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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/27/19701 IIL J Pledge Roll Call City Staff MINUTES SPECIAL CALLED MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORN?A February 27, 1970 - 6:00 P.M. City Hall Present: Emmons Blake, Myron Graham, Arthur F. Spring, Donald Q. Miller, Kenneth E. Schwartz Present: J. H. Fitzpatrick, City Clerk; H. Johnson, City Attorney; L. Schlobohm, Fire Chief; E. Rodgers., Police Chief Mayor Schwartz explained that.this special meeting had been called by three members of the Council, Councilmen Blake, Spring; and Miller, to discuss the matter of the application.for a parade permit and A special meeting to be held on Sunday, March 1, 1970 from 1:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M., sponsored by the poor people of the community in an attempt io demonstrate support for the Office of Economic Opportunity which is being criticized for some of its actions. H. Johnson, City Attorney, explained the conditions for granting a parade permit. Application must be made to the City.Clerk and both the City Clerk and the Chief of Police must be satisfied that the granting and use of such permit will not seriously affect the public peace, health or- safety. Furthermore, consideration may also be given to the place or places where the permit is to be used with due regard to pos- sible traffic congestion. Reasonable conditions may be imposed in connection with the granting of such a permit. E. Rodgers, Police Chief, stated that the reason-he had not approved or granted the permit as requested was that he did not feel he had sufficient personnel due to the fact that many of his officers had been on night duty at the University of California at Santa Barbara, and if the situation on Sunday got out of hand he would be short handed or he would have to call out officers who had been exposed to vicious attacks by rioters in Santa Barbara. He continued that he had not received a list of formal' conditions for the meeting, including controls of crowds, parade route, etc. He felt that as additional information had been received regarding:,a possible problem during the meeting, the full Council should review the application.for establishment of condition. Mr. Jones, President of the Black Students Union at Cal Poly, briefed the prior steps taken by his group to procure a permit to hold the parade and•meeting on Sunday, March 1, 1970. Rev. E. C. Smith, St. Luke'Baptist Church, stated that the purpose of the parade and meeting was to show support for the County OEO and let the people of the community know the plight of the poor citizens of the City. He stated there were no plans to cause any trouble, instead they wished to have a peaceful demonstration in support of the organization which they felt represented the poor of all races in the community. Rev. Smith continued that the parade would assemble at the South Side Park at 1:00 P.M. on Sunday and then proceed up South Street to Santa Barbara Avenue, from Santa Barbara to Osos Street, then proceed along Osos to the Courthouse where a meeting would be held, with minority persons to speak on the problems faced by the poor in the community and also the problems faced by the OEO. He-continued that the speak- ers who would appear before the group would be himself, Bruce Dodson, Mrs. Maxine Lewis and Mr. Jones. Rev. Smith stated that the participants of the parade and rally would be primarily people of the community, who with their families, would march in the parade and take part in the rally to show support of the OEO. He stated there might be persons from other areas of the County taking part in the march. He continued that contrary to reports from the Police Department, no outside persons had been asked to take part in the rally or speak at the-rally. He hoped that only local citizens would be allowed to join together for this community rally. City Council Minutes February 27, 1970 Page 2 Mr. Bruce Dodson, Hawthorne Neighbors Association, stated that the reason for holding the parade on Sunday was to bring to the attention of the people of San Luis Obispo the fine things done for the people by the OEO,-and its effect on the community. He continued that the marchers in the parade would be the poor people from the City and County of San Luis Obispo who wished to show their support of the OEO. He stated that the plan was to have each organization or group marching two by two, three feet apart with their own monitor, and-also general parade monitors would be on hand for overall control during the march and the rally. He stated that beginning with the first discussion of the parade and rally, the leaders were preparing for a peace- ful demonstration at the Courthouse, a short program outlining their problems and then the group would disperse and return to their homes. He stated that all the people want is a permit from the City to hold a peaceful demonstration. Mrs. Maxine Lewis, Chairman of the Grass Roots Organization, stated that the pur- pose of the march was to have a peaceful demonstration by the poor people of the City and County. She stated that each organization taking part in the parade and rally would appoint parade marshalls and parade monitors in order to protect the participants and to avoid any possible problems. Mrs. Lewis stated that the or.. -- ganization was being made to guarantee a peaceful demonstration of the poor of the community. She continued that another purpose of the parade was to spotlight the help that the poor and underprivileged of the community receive from the OEO, which encourages them to help themselves and attempt to better their ppsition. Mrs. Lewis urged the City Council to take part in this demonstration and to join hands with the poor of the City to accomplish brotherhood with all citizens of the community. She continued that she was afraid that there was a feeling of distrust between the various groups in the City and the fact that a special meeting had to be called for such a routine matter as issuing a permit for a parade, indi- cated there was some lack of mutual respect between the various elements of the community. Councilman Miller stated that everything that had been reported to the Council this evening was true as he had attended the organizational meeting for the poor people's march and rally on Sunday. He stated that the organizing.group, which represented the various organizations in the poor community had met and discussed the demonstration. He stated that they wanted and planned for a clean, peaceful march and rally to support the activities of the OEO and to spotlight the plight of the poor people in the community. He continued that he informed the organizers of the rally that he was sure there would be no problems in getting the permit for the parade and rally as he knew this had been done in the past by telephoning the Council for clearance. Councilman Miller stated that at 4 :00 P.M. this date an emergency meeting on the parade and rally had been called with City and County police officials who felt that this rally and parade would be an excuse for an incident which would turn the rally into a riot. He stated the police officials did not feel there were enough peace officers or deputies to control the problem if a riot were to ensue. He continued that all information regarding a riot had been presented to the police officials by an