Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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related that in her case, as well as Eugene Sand & Gravel, there had been no participation and she had been assured that the comprehensive plan did not include her property. She said the linear park total was referenced with partner funded acres on page 5 of the memorandum, but the people who owned the property along the McKenzie and Willamette rivers were all County residents and none of them had participated. She indicated that she did not know who of the property owners intended to partner with funding as no one she had spoken to had agreed to this. She asked that the council take a hard look at the overall comprehensive plan and list and remove the people who were under County jurisdiction. Nancy Pollard , 4671 Spring Meadow, Principal of Madison Middle School, stated that the School District 4J greatly valued partnering with the City. She reiterated that the synthetic surfaces added hours of service to athletic fields. She stated that Madison Middle School just opened a new building and had been without a field for a number of years. She hoped that field development would begin this spring. She thanked the council for supporting the community’s young people. Mary Monette , 3261 Richard Avenue, co-chair of the Friends of Golden Gardens Park, stated that the group developed a 50-point proposal for step-by-step improvement of the park. She stressed the necessity of moving the park up from a Priority 5 to a Priority 1. She expressed appreciation for the council’s willingness to undertake the feasibility study. She related that the group wished to work with Eugene Fire and Emergency Medical Services immediately to develop safety measures for the park before the summer. She reiterated that the group wanted to purchase the land around the ponds in order to slope the sides. She said the first rough cost estimate they had was $400,000. She commented that the purchase of another 100 acres around the Golden Gardens Park could be used for more ball parks. She felt the location was the perfect setting for a wonderful park. She conveyed her appreciation for all of the help the group received from staff and the council. th Jon Belcher , 1240 West 15 Avenue, #4, on behalf of the Jefferson Greenway Committee, wanted to keep alive the Jefferson Amazon Greenway. He related that in 1998, a group of Jefferson/Westside neighbors developed a vision to naturalize the Amazon Canal along the Fairgrounds and maintain the passive uses of the south side of the Fairgrounds, including the City park plan that was once the Jefferson Pool site. The neighborhood group worked with the Fair Board to develop a conceptual plan (copies of which were provided to the council) that met the Fairgrounds’ needs and the vision of the neighbors who approved the plan. He said they then took the plan to the City, but had been told to wait through the PROS process to be put into the “pipeline.” Initially, the plan had been made a Priority 1, and then moved to a Priority 2, but now with the shifting of acquisition before development, it had dropped to Priority 3. Meanwhile, the group worked with the Eugene Stream Team to complete plantings along the north bank for the past three years. He stated that the BLM was moving toward planning the area for stream enhancement. He thought the process might take as long as five years. He asked the City to reprioritize the project to “capture the synergy” of the BLM and act before the neighborhood advocates had “all become senile.” Mayor Piercy closed the public hearing. She called for council questions and comments. Councilor Pryor, seconded by Councilor Solomon, moved to keep the record open for seven days. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Councilor Pryor thanked everyone for staying for the hearing. He commented that the process needed to be deliberate. He noted that there were some jurisdictional issues to work through, but it was important to continue working on projects. He related that the Lane Board of County Commissioners adopted a resolution asking the City Council to slow down and work more actively with them. He thought the council should take that into consideration. He said his support for the PROS Plan list would be dependent on getting through some of the collaborative aspects of it. MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 10, 2006 Page 18 Regular Meeting