priorities. This is an urgent request for
funding of our work.
J. Frenzer – We’ve been doing things like giving more than people have been asking. I wonder if
we need to ask for more budget. More work groups we have that do things we may need more
money to keep moving.
M. Kinnison – We did increase you budget this year by $500.
C. Nunes – What is important is to have this foresight as we’re planning for our year. I am in
agreement with Edward this is important. When we’re talking about attending the Human Rights
Institute there are other creative ways to make it happen. I’d say attending the HR Institute is a big
ticket that doesn’t have the same impact on our community.
J. Frenzer – Good work to be doing, we need to expand our budget otherwise it becomes a thing
where work groups have to contract instead of everyone expanding.
A. Thomson – The documents to be translated are not only specific for the work group, benefits the
whole commission.
Move: To fund the request of the AD at $432.00
Made by: Edward McGlone
Second: C. Nunes
Vote: Unanimous
B. Souza – Is there a sponsorship cap?
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J. Frenzer – Should we budget a certain percent to set aside funds for sponsorships and our own
work. This will allow us to plan for travel, co-sponsorships and work group activities.
K. Neubeck – Other things we can toss around. In some cases we could encourage people to come
only if it’s been a year since their last request was fulfilled.
8. HRC Applicant Review Committee
J. Van Der Haeghen – Each year you create a subcommittee that reviews the application of people
interested in serving on the HRC. This committee needs to be able to commit to meet the first week
of April. We will have a quick turnaround in order to review the applications, discuss and make a
recommendation to City Council.
M. Kinnison – Edward and Arun’s position are up. If Arun wants to continue he will need to
reapply.
C. Nunes – April 3-9, who is available that first week and interested. Ken and Andrew available,
would be nice to have another person. Edward McGlone, back up.
Motions: To assign Ken, Andrew and Edward with Bonnie as a backup to this committee.
Made By: D. Merskin
Second: B. Souza
Vote: Unanimous
9. Housing First Resolution
J. Frenzer - Both versions of the draft were sent to you. The revision that happened was only to
section two. We need to look at both versions. The drafting itself was confusing for our work group.
Section 2, there is content in here that was not part of our discussion during our joint session. What
we talked about was embracing the housing first strategy. But not about switching gears and
stopping funding to emergency housing. That’s confusing to me because I don’t know where that
came from. The spirit of why we went to joint session was to understand what the City Council and
HRC had in common to move forward. The HRC didn’t come with an agenda to create more human
suffering. And the HRC never brought that up at the session and the City Council never brought
that up. Not a component of housing first. What could be added is alternatives to criminalization. I
don’t understand why we would undermine the HR objectives by giving away resources. I want to
bring your attention to Section 5. It says that the City Manager will use this to direct and make
choices. Think we should remove section 2, contradictory, bad process and confusing.
K. Neubeck – From a Human Rights perspective, for the city to roll back what we’re already doing
is a Human Rights violation. My suggestion was to revise section 2 to say “emphasize importance
of emergency shelter and transitional housing. Maintain and expand…” Going to take a while to get
enough permanent housing built. Not enough affordable housing in Eugene, rent is going up,
evictions increasing, challenging to finding housing. We need to keep focusing on transitional
housing and shelter. Want City of Eugene to support the PHB and show support. The City does not
build housing, the PHB shapes the direction of how proposals like to go. At the joint meeting, asked
them to endorse the motion as a council. I think that the various groups in town who testified today
would be appalled.
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J. Frenzer – Support the idea to expand both.
K. Neubeck – Hoping to get to this before Chris Pryor left, I think that we should be asking for
additional time to sort this out. Do we want to use the HUD definition of chronic homelessness as
part of what we’re sending forward or making it broader? There are other sources of money like
through the VA. It would be nice if we knew if it could postpone this.
J. Frenzer – Do we know when this is?
M. Kinnison – Nothing has been scheduled at this point.
C. Nunes – What was the intention of this section
M. Kinnison – The language that was in the first draft was awkward and not intended to imply a
shift to cutting off support for rest stops and other programs. If it’s a bad use of language propose
something else. It’s a draft, we have time to get comfortable on the language. I would encourage
you to not try to make it a resolution for everything homeless. The focus is on Housing First. This
resolution is not going to be able to do all of those.
