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market customer spent $22.47 at other downtown area businesses. She stated that such a market could not exist without farmers and the farmers could not farm without quality farmland. She shared that she recently attended a national conference on the role of farmers markets in the nation's food system. She said the one comment heard most frequently was that the country was running out of farmers. Ms. Leavitt expressed concern that rising oil prices would radically increase the price of food. She predicted, based on many years of work in hunger alleviation, that higher prices would increase the number of hungry people in the area. With a strong local farming community, she averred the community could avoid high transportation costs while feeling more secure knowing it had local food sources. Additionally, she noted that local farmers contributed fresh produce to the local food bank. David G. Hinkley, 1350 Lawrence Street, Apartment 7, declared that the City Council did not run Sacred Heart Hospital out of the City of Eugene. He said the hospital made the decision to acquire more land long before the council's actions. He noted that a close examination of the design for the hospital would demonstrate that the new hospital would not have fit on the Hilyard Street site or the Crescent Drive site. He felt this misperception was starting to affect his wallet as the City was "urging" the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) to "sell a property on cents on the dollar" and this would cost ratepayers money. He asserted that replacement costs should be the minimum cost that EWEB would consider as a sale price. Noting some dissension among EWEB commissioners, Mr. Hinkley said it seemed this issue may be reconsidered at the board's December 7 meeting. He conveyed his commitment to testify in opposition to the sale and asked the council to stop urging the utility to sell its property for less. He opined that the price should be a premium and not a minimum. Ruth Duemler, 1745 Fircrest Drive, echoed Ms. Leavitt's comments, calling it a crime to do away with Class 1 soils. She felt fortunate to have the Lane County Farmers Market. Ms. Duemler referred to the United Way's State of Caring. She pointed out that Lane County residents were having more difficulty meeting basic needs in almost every category and more than every prior year that this survey had been conducted. She said it was the first year more needs were seen in the metro area than the rural area, with a growing population of poverty in the City of Eugene. She urged the council to think more about how the City spent its money. She asked how the City had "found" $29 million for the police station and another $15 million coming into the City because of utilities. She felt it should be a community effort to make budget decisions. She noted that funding had been cut to after school programs, community television, and neighborhood newsletters. She underscored the necessity for recreation programs for youth, another area in which funding had been drastically cut. She opined that there was no need for further taxation to pay for road repairs as the City already had the money. Rob Handy, 455-½ River Road, remarked that a healthy economy thrived on healthy neighborhoods. He opined it was better to have good relations with our neighbors than not. He related that the Metro Plan stated that the City should make every reasonable effort to annex county properties into the city limits in a positive way and asked if the City was doing so. He acknowledged that the refinement plans needed updating but felt it to be a priority that the refinement plan for River Road/Santa Clara be completed first. He averred there was no stormwater plan for the area. He predicted that issue would have to be dealt with eventually and the bill would fall on the area residents, which would further feelings of anger and mistrust of the City. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 22, 2004 Page 3 Regular Meeting