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urbanism” was not the “vision for the neighborhood.” He also wanted to give feedback about the council’s <br />workshop. He supported reuse of the EWEB headquarters building for a City Hall. He believed public <br />support for doing so would be widespread. He asked Councilor Zelenka to elaborate on his vision for the <br />south University neighborhood. He said Councilor Zelenka had suggested that neighborhood “SWAT <br />Teams” be formed regarding development. He thought things were happening in closed door meetings. <br /> <br />Tim Laue <br />, 124 Spencers Crest Drive, wished to address the last item covered in the council’s work session, <br />regarding the use of the Facilities Reserve Fund to provide an updated police patrol facility. He stated that <br />he had been involved in the issue of safe, secure facilities for the essential services of the police for ten <br />years. He noted that he and Mr. Brown had chaired the committee for the first bond measure that had been <br />brought before the public. He said the bond measure had failed by less than 1,500 votes. He encouraged <br />the council to heed the Mayor’s advice on this discussion. He believed that it was essential that the council <br />come to its will with as much consensus as possible on the issue. He wanted the councilors to take the time <br />they would need to feel comfortable and confident in the decision they would make, even though they were <br />considering the use of the Facilities Reserve. He was confident that once the council received the informa- <br />tion it needed, the council would make the right decision. He said that, as mentioned in the work session, <br />there had been a lot of study done on the topic and it was important. He averred that being thoughtful and <br />deliberative in its decision-making would bring the community to support and even embrace the decision the <br />council would make. <br /> <br />Carol Berg-Caldwell <br />, 2510 Augusta Street, said she enjoyed attending the council goals setting session on <br />February 6 and 7. She had witnessed all participants – department heads, councilors, city counsel, and city <br />management – being committed to improving communication and building trust with the public. She had <br />heard people indicating a desire to be more receptive regarding public comment. She averred that some <br />people felt that the comment opportunities were just to humor the public. She acknowledged that the <br />occasional “rants and rambles” that were “harshly presented” could be difficult to “enjoy.” She saw at the <br />goals setting session that the council intended to “hear and value” all public input. She related that the <br />Police Auditor Ordinance Review Committee (PAORC) had agreed to hold an hour-long session of “give <br />and take with the people” at its forum in response to public input. <br /> <br />Ms. Berg-Caldwell supported retrofitting City Hall immediately so that it would not “pancake” in an <br />earthquake. She felt that the City was “shovel ready” for this “least cost option” and should not spend $16 <br />million on a new police facility. She averred that the current economy did not justify spending more city <br />funds than required to address the problem. She noted that the federal stimulus money was earmarked for <br />projects that were ready to go, another reason to pursue a retrofit of the existing building. She recalled that <br />voters had rejected bonds for a new facility twice, adding that “just because” the City had “found” $22 <br />million in reserve accounts did not mean it should be done. She thought that the community would vote to <br />support a new facility when relations between police and community were improved. She opined that <br />implementing the oversight system the voters had supported would bring the City closer to that goal. <br /> <br />Drix <br /> thanked the City for his three minutes. He loved Eugene. He noted that he lived in the West University <br />Neighborhood (WUN) which was full of young people “learning how to drink.” He said the house next to <br />him had been built in 1911 and, upon the death of its elderly owner, had been sold to someone who had <br />“been sitting on it” to make money. He related that it had been sold earlier in the week. He thought they <br />needed more people like him in the neighborhood, people who were not students. He said he encouraged the <br />younger people to pick up after themselves. He felt that a lot of people from other places just wanted to <br />make an investment and get a return and there were not enough permanent residents to ground the <br />neighborhood. He wanted more community. He remarked that there were too many sofas in peoples’ front <br />yards. <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 9, 2009 Page 2 <br /> Regular Meeting <br /> <br />