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Union understood that the City must budget for positions to meet unexpected needs in the coming year, but wished the staff and council to understand that AFSCME workers were performing the duties of these unfilled positions as well as their own right now. She pointed out that money unused for wages went into the unrestricted fund. She reported that, according to the City's own financial report, the unrestricted fund had accumulated $66 million as of July 2002. Matt McRae, 2584 Friendly Street, recited the fourth segment of the statement on behalf of AFSCME Local 1724. He asserted that there were workers who could not afford to retire. He discussed deferred compensation, a benefit given to managers, supervisors, and exempt employees. He related that the Local had proposed a one-percent deferred compensation package in lieu of a one-percent salary increase, adding that this would save the City $98,000, but the City had dismissed the proposal. Mr. McRae asked AFSCME members to stand and show cards that indicated the number of years worked for the City, ranging from 2 to 28 years. He stressed that people who give dedicated years of service deserved this reliable tool for retirement. Kathy Saranpa, 3015 Friendly Street, thought the meeting held between Public Works Department staff and the Crest Drive neighbors was disappointing. She thought scheduling a design charette at 4 p.m. precluded attendance by people who work until 5 p.m. She said what neighbors wanted, more than an opportunity to design streets, was a follow-up for the questions brought up at the previous meeting. Only one-half hour had been allotted for this at the end of the process. She likened designing a street before it was designated to putting "the cart before the horse." She theorized that the real reason behind the change in designation was to open up the south end of the City for further development. She urged the City Council to explore the real story behind the issues. She asserted that utilizing the local street designation would accomplish the goals of both the City and the neighborhood. Charles Biggs, 540 Antelope Way, reiterated his concerns regarding the sharply rising taxes and inflation in relation to the rate at which incomes were rising. He felt the time was not appropriate for a bond measure to pay for a new public safety facility, especially given that lawsuits against the Eugene Police Department (EPD) were pending. He asserted that the City's liability coverage for the lawsuits was only $5,000 per lawsuit and taxpayers would be saddled with paying the rest. He listed potential expenses the City would be facing in the near future. He submitted his testimony electronically. Martin Brown, 3446 Storey Boulevard, expressed concern about the street classification for the Crest Drive neighborhood. He felt City staff did not understand the traffic flow on Crest Drive. He related that consultants had asserted that the majority of the traffic was on its way to the post office and then, later, on its way to Jefferson Street. He reported that the neighborhood had paid for a detailed traffic study, the results of which had indicated that the majority of the traffic was cut-through traffic to avoid the intersection at 29th Avenue and Willamette Street. It also indicated that 800 cars traversed Storey Boulevard from upper Crest Drive and lower Crest Drive, a lower number than the City's count of 2,100. He thought the reason the City wanted to change the street designation was that it "looked good on the map." Sherie Hawley, 3484 Storey Boulevard, thanked Gary McNeel, Senior Transportation Analyst for the Public Works Department, and Gary Satre of Satre and Associates, for hosting the neighborhood meetings. She related that the majority of the speakers overwhelmingly expressed their desire to keep the street designation local. She conveyed the Crest Drive neighbors' frustration at the "questions only" format of the first meeting. She felt the second meeting also did not meet the needs of neighbors as they MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 11, 2004 Page 2 Regular Session