unidentified informant who.felt that the organizers of the rally and parade were going to import professional agitators to turn the demonstration into a riot. He stated he had challenged the participants of the meeting to identify the informant so that the truth of the matter could be brought out, but the matter was allowed to die without this information. Mr. Jesse Owens asked that everyone be notified as-to who was the alleged infor- mant, as he too had taken part in the organizational meeting for.the parade and rally and at no time were plans made or even discussed to have anyone take part other than local citizens. He continued he felt it was unfair to have these un- founded charges made without knowing who had made.them.so that they could be re- viewed in public. Mr. Edde Marrufo, OEO Executive, stated that the Sunday parade, as planned by the poor people of San Luis Obispo, was not an OEO project, but was a project planned by the poor people who wish to show their support for what the OEO has done for the poor people of.San Luis Obispo. He stated that he objected to the federal OEO treating the poor of this area the way they have in making charges without really knowing the facts or what has been done. 1 u 1 City Council Minutes February 27, 1970 Page 3 Mayor Schwartz stated that what the Council must decide this evening is the what, who and why.of the Sunday march and to find out if all the necessary clearances have been made. He stated one question he would like answered was if arrangements had been made to use the Courthouse steps for the rally. Mr. Bruce Dodson stated that the organizers had not obtained permission to use the Courthouse steps on Sunday as they felt this was a public building and they did not plan to damage or burn it, therefore they felt they could stand on the steps. He stated the organizers would now like to request the City Council to allow them to meet on the steps in front of City-Hall rather than at the Courthouse. Mr. Darrel Bandy stated he was sorry to hear of the misinformation regarding the proposed poor people's march and rally, as the organization had made no attempt to cause problems or to invite outside groups to cause problems. He continued that the only time riots and demonstrations occur is when unfounded rumors are spread and the officials involved do not listen to the people. He stated that all the people want the Council to do is trant a permit to hold a peaceful rally to let the people know their feelings.regarding the OEO and the plight of the poor people. Mr. Doyle McGhee, 1111 Foothill Blvd., stated that .everyone who spoke at the meeting or had any information regarding the rally, including the informant,. should be identified, so that full communication can be achieved with all the citizens of the community, because without mutual respect and trust for each other, no real progress can be made. Mr. .Dave Freeman, representative from the Free University, urged the City Council to grant a permit for the parade and rally, as they have presented plans for a peace- ful demonstration. He continued that the City.Council had granted his organiza- tion a permit to hold a public demonstration against the Vietnam War and no real problem had arisen for the community. Mr. Bruce Dodson stated that in order to avoid any problems arising from having the rally at the Courthouse steps, he would now like to request the Council to grant a permit for the parade and also grant permission for the rally to be held on the steps of City Hall, 990 Palm Street, instead of meeting on the Courthouse steps. He also requested that Palm Street, between Osos and Morro be closed. He stated that as soon as the speakers are through the rally will adjourn and everyone will find their own way home. Councilman Blake stated that due to the riots in Santa Barbara, where 14 City police officers were called on several occasions, if the demonstration resulted in violence, as the Police Department had been informed, he felt that having the parade and rally in San Luis Obispo would not be in the best interests of the community. He felt the police officers and deputies could not be expected to react normally to any disturbances due to their fatigue. He continued that he would support the meeting as outlined by the participants this evening, but he was afraid, based on prior information, that outside agitators were coming to the demonstration to try to stir up trouble. Rev. E. C. Smith again appeared before the Council stating, without equivocation, that no one outside the City and County of San Luis Obispo had been asked to speak at the rally or take part in the march. He stated again, that only local citizens and their families would take part in the parade and rally. Mrs. Maxine Lewis stated that after some of the discussion this evening she was afraid that the suggestions and accusations made would only cause trouble and not help the situation. ' Councilman Blake stated that he felt that the proposed meeting was another form of protest and he could not ask the Police Department to put in another day of extra work protecting the participants of the parade. He suggested that the demonstration be postponed for one week until the police officers were rested or hold the demonstration on Sunday in the proposed South Side Park area. City Council Minutes February 27, 1970 Councilman Spring stated that he had known and worked with Edde Marrufo of the OEO and he believes his statement that the parade and rally would be peaceful. He stated -he for one would support a permit for the parade and rally. Councilman Graham stated-he support for the OEO and he for the parade and rally. supporting the poor of the needed, one in front of the vent cars from running into agreed with the intent of the march which was to get felt that the applicants should be granted a permit He continued that the City Council is interested in City. He felt that only two policemen would be parade and another at the rear of the parade to pre - the parade. Mayov.Schwartz suggested that the key word in this matter is "faith" on both sides of the issue. He felt that the citizens of the community must have.faith that the City Council tiies to be fair,:and respect the needs of all its citizens. He also felt that the City Council and the various departments must have faith in the people who wish to bring their feelings to the public to let them know their situation. He felt that on this basis he would support the march and rally. He stated he was sure that all the statements regarding the organization and partici- pants of the parade and rally would be upheld. Mrs. Maxine Lewis stated that an organizational meeting for the parade would be held on Saturday at 4:00 P. M. at St. Luke Baptist Church. She stated that at that meeting the parade monitors would be appointed. She invited, on behalf of the participants in the parade and rally, the, members•of the City Council, the Mayor and the Police Chief to take part in the meeting and to take part in the parade and rally on Sunday. On motion of Councilman Miller, seconded by Mayor Schwartz, that the. City. Council grant a permit as requested for a rally to be held on the City Hall steps and a parade from South Street to City Hall. Motion carried: Councilman Blake voting no. On motion of Councilman Miller, seconded by Councilman Blake, the meeting adjourned at 7:35 P.M. H. 7FrT2PATRICK, CITY CLERK APPROVED: March 16, 1970 �J 1 1