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MINUTES Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber--Eugene City Hall July 12, 2004 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Bonny Bettman, George Poling, Nancy Nathanson, Scott Meisner, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Gary Papd, Jennifer Solomon. His Honor Mayor James D. Torrey called the regular meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. He noted that the Eugene l/Veek/y erroneously indicated a public hearing on the transportation aspects of the possible siting of the McKenzie-Willamette/Triad Hospital at the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) headquarters site was scheduled to occur at the meeting. He asked those who were present to testify on the alleged item to provide their testimony during the Public Forum instead. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Torrey reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Ray Wolfe, 1473 Luella Street, opposed the proposed land trade in which a multi-acre site north of Eugene was proposed to be exchanged for land in the Laurel Hill Valley area. He expressed concern at the alarming rate at which farm land was disappearing. He alleged that 1.2 million acres of farmland had disappeared in 2003, approximately equivalent to the size of the state of Delaware. He stressed the importance of local food production. Mr. Wolfe stated that 28 million barrels of oil were consumed every year while only 7 million barrels were newly discovered. He said there were no adequate alternatives for oil, adding that modem farm production was dependent on the usage of petroleum products. He provided his testimony in writing. Laura M. Ohanian, PO Box 811, Eugene, conveyed her unhappiness with the proposal to locate a hospital at the EWEB site. She opposed the loss of ~prime riverfront," asserting that most places preserved natural features such as this. She felt this feature made people more likely to invest in the community and stay. She related a story of driving around Lake Michigan toward Chicago, Illinois, and observed that the industriali- zation had irrevocably marred the natural landscape there. She did not want such development to occur here as it could never be adequately mitigated to its previous state. Kathy Saranpa, 3015 Friendly Street, said she had spoken before the City Council four months earlier about an ~ill-conceived" proposal to redesignate Friendly Street, Storey Boulevard, and Crest Drive as collectors. She related that the issue had been tabled pending further study. She reported that nothing had been heard by the neighborhood and all that was known was that Satre and Associates had been hired as consultants. Ms. Saranpa also expressed concern about the potential siting of the hospital on the riverfront. She alleged this was ~all but a done deal" with very little citizen participation. She felt both issues were examples of disrespect to the voting public. She urged the City Council and City staff to remember that government was of the people, for the people, and by the people. She questioned the merits of spending money on consultants in the face of the City's inability to adequately support the neighborhood newsletter program. She