J. Frenzer – This is not an either or proposition. It didn’t even need to come up. When you’re
looking at drafting you do look at intent by looking at previous drafts. Hard to understand what it
meant in the first place. I think that folks need to know that we don’t have to pursue housing first
instead of other strategies. Language should say “new strategy, not the exclusive and only strategy”
M. Kinnison – There is no intention to remove support for existing programs. What the language is
trying to say is that council realizes that transitional strategies are needed but not the long term
solution.
E. McGlone – I hadn’t seen any intention to cut off funding in the draft that is in our packet.
M. Kinnison – I would ask you to comment on this draft.
E. McGLone – I don’t see it being implied there. We as a commission have been supporting this as
the best long term solution to the problem. Rest stops are not the best solution because people are
not living with a roof over their head. The language is clear, this is in alignment with what we heard
from council. While it doesn’t do everything it would be in poor form, to say thanks for doing what
we’re doing however we do not like it enough to do it. I would support this as it is. I am open to
clarifying the language. I do not share the concerns.
A. Thomson – Like the idea of the shelter first model. Since we asked for the housing first model
we should stick with that and don’t think we need to make it all inclusive. I agree with Edward that
it’s acknowledging that there have been important short term strategies, that Housing First is a
better Long Term Strategy. It should remain included and we should also be addressing a need for
emergency strategies.
B. Souza – I think that the wording in section 2 does need massaging. “However this resolution …
resources” implication is that that is where the focus is. Agree with Jen about the implication from
section 5. It may be that it’s not the intention but does need massaging.
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D. Merskin – Agree with that. Simply removing however changes it and its editorializing “better”.
Until that is in place continue investing. To situate it to protect the programs.
K. Neubeck – Even something as simple as moving the phrase “in the long term” of limited public
resources. Still like a sentence in there between the first two “these short term strategies should be
maintained and expanded”. While the Housing First strategy is being perused and accomplished.
J. Frenzer – There is one Housing First project in place right now that is for 150 beds. We need
2000. This is limited to chronic homelessness. My first concern is that we could have had more
technical expertise in writing this. I like the changes that you have been recommending. Emphasize
that Housing First is one strategy. More strategies are coming from other towns. We don’t want to
limit ourselves to one fix. Need to be ready to be flexible.
C. Nunes – Did we discuss what you wanted to and is there direction from here?
J. Frenzer –We need people to work on the text. Ken, Deb and Jennifer F expressed interest in
working with staff.
10. City Council Update – no update
11. EPD Update
Lt. Bills – Sgt Kyle Williams is our new recruitment person, he’s excited and has a lot of good
energy. He will be a good advocate for us. We had 463 applicants in our most recent process (last
one had 200+) and have focused on recruiting people of color and women. Retirements have hit us
hard.
C. Nunes – I remember that there was recruitment being done last year. Do you have
demographics?
Lt. Bills – Don’t have demographics for you today. I will get them to you. I do know that we’ve
hired 13 laterals and 4 or 5 new hires, one is a woman.
12. Commission Liaison Updates
B. Souza – Did a written report, please read that. You’ll remember we wrote a letter to the CRB
supporting the recording. That was voted down. I included the types of questions and comments
that were made by CRB members. Mostly against resuming recording. If you get a chance to look
at this, there are no issues that I need to get feedback on. If there are comments you’d like me to
share at the next CRB I’d love to hear from you.
K. Neubeck - One thing that caught my attention was the notion on the part of the CRB that the
HRC had no right to comment on the issue. We did it in good faith, we didn’t have to spend time
debating that issue, we did so because it’s a Human Rights issue and very important. I don’t think
that’s how the commissions are supposed to relate. It strikes me as really middle school, I don’t
know how we deal with that. Maybe a meeting between the chairs to sort this out.
B. Souza – Only one person expressed that belief.
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K. Neubeck – Reflective of the chill I felt at the Police Commission. I do think it deserves a
discussion. We don’t have problems relating to the Sustainability Commission.
J. Frenzer – To clarify, your main concern is that we’re a human rights city, all of the commissions
may not understand what a Human Rights city is or what our role is. The culture of some
commissions may be to be wary.
K. Neubeck – J. Ruiz gained special funding to bring in a Human Rights trainer many years ago,
and a training for all boards and commissions. It is important for all members to be on the same
page. It was a onetime piece of money to support this. I was delighted that he was buying into it. I
do think it’s worth conversation to figure out what it is about.
B. Souza – There was also an African American man who shared comments. He was looking to
make an anonymous complaint and LECC is one place he could do that.
