Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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to occur, the numbers were just projections. He said ultimately the City would have to monitor the jobs created and demonstrate to HUD that it had complied with the standard. Councilor Bettman called the public process “anemic.” She favored extending the public comment period for 30 days after the information was “readily available,” as the public had a responsibility to watch over the expenditure of public funds to ensure that spending was reasonable and cost-effective. Mr. Braud reiterated that the information was in the application and was available for public view online. He added that there were hard copies available for review at the Atrium Building. Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing and reviewed the rules for testimony. David Monk , 3720 Emerald Street, President of the Citizens for Public Accountability (CPA), requested that the record be left open. He commented that he read The Register-Guard very carefully and did not see information regarding public access to the application. He felt the number of people wishing to speak to this item was indicative of the level of public awareness of the item. He said the CPA hoped the money would be well-spent and that the City would gain a revitalized downtown. He questioned how “blighted” was defined. He thought it was “a stretch” to term some of the buildings blighted. He supported job creation that benefited low- and middle-income citizens. He felt the CDBG moneys had been well used in the past and the CPA wanted them to continue to be used for projects that would benefit the City. Rob Handy , 455½ River Road, was excited about the downtown area and the Broadway development project. He agreed that information was lacking. He thought the criteria for HUD funds could be delineated more clearly. He wondered how the objective of benefiting low- and moderate-income persons could be met. He felt the City should consider using some of the money to defer costs for City Hall or for the potential development of a hospital in the downtown area. He asserted that there were anomalies in the proposal and he hoped it would catch the attention of “a few more public officials.” Mayor Piercy closed the public hearing and called for questions or comments from councilors. Councilor Clark expressed appreciation for the testimony. He cited a recent citizen survey in which 80 percent of the respondents felt downtown redevelopment was their top issue. He felt it was a huge issue and the City was taking an important step forward. He had mixed feelings regarding leaving the record open at this point. He did not want to create a habit of finding any way possible to slow the process down. He pointed out that the hearing was one of the first steps in a lengthy process. Councilor Bettman, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved to leave the record open for 30 days and to post the application and documentation of consistency with the criteria on the Web site. Councilor Solomon asked what the deadlines were on the options to purchase some of the properties. Mr. Braud responded that the options for purchase of the properties primarily expired in September and October. He said if the record was left open it would delay the process and the submittal of the application. Councilor Solomon opposed the motion. She averred that there had been “plenty of opportunity” for people to participate in the process and to comment on it. Councilor Bettman asked how long the public record could be left open and still allow the council to take action prior to its summer break. Mr. Braud replied that action was scheduled for July 23, which would allow for the record to be left open one week. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 16, 2007 Page 4 Work Session