Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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ATTACHMENT A Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber—Eugene City Hall July 23, 2007 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor, Jennifer Solomon, George Poling, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka, Bonny Bettman, Betty Taylor. Mayor Kitty Piercy called the regular meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the public forum. Joe Collins , PO Box 24411, reiterated his allegations that there was a drug dealer living in his condominium complex and his feeling that the police were not listening to him. Greg Bryant , 2173 Alder Street, director of the Tango Center, said an item the council would be voting on later in the meeting represented to him an “old way of doing business” which was that buildings were disposable and “almost any excuse was found to dispose of them.” He believed that the demand for land was high in many areas of the country and it was possible for cities to accumulate “enough private capital to … convince government officials to then kick out existing owners” so that redevelopment could occur. He asserted that it had become such a normal way of business that it had become subsidized. He opined that destroying a building did not equate with revitalization. He said the things that people perceived as urban blight were things that made them uncomfortable and not the buildings. He noted that there were many old buildings in Europe and attributed this to the care that had gone into them. He felt the use of public money to subsidize the replacement of existing buildings with more expensive buildings was inappropriate. Teri McComb , 7 Monroe Street, stated that she had rented a community garden plot for two years. She had been shocked to find out how many people had multiple plots. She said she made a call to Public Works Maintenance Supervisor Chris Girard and he provided information regarding the program. She related that Mr. Girard did not see anything wrong with a person having more than one plot. However, she was concerned because there now was a lottery for garden plots and 129 families had been turned away in the last one, though 50 more plots had been created. Park Operations Manager Kevin Finney had called her as well. She discussed with him the possibility that Mr. Girard was not able to be impartial in his dispensation of garden plots. She noted that she had been approached by other gardeners that had multiple plots after two letters written by her had been published in The Register-Guard. They had stressed to her their need for extra garden plots, one of them indicating that she used a plot for her commercial landscaping business. She was disappointed that nothing had changed. rd Bob Dougherty , 479 East 53 Avenue, representing the Masonic Lodge, thanked the council for the opportunity to address the tailgating issue. He applauded Eugene Police Department (EPD) Captain Pete Kerns for coordinating all of the activities around the University of Oregon and the non-profit agencies on MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 23, 2007 Page 1 Regular Meeting