J. Frenzer – We would like to have a couple events happen and follow up on the youth homeless
event. We will get creative about how we fund it. Need to find community partners. Feel it’s
important on what we started last spring and stay youth focused. One of the more expensive
projects coming out of the commission.
13. Staff Update – See notes
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SUPPORT REQUEST FORM: EUGENE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Please review the Guidelines for Community
The mission of the Human Rights Commission is Requests for Support before filling out this application.
to promote implementation of universal human Any person or organization requesting Human Rights
rights values and principles in all City of Eugene Commission funding must complete and sign this
programs and throughout the wider community. form.
To carry out this mission the commission shall The City of Eugene allocates funds each fiscal year to the
affirm, encourage and initiate programs and Human Rights Commission (HRC) to use to support
services within the City of Eugene and in the wider community events. The HRC receives numerous requests
community designed to place priority upon for support each year and may not be able to fund all due
protecting, respecting, and fulfilling the full range to budget limitations.
of universal human rights as enumerated in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. You or a representative from your agency is strongly
encouraged to attend the HRC meeting when your request
To support and promote human rights, the
is being considered to answer questions. Requests that are
commission will: provide human rights education; not submitted in time for the HRC to meet and discuss or
be proactive in human rights efforts; address are submitted after the event will not be considered for
human rights violations; ensure active public funding or endorsement.
participation; be transparent and open, be publicly
accountable for human rights progress. Applications must be submitted complete with a full
explanation of the funding request. Please note that if
funding is approved, the commission requires a follow-up
report within 30 days of the event. Recipients may submit a written report or may attend the next commission
meeting to present a brief verbal report. Photos are encouraged but not required. Failure to report may result
in denial of funding for future events.
Date of Funding Request: 2/16/16 3/15/16
Date Funding Required: _______
TAC Intermational Film Festival
Name/Date of Event: __________________________________Location of Event: The Shedd, Hilton Hotel,
and the Bijou Metro
Brief description of Event:
The Archaeology Channel Inernational Film and Video Festival is a public comptition about our past and
________________________________________________________________________________________
shared cultural heritage.
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Office of Human Rights & Neighborhood Involvement 99 W 10th Ave, Eugene OR 97401 (541)682-5177 / ehrcenter@ci.eugene.or.us
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Timeline for Application
Applications must be received no later than 45 days prior to the event. In extraordinary circumstances the HRC
may consider support for events within 45 days. Incomplete applications will not be considered for funding.
Organizations and/or individuals submit completed Support Request Form to:
Human Rights & Neighborhood Involvement
th
99 W 10 Avenue, Suite 116
Eugene, OR 97401
Fax: (541) 682-5221
mailto:hrni@ci.eugene.or.us (Electronic submission should type “HRC funding request” in the
subject field)
Name of person/organization submitting request for support Richard Pettigrew
Address of person/organization submitting request for support 4147 East Amazon Dr.
Eugene, OR 97405
Primary contact person's name and phone number Rick Pettigrew 541-345-5538
Description of organization, names of officers and/or board of directors
ALI is a non-profit organization with the mission of developing ways to make archaeology and human
culture accessible to the public and profession.
Level of Support Requested:
Note: Please choose only one funding option: Funding or Co-Sponsorship or Other Amount
Endorsement: The commission may endorse specific events whose values it supports but
to which it does not contribute money. The commission's name may be used in advertising for these
events. This application for endorsement must be submitted to the commission and authorization
must be granted prior to use of its name.
OR
Support: The commission may provide up to $100 for events that meet the guidelines if
commissioners are not actively involved.
OR
X Co-Sponsorship: The commission typically provides up to $200 (higher amounts may be
considered for specific circumstances) for events in which commissioners will be actively involved.
Active involvement means that, at a minimum, the group planning the event works directly with a
commissioner who serves as a formal liaison between the group and the commission and reports
back to the commission regularly. If possible, a commissioner should participate in the planning
process and the commission should have an information table at the event.
OR
Office of Human Rights & Neighborhood Involvement 99 W 10th Ave, Eugene OR 97401 (541)682-5177 / ehrcenter@ci.eugene.or.us
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RESOLUTION NO. ______
A RESOLUTION DECLARING THE SECOND MONDAY OF OCTOBER
AS INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DAY.
The City Council of the City of Eugene finds that:
A. The City Council of the City of Eugene recognizes that the Indigenous peoples of
the lands that would later become known as the Americas have lived on these lands since time
immemorial.
