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Columbia to cycle in Whistler’s Bike Park. He felt the park was largely responsible for the boom in bike tourism that British Columbia experienced over the last decade. He thought if Eugene had such a trail network it would bring some of that tourism to the area. He declared that the concept would support the Mayor’s vision of Eugene as the ‘World’s Greatest City for the Arts and Outdoors,’ noting that mountain biking was a great way to get local youth into the outdoors. He added that the local mountain bikers were a volunteer resource pool who were highly motivated and had a proven track record in trail development and maintenance. Chris Murray , 1958 Potter Street, said he coached soccer for the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) and he also worked as a bicycle mechanic. He stated that the next generation needed to be provided opportunities to be pulled away from their X-Boxes and Play Station 2s and into the outdoors. He felt that the improvement of all-season fields was a necessity, and related that currently, many fields were “mud pits.’ He said with implementation of trail networks, people would have more stewardship over the land. He commented that if one was not “in it and active in it,” one would not know the parks existed and while acquisition was nice, if the acquired land was not used, it defeated the point. He believed a more connected trail network was needed. Scott A. Taylor , 1689 Charnelton Street, stated that he was the recipient of a national volunteer service award from the United States Forest Service (USFS) in 2003 from Youth and Volunteer Services, presented at the Middle Fork Ranger District in Oakridge. He created the Cascade Creampuff 100 mountain bike race held in Oakridge and the event drew people from all over the nation. He noted that th 2006 was the 11 year of the race, which was a boon to the local economy of Oakridge. He supported the bond measure to acquire new land, but he hoped to see money earmarked for a continuation of the trail network for mountain bike use as well as hikers, dog walkers, and other people. He thought an extended mountain bike trail network would be an economic benefit to the community at large. He commented that it seemed to be a low priority issue in comparison of safety issues at other parks. He added that the Oregon Bike Summit had been held at the Hilton Hotel on April 6 and was attended by 140 people, and that every dollar spent promoting cycling brought in nine additional dollars to the community. nd Matthew Patton , 63 West 22 Avenue, supported inclusion of a centrally located covered skate park, noting that he thought it might help pass the proposed bond measure. He said skateboarding featured diverse support and was financially accessible to all kids. He commented that the only limit to the athletic progress an individual could make was how much time and effort he or she wished to put into it. He stated that many towns in Oregon recognized the benefits of building a well-designed large skate park, even in fiscally constrained times. He said cities such as Lincoln City, Newberg, Medford, and Redmond made the commitment to support their youth and built large skate parks that were in constant use. He believed that it was time for Eugene to build a large, flagship skate park as well, and that Washington/Jefferson Park would be a perfect location. He asked that it be a Level 1 priority for the bond measure. Mayor Piercy closed the Public Forum and asked for comments from the council. Councilor Pryor thanked everyone for coming. He said his heart went out to the families of the drowning victims in the Golden Gardens Park area. He stated that the City “absolutely, positively” had to do something immediate about the situation. He felt that if a feasibility study would help, it should be undertaken, along with any other actions that were needed in order to ensure safety. He emphasized his “prejudice” for kids. He said if it had to do with kids, he was supportive of it. He wanted to find balance in what the council sought to do and find something that would be passable. He thought the kinds of proposals that would be beneficial for kids were what the community supported. MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 10, 2006 Page 7 Regular Meeting