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Mr. Vishanoff reiterated his desire for a public hearing on the University of Oregon’s plan to build a new basketball arena. He asked the Mayor to “recommit” to having a discussion on the siting of the arena and whether the community needed it. st Tom Halferty , 1120 East 41 Avenue, supported the expenditure of $18.5 million for parks acquisition and $1.5 million for matching grants. He felt the acquisition money was needed as parks land would be bought up for development. He said more land was the key element in development of parks. Additionally, he wished to voice his support for increased safety measures at the Golden Gardens Park. Bob Chandler , 2467 University Street, advocated for the development of a covered skateboard park at the Washington/Jefferson Street Park, calling it one of the most underused local park assets and felt the proposed project was the most appropriate to include in a bond measure. He noted that the final Parks, Recreation, and Open Space (PROS) plan listed providing a centrally located skate park as a level one priority for the City’s central sub-area. He stressed that the decision was arrived at with a great deal of input and support from the community. Mr. Chandler asserted that the Washington/Jefferson Street Park corridor area was perfectly situated to support a large covered skate park. He averred that skateboarding was “huge” in its popularity, with participation estimated at 11 million nationally, roughly the same level as baseball. He said preliminary research indicated a need to budget at least $400,000 to build the park “right.” He stated that he, along with other skateboard enthusiasts, formed a 501(c)(3) non-profit called the Eugene Skate Parks Fund that was committed to helping Eugene and resident skateboarders get the park they deserved. David Hinkley , 1350 Lawrence Street, #1, supported “front-loading” land acquisition in the bond issue as it “made great fiscal sense,” but pointed out that if the bond measure did not pass, the City would not get anything. He recommended finding out through polling how much the public was willing to spend on parks. He thought the City might end up with a 60:40 or a 70:30 split between acquisition and other projects. He said people needed to realize a benefit from their tax dollars in a more immediate way than land acquisition alone would provide. He was worried that the measure would fail otherwise. Lisa Warnes , 5020 Nectar Way, asserted that “special interest groups” were lobbying for their own projects. She asked the council to stand by its original motion for the proposed PROS bond measure. She averred that it was the last chance to acquire land. She alleged that the Home Builders Association would “have us believe” that the land inventory was being robbed by the bond measure. She felt this would likely be the only opportunity to pass a bond that embraced acquisition alone as land was “disappearing quickly with development.” She said the community owed it to itself to create a livable, attractive, and safe city. She thought there might be grants available for the projects that some people proposed if the projects were not included in the bond. She submitted her testimony in writing. Mike Dials , 2395 Palmer Avenue, owner of a bicycle shop and an avid bicyclist, said most of the different aspects of cycling were represented in Eugene. He wanted to include a project to build a mountain bike trail system, hopefully somewhere close to the City. He said it would be similar to a BMX bicycling park or a skateboard park. He hoped to see the presence of mountain biking grow in the city of Eugene. Anthony Beck , 309 Clark Street, thanked the Mayor for providing an opening speech at the inaugural meeting of the Bike Summit, which sought to make Oregon the state “bicyclists dream of.” He opined that Eugene was a gateway city to the Pacific Northwest, further asserting that Eugene’s geographic location was well-suited for attracting visitors, as it was located approximately 10 hours from the California Bay Area. He said that every year thousands of mountain bikers pass through Eugene on their way to British MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 10, 2006 Page 6 Regular Meeting