B. The City Council honors the fact that the City of Eugene is built upon the traditional
homelands of the Kalapuya peoples and recognizes the inherent sovereignty of the nine federally
recognized tribal nations in the State of Oregon and all Indigenous peoples everywhere.
C. The City Council values the many contributions made to our community through
Indigenous peoples’ knowledge, labor, technology, science, philosophy, arts and the deep cultural
contribution that has substantially shaped the character of the City of Eugene.
D. The City of Eugene has a responsibility to oppose the systematic racism towards
Indigenous people which perpetuates high rates of poverty and income inequality, exacerbating
disproportionate health, education, and social crises.
E. Indigenous Peoples’ Day was first proposed in 1977 by a delegation of Native
Nations to the United Nations sponsored International Conference on Discrimination Against
Indigenous Populations in the Americas.
F. The City of Eugene is committed to protecting and advocating for justice, human
rights, and the dignity of all people who live and work in Eugene, and to supporting the principles
contained in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the
“Declaration”) endorsed by the United States on December 16, 2010.
G. The Declaration recognizes the right of Indigenous peoples “to the dignity and
diversity of their cultures, traditions, histories and aspirations which shall be appropriately
reflected in education and public information,” and places an obligation on States to “take effective
measures, in consultation and cooperation with the Indigenous peoples concerned, to combat
prejudice and eliminate discrimination and to promote tolerance, understanding and good relations
among Indigenous peoples and all other segments of society.”
H. The City of Eugene understands colonization not as an historic event but as an
ongoing structure predicated on the elimination of Indigenous life and land, and contends that the
celebration of Christopher Columbus and his alleged “discovery” of Indigenous lands celebrates
the colonization and dispossession of Indigenous peoples throughout the Americas.
Resolution - Page 1 of 2
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NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EUGENE, a
Municipal Corporation of the State of Oregon, as follows:
Section 1. The City Council understands colonization not as an historic event but as an
ongoing structure predicated on the elimination of Indigenous life and land, and contends that the
celebration of Christopher Columbus and his alleged “discovery” of Indigenous lands celebrates
the colonization and dispossession of Indigenous peoples throughout the Americas.
Section 2. The City Manager shall strike from City of Eugene calendars and websites all
references to Columbus Day.
Section 3. The City of Eugene shall utilize the second Monday in October as an
opportunity to reflect upon the ongoing struggles of Indigenous people of this land, to celebrate
the thriving cultures and values of the Indigenous Peoples of our region, and to stand in solidarity
with Indigenous peoples elsewhere.
Section 4. The City Council strongly encourages the Eugene 4J and Bethel School
Districts and Board members to comply with the Oregon American Indian/Alaska Native State
Plan which mandates that the public schools of our City teach about the history, culture,
contemporary lives, and governments of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, with special
emphasis on those from Oregon and across the Pacific Northwest.
Section 5. The City Council encourages other businesses, organizations, and public
institutions to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day on the second Monday in October.
Section 6. The City Council firmly commits to continue its efforts to promote the well-
being and growth of Eugene’s Indigenous community.
Section 7. This Resolution is effective immediately upon its passage by the City Council.
The foregoing Resolution adopted the ____ day of ___________________, 2016.
________________________
City Recorder
Resolution - Page 2 of 2
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Homelessness Work Group Feedback – Housing First Resolution
DRAFT
March 9, 2016
4:30pm
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
EUGENE, a Municipal Corporation of the State of Oregon as follows:
Section 1: The City of Eugene is committed to addressing the long term, low-cost housing crisis
in Lane County. To that end, the City of Eugene is committed to a Housing First approach as
one strategy to address the need for adequate low-cost housing. A Housing First approach
features a supported housing model where chronically homeless persons and families and the
people who are homeless who face barriers to conventional housing programs have access to
permanent housing without preconditions and they have access to a menu of supportive
services that meet individual needs. The Housing First approach is HUD supported, widely
recognized, and an effective means to reduce chronic homelessness by providing a sufficient
amount of permanent supported housing to meet the need for such housing. The Housing First
approach is not, however, a substitute strategy for addressing emergency shelter needs.
