CC Minutes - 12/078/98 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Courtney Jeffries, 3800 North Delta Highway, continued and concluded reading the letter submitted by Deborah Jeffries. Venessa Thompson, 110 South Garden Way, requested that Item 3E, dealing with improvements to Garden Way, be removed from the Consent Calendar of the meeting and that a public hearing be scheduled on the project. She said she believed there were errors contained in the findings and recommendations of the Hearings Official and that her main concern was that she was unable to understand what was to be done to the street in front of her home. She described damage to her property and the street caused by construction equipment. She said the interests of area residents were being ignored, trees were to be destroyed, and excessive assessments were being planned. She said a public hearing would provide an opportunity for her to better understand what was happening. Ruth M. Bowers, 155 North Garden Way, said that she believed the minutes of the hearing before the Hearings Official regarding proposed improvements to Garden Way were slanted and contained inaccuracies. She recommended that their approval be removed from the Consent Calendar of the meeting and acted on independently. She cited as an example of her concern that attendance at the hearing represented a high percentage of abutting property owners, whereas it was reported that only a small percentage of the number of property owners notified attended. She also said the record of a statement she had made missed its point. She said she believed holding a public hearing before the City Council was the only way to correct the errors and provide additional information. Jereme Grzybowski, 2766 Alder Street, stated that he had previously spoken before the council supporting establishment of a Police Commission. He said that he was a Student Senator at the University of Oregon. He said establishing a Police Commission was supported by a majority of students at the university because it would improve relations between the student body and police. He said he understood that the commission was not intended to deal with complaints against officers, but that he believed it would provide a forum for discussion of concerns. He said he believed students needed to have a voice on the commission. Michael Olson, 2766 Alder Street, stated that he was president of the Student Senate at the University of Oregon. He said he supported establishment of a Police Commission and the appointment of a student member. He said that the student perspective on police affairs was unique and could contribute to policy discussions. He suggested that Section 2.368 of the proposed ordinance could be simply amended to include a college student, that it could imply a student of either the University of Oregon or Lane Community College. He pointed out that students of the two schools comprised approximately one-third of the population of the City of Eugene. Joel Hastings, 205 North Garden Way, requested that Item 3E be removed from the Consent Calendar. He said he was concerned about the item because he believed that assessments proposed for the road improvements involved were unfair, that the plan which had been presented was vague, and that it was unclear whether new development in the area was carrying its fair share of the cost of the improvement. He reported that the assessment on his property for road improvements was estimated to be $20,000. He asked that a public hearing be held to allow citizen input from area property owners. He characterized the proposed action as an "uncaring process." MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 7, 1998 Page 2 7:30 p.m.