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th Phyllis Kesner , 650 West 12 Avenue, Apt. 203, extolled the virtues of small markets. She said she had become aware that allergists were now recommending that people not eat food from more than several hundred miles away. She liked the idea of having more green spaces in the downtown area and recalled how Central Park enhanced the livability of New York City. She opposed having a no-bid contract because she thought it “spoke badly” of the City. Artemio Paz , 86950 Cedar Flat Road, Springfield, expressed concern with the urban planning process. He thought as the City marshaled this vision of downtown design, the City would be doing the vision an th injustice by placing a parking structure at the east end of 8 Avenue as it had been designated a “Great Street.” He said if one looked at subsidies, it seemed that the City was privatizing the public realm. Keith Cooper , 28475 Spencer Creek Road, a local food producer, averred that the money for a parking garage appeared to be a subsidy and the City should not spend public funds on it. He said a council that espoused sustainability should not support a store that brought food from a great distance. He stated that the Lane County Farmers Market had existed for 30 years without any City support. Ken Silverman , 2744 Harris Street, sang a song opposing the parking garage. He likened it to “giving away our town.” He opposed “big box stores” because he did not believe they supported sustainability. Mike Bradbury , 1214 ‘Q’ Street, #5, Springfield, stated that he had worked for 16 years in construction. He said whether the City chose to build a parking structure or a bicycle lot or a high rise it should use a responsible contractor in its publicly funded projects. He averred that Lease Crutcher Lewis was a responsible contractor that paid the prevailing wage on both public and private sector projects and offered health care and full retirement plans. He believed that Gerding and Edlen used some form of a competitive evaluation process when selecting Lease Crutcher Lewis. He was certain they had evaluated the company’s past performance, ability to complete projects within the deadline and under budget, and the resources that would benefit the local communities. He opined that Lease Crutcher Lewis was qualified and had much expertise in the Eugene market. He added that Lease Crutcher Lewis valued the safety and livelihood of their workers and employed local citizens who perform the work on their projects at or above industry standards. He felt the City stood to gain value through the working relationship of the two companies and supported the no-bid contract process as it stood. Jan Spencer , 212 Benjamin Street, suggested that citizens should buy the property in question and form its own design process to decide what to do with it. He felt such a group of citizens could think of a lot of different uses for a downtown location that would be more creative than the proposed parking. He suggested that the community had many skills and much creativity that could be tapped into. He said he would leave his Web address and would convene a public meeting so that people could start this process. Steve Stearns , 32789 East Dixon Street, Coburg, stated that he was a local general contractor. He opposed the no-bid contract. He did not think the City would know whether it was charting the best course for itself without getting competitive bids. He related that Lease Crutcher Lewis said it would hire 90 percent local people, but Lease Crutcher Lewis itself was not local. He likened the process to a used car sale. Regarding Whole Foods Grocery, he said let them come because that was their business. However, he felt building a parking structure was the City’s business. th Ben Martin-Horse , 607 West 8 Avenue, thought Eugene was not a community “that was about competition, especially not unfair competition.” He said Eugene was a city whose soul was community. He did not think a downtown area would be made attractive by an “overabundance of parking.” He opined that MINUTES—Eugene City Council -- March 13, 2006 Page 20 City Council Meeting