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<br />City, which would refer a bond measure. He felt the term "the City" was too general and would have <br />produced different results as each person would have a different interpretation of what that meant; the public <br />had a common understanding of the specific term "City Council." <br /> <br />Mr. Clark said that the general public did not draw a distinction between the council and City staff; the <br />council was considered to be responsible for what the organization did. <br /> <br />Continuing, Mr. Pack said poll results indicated a majority of the public did not trust the council to make the <br />right decisions about downtown development and revitalization, which remained the number one concern and <br />contributed to an unfavorable assessment of the council's performance although there did not appear to be a <br />common definition of revitalization. He said the location of the police patrol facility was not a concern as <br />long as community-based policing continued to be pursued. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman observed that questions about a bond measure only referenced a city hall and did not include a <br />patrol facility. Mr. Pack replied that while that was not shown in his presentation, the bond measure <br />questions asked of the public always referred to both facilities. <br /> <br />Mr. Clark asked what level of confidence was needed for a ballot measure to pass. Mr. Pack said that sixty <br />percent or more was realistic, but cautioned that the poll did not represent an in depth analysis of the issue. <br /> <br />Mr. Pack concluded his presentation by noting that voters' trust had eroded and the perception of the council <br />continued to be an obstacle to passing a bond measure, downtown revitalization and street maintenance were <br />top priorities although voters were not certain how to address them, location of a patrol facility was not a <br />concern as long as there was a police presence in City Hall, and efficiency, safety and fiscal responsibility <br />remained important. <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor remarked that research represented a perception, not reality, but should not be dismissed because <br />people voted based on their perceptions. He said the data brought up as many questions as it answered and <br />the council needed a better understanding of the lack of voter confidence in its performance. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman wanted to know if it made a difference to voters whether a proposal had unanimous council <br />support and why people thought the last three patrol facility bond measures had failed. <br /> <br />Mr. Zelenka agreed there was a concern about lack of confidence in the council and while that had some <br />basis in the council's performance, it also was related to decades of relentless government bashing across the <br />country that created an environment of general distrust. <br /> <br />Mr. Pack felt the council had an opportunity to change the public's opinion because it shared top priorities— <br />downtown revitalization and street maintenance and preservation—with the community and finding solutions <br />to those problems would gain community support. <br /> <br />Mr. Clark said the council had an opportunity to gain the community's trust by identifying smaller scale <br />problems that it could demonstrably solve before referring a larger solution to the transportation funding <br />problem. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council December 12, 2007 Page 7 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />