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$250,000 which would be fully paid off in 2006. He explained that his product was shipped out of state and all of the revenue remained here. He said sales had increased from $3 million annually to $13 million annually and the number of employees had increased from 25 to 75. He credited the enterprise zone for helping his business to grow and succeed. He felt the business would have grown without it, but not to the great extent the zone had enabled. He offered to provide more information should councilors wish to contact him. Gary Gillespie, 790 East 23rd Avenue, spoke on behalf of the Program Committee of the Eugene/Springfield Solidarity Network (ESSN). He said ESSN was the "Jobs With Justice" affiliate working on the establishment as a critical component of economic development. He strongly encouraged the council to include the following concepts as an integral part of any enterprise zone designation: 1) There should be a required threshold of number of jobs per investment; 2) The jobs should be markedly above the County median and should pay benefits markedly above the County median; 3) The publicly subsidized jobs should have the opportunity for promotion and a career ladder; 4) All publicly subsidized employers should agree to union neutrality and card check recognition clauses; 5) No public funds should be used by employers to wage anti-union campaigns; 6) Contract negotiations not completed in six months should be subject to binding arbitration; 7) Hiring practices should include affirmative action and should stress the hiring of locals and this money should not be used to move businesses from Eugene to Springfield or other parts of Lane County; and 8) Should benefactors of this public funding fail to deliver, they should have to reimburse the City. Bob Cassidy, 1401 East 27th Avenue, felt vandalism on campaign signs had reached excessive levels. He asked the City Council to raise the visibility of this issue prior to the next election. He asserted it could not be treated as a student prank and advocated for taking a more proactive stance. Rob Handy, 455-½ River Road, asked for council support for a comprehensive public process for planning future uses of the Union Pacific rail yard. He recommended this planning be supported in the next Planning Commission work plan. He averred that Eugene had benefited from such public process in previous planning endeavors, citing in particular the work on downtown planning. Sharon Banks, 1010 Main Street, Springfield, thanked the City of Eugene for continuing to use 20 percent biodiesel, a renewable resource, to fuel the City's diesel vehicles and equipment and for the recent decision to replace the 80-percent fraction with ultra-low sulfur diesel with an Environmental Protection Agency-approved catalyst. She stated that this blend of diesel was cleaner and more cost-effective. She said the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority (LRAPA) secured a grant to reimburse Eugene five cents per gallon to offset the cost. She averred this fuel would improve the air quality of Eugene by reducing diesel particulates by up to 25 percent, reducing oxides of nitrogen by 10 percent, and by reducing carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons, as well. Ms. Banks wished to especially thank Carlos Davis, Keith Nicholson, and the staff at Fleet Services for helping to make this change. She said LRAPA would continue to work with public fleets and then would focus on private fleets to implement to this new fuel. In closing, she lauded Eugene for leading the way. Councilor Bettman closed the Public Forum and called for council comments. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 27, 2004 Page 4 Regular Session