CC Minutes - 04/10/06 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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M I N U T E S Eugene City Council City Council Meeting Council Chamber—Eugene City Hall April 10, 2006 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Jennifer Solomon, Andrea Ortiz, David Kelly, Gary Papé, George Poling, Chris Pryor, Bonny Bettman, Betty Taylor. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order and welcomed everyone to the meeting. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. She noted that 24 people had signed up to speak and requested a motion to extend the time for the Public Forum. Councilor Kelly, seconded by Councilor Papé, moved to allow two minutes per speaker. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Anthony Losco , 350 Pearl Street, suggested that the former Sears site be transformed into a European- style plaza or square. He stated that every town in Europe had a piazza. He noted that Portland had such a square. Using Japan as an example, he shared his vision for a themed plaza with everything in the area such as food and retail items relating to that theme during a specified period of time. He thought local small businesses would recognize a benefit by participating as thematic elements. He also suggested that the piazza should be combined with the theater so that when people came, they would have an all-day event to attend. He averred that in looking through history, the piazza had been the most successful business measure ever undertaken. He submitted his testimony in writing. Charles Warren , 86260 Lorane Highway, urged the council to include money in the bond dedicated to all- weather fields in partnership with School District 4J. He thought the four current fields were the best investment the City had ever made in athletic fields. He said the 1998 Parks and Open Space Bond Measure was a success, with a 67 percent approval rating, the highest approval rating of any bond measure in the state that year. He averred that the reason it had been so successful was that there was something in it for everyone. He recommended that the council structure the upcoming bond measure in the same way in order to garner the largest amount of support. He agreed that the acquisition of land for future parks was a worthy goal, but it was also very important to meet the other needs of the community as well. Patti Hansen , 3943 Cornell Way, Board President for the Leadership Education Adventure Direction (LEAD) group, believed LEAD’s mission filled a niche in the community that was critically important. She stated that LEAD intervened with teens in a way that addressed key risk factors for juvenile delin- quency: academic achievement, substance abuse, peer association, and use of time. She said LEAD provided teens with a second family and a place where they were supported and accepted unconditionally. She averred that LEAD gave teens a reason to go to school and to not use drugs, to envision a positive MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 10, 2006 Page 1 Regular Meeting