CCMinutes - 09/27/04 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

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John Brown, 1260 Chamelton Street, said he valued the open space in the community and encouraged the City to acquire as much as it could. He wished to address some of the open space that the City already owned, the river front. He related that the previous Saturday morning he counted four encampments and one fire between Valley River Center and Beltline Road and on Sunday morning he counted three camps and a stolen vehicle, partially stripped, parked mere feet from the river. He pointed out that the City owned a jet boat. He felt the City had the resources and the people power to enforce park violations and asked the council to help keep the river clean. Lucy Lahr, 2085 Pierce Street, believed it important that when public money was used for economic development, the City should receive the best return on its investment. She encouraged the City Council to think about what return citizens should get on its investment when tax dollars were diverted into an enterprise zone. She suggested the following standards to strengthen such a zone: 1) Good jobs that pay family wages and not poverty wages; 2) Jobs hired from the local community first; 3) Jobs that provide a career ladder, training, and promotional opportunities; and 4) Good employers who would remain neutral should workers want to form a union. Ms. Lahr advocated for refraining from supporting anti-union employers with public money. She felt there should be a provision that would allow the City to recover its money if employers do not deliver on job creation targets or leave before an agreed upon period of time. Ms. Lahr commented that the recent expensive and "ridiculous" hospital switching between Eugene and Springfield had left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. Ms. Lahr submitted written testimony from Ron Teninty, who was unable to testify at the Public Forum. Virginia Starling, 3302 Storey Boulevard, spoke as a representative of concerned citizens of the Crest Drive area. She noted the agenda for the public meeting scheduled for Wednesday, September 29, was planned to last three hours, two of which would be a design session for the proposed street classification. She related that neighborhood members had not received any information on street classification designation and the impact of various options. She said neighbors were eager to learn about it. She asked for time on the agenda at the beginning of the meeting to address exactly what street classification options were open to the neighbors and that staff provide documentation of specific parameters for those classifications. Charles Biggs, 540 Antelope Way, said he had heard on the news that the City Council was considering a tax increase to pay for the backlog of needed road maintenance and repairs. He expressed concern that citizens could not afford to contribute any more money. He cited an article in The Oregonian from the previous week documenting that expenses had risen four times faster than the median income. He was perplexed that the council was continuing to choose to spend money in a way that was not wise as far as taxpayers were concerned. He felt taxpayers expected the council to spend the tax revenue in an efficient way. He recommended the City cut spending to cover the expense of needed road repairs. Jim Borg, 677 Spyglass, president and owner of Oregon Precision Industries, spoke in regard to the work session scheduled to discuss the enterprise zone. He wished to express his support and share his positive experience as a beneficiary of an existing enterprise zone. He shared that his business had received a loan in 1995 for the sum of $110,000, which it subsequently paid back, and more recently it received a loan for MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 27, 2004 Page 3 Regular Session