Reducing barriers to the unhoused going about their daily life while unsheltered also remains
crucial to addressing the crisis of homelessness. Sufficient emergency shelter will continue to
be an ongoing need while an adequate amount of permanent housing is created to house the
people who are homeless;
Section 2: Long term solutions such as those offered by a Housing First approach must be
vigorously pursued so that those who are homeless, both sheltered and unsheltered, are able to
gain access to permanent housing. This resolution recognizes also that while long term
solutions are being pursued, implementation of short term strategies and services such as
providing for emergency and transitional shelter (including innovative shelter options such as
rest stops and car camping) will need to be sustained and further expanded to fulfill the pressing
immediate shelter needs of people who are homeless;
Section 3: Implementation of the Housing First approach requires a strategy that includes
investing in new and existing housing units and also funding ongoing supportive services and
case management;
Section 4: The City of Eugene is committed to working in partnership with other jurisdictions to
identify the resources needed to implement the Housing First approach. Supporting innovations,
inviting new participants, and continuing current partnerships will be
necessary to secure resources from federal, state and local agencies as called for in City
Council Resolution No. 5142 on the urgency of the housing and homelessness crisis; and,
Section 5: The City Council directs the City Manager to use this resolution as guidance in
administering future work.
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Human Rights Commission Work Group Updates
Date: March 10, 2016
Work Group: Anti-Discrimination Workgroup
Prepared by: Bonnie Souza
Date of last meeting: February 25, 2016
Summary of last meeting attached? No
What were the main topics discussed in the last meeting?
Debrief Latino focus group meeting:
We held our first focus group meeting on February 24 with nine members of Eugene’s Latino community.
I believe we succeeded in creating a safe space for focus group participants, which included five youth,
to share openly and honestly their experiences of living in Eugene – in their neighborhoods, their
schools, workplaces, parks, businesses, etc. We plan to prepare a report on each of the focus groups, to
share with the rest of the HRC after we complete all of the focus groups (by end of June), and also with
the City Council in the fall.
We are planning to invite all focus group participants to a larger get-together in the fall, to share
information we gathered and to give people an opportunity to meet each other and possibly discover new
ways they could work or socialize together. Our hope is that the Anti-Discrimination Workgroup, and the
HRC, will be in a position to better serve Eugene’s communities of color and LGBTQ community in
response to the information we are gathering in the focus groups.
Planning for rest of focus groups, between March and June, 2016:
We are working on pulling together our next focus group (Asian/Pacific Islander community) on March
29. As was the case with the first group, we are being assisted by an API community member in inviting
people to be part of the March 29 focus group.
A Trans focus group is being planned, likely on April 6.
The plan is to also hold a second Latino focus group, this time with families who have children in
Eugene’s school districts. The same two community members who helped us organize the first Latino
focus group is in the process of helping organize the second group on May 11.
We are attempting to include 3-5 youth in each of the focus groups.
The dates we currently have set aside for focus groups are: Tuesday, March 29; Wednesday, April 6;
Thursday, April 28; Wednesday, May 11; Tuesday, May 24.
Do you have a proposal for the HRC to consider or any issues you need the HRC’s feedback on
during the next meeting? No
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Staff Update
March 2016
Council Updates -
• Indigenous People’s Day Resolution: City Council will be considering this resolution on
3/14/16 at 7:30pm. This resolution closely based on the resolution passed at the February
HRC meeting.
• Rest Stop Ordinance: Council will take action on the recommended extension of this
ordinance through March 2017.
• Dusk to Dawn Ordinance: Council will take action on the recommended extension of
this ordinance through March 2017.
• Moderate Income Housing: City Council will be discussing Moderate Income Housing
on 4/20/16
• Community Justice Project: City Council will be discussing the Community Justice
Project on 4/27
• Boards and Commission candidate interviews tentatively scheduled for 5:30 pm, May 3,
4 and 5 in the Saul Room of the Atrium
• Healthy Downtown (regulating smoking): Tentatively scheduled for 12:00 work session
on May 11.
LECC Update:
The LECC (Committee charged with handling profiling complaints and biased based policing
research) has finished making their complaint intake forms and have different languages
available. You can access complaint forms here http://www.pdx.edu/cjpri/profiling-complaints.
You’ve been invited to take a 5 min survey that will shape the LECC structure and mission. The
survey closes next Friday 3/18 at 5pm. The link to the survey is here
https://portlandstate.qualtrics.com//SE/?SID=SV_5gKIBRjk9wj9wfr
Hate and Bias Annual Report:
The Hate and Bias Report is being prepared and will likely be released in late March. You will
receive a copy once released. Like in years past, Race continues to be the single biggest
distinguishing factor when we look at the cause for the hate or bias act. There is no doubt that we
have work to do.
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