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safety. The presentation also highlighted the best and worst outcomes for each area developed by the <br />Community Resource Group (CRG) after its meetings with various stakeholder groups in listening <br />sessions, as well as strategies for achieving the best outcomes. <br />Mayor Piercy solicited comment from the members of the CRG. <br />Mr. Slattery said it was his personal opinion as a builder that the community needed more land for new <br />housing. He thought it would be a mistake if the community was not prepared to expand when the need <br />existed. That required long -term planning. He believed the community needed to identify where it was <br />going in that regard and then address the issues highlighted in the presentation. He had great hope <br />because he believed the process had opened doors and given residents like him a voice in an environment <br />where they often considered the "bad guys." He said he was not the enemy and wanted to do his job in <br />cooperation with others. Mr. Slattery expressed appreciation for the work of the council and for the <br />opportunity to participate in the CRG process. He commended the work of City Manager Ruiz. <br />Ms. Grossman said while the process had been cumbersome and frustrating at times it was always <br />rewarding. She felt hopeful about the outcome of the process. In regard to the presentation, Ms. <br />Grossman said the YMCA saw about 100 potential members monthly who sought financial assistance to <br />join, and when the agency inquired about their extenuating circumstances it often heard that mortgage and <br />rent were the extenuating circumstances. That put a very personal face on the issue. <br />In regard to the process, Ms. Grossman acknowledged that when such a large conversation occurred it <br />could be circular, with many themes rising to the top. The themes that continued to resonate with her <br />were the challenge of planning when one could not predict the future and the need for flexibility given <br />that fact. She said that many people wanted to invest their time, energy, and money in improving the <br />community but it was often a challenge to get through local processes. She thought that was unfortunate. <br />Ms. Grossman suggested that no one disagreed with the concepts highlighted in the presentation, but the <br />"devil was in the details." She reiterated the importance of flexibility and of responding quickly to those <br />who wished to make the community a better place to live. <br />Mayor Piercy observed that the new downtown projects had not been easy to put in place and they took <br />much determination on the part of the City and developers to bring them to fruition. Even if one wanted <br />to do the right thing it was not easy, particularly in this economy.. <br />Mayor Piercy thanked Mr. Slattery and Ms. Grossman for their work on the CRG. <br />Mayor Piercy solicited council comments and questions. <br />Mr. Clark also thanked Mr. Slattery and Ms. Grossman. He acknowledged that the social equity element <br />of the TBL was the most challenging to him in terms of knowing the wisest choices to be made. He <br />questioned the use of words like "access," which had different connotations to people depended on how it <br />was used. He said "access" as used in the presentation seemed to imply affordability. Ms. Wells said that <br />was part of it. Mr. Clark asked if access to health care implied affordability. Ms. Wells said that access <br />meant both physical access and economic access. There were many access barriers that were not <br />economic in nature. Ms. Gardner added that increasingly, access to Web -based programming and <br />services was an issue. <br />Ms. Jennings suggested the issue of access was related to creating an environment that facilitated access <br />to affordable housing, health care, etc., and was also related to the line between the role of government <br />MINUTES— Eugene City Council January 12, 2010 Page 2 <br />Work Session <br />