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MINUTES Eugene City Council Regular Session Council Chamber--City Hall December 6, 2004 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Bonny Bettman, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Jennifer Solomon, Scott Meisner, Gary Pap~, Nancy Nathanson. COUNCILORS ABSENT: George Poling. Mayor James D. Torrey called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. He explained that the agenda had been adjusted to ensure that all of the public hearings would be held. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Torrey reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. John Brown, 1260 Charnelton Street, speaking on behalf of himself, thanked the outgoing Mayor and councilors for all of their work. He stressed that people speaking in the Public Forum were testifying because they cared about the community. He said people live in Eugene because it was a great place through ~no small result of the efforts" of the City Council. He conveyed his gratitude to those who were leaving and for those who agreed to continue conducting the affairs of City government. Gary Nauta, 2300 Oakmont Way, President of the Eugene Fire Fighters' Association, wished to remind the council as it proceeded into the next budget cycle that the Valley River fire station remained without an engine company. He called the situation an ~unacceptable risk" to the taxpayers of Eugene. He recalled that Fire Chief Tom Tallon presented a memorandum to the City Council on December 3, 2003, which conveyed the findings of the Standards of Coverage Document and unambiguously stated that elimination of the engine company at that station increased response time in that area to an unacceptable level. He reiterated the fire union's concurrence with the findings. He noted that Councilor Pap~ had moved to instruct staff to bring funding options for the engine company for the fiscal year (FY) 20005 budget process and the motion had passed unanimously, 8:0, at the same December 3 meeting. He said he was curious as to what those options were, given that the budget cycle for FY06 was about to begin. He underscored that restoration of funding for the Valley River engine company was the number one priority for both the Eugene Fire and Emergency Services Department and the union. David Helton, 878 Glory Street, a member of the Community Center for the Performing Arts (CCPA) which operates the WOW Hall, reiterated the CCPA's desire to purchase the gravel lot behind the WOW Hall from the City. He noted that the City received one proposal, among others, that would use two parking spots in that lot. He said this proposal would eliminate the WOW Hall's ability to bring in busses and trucks belonging to performing artists and would threaten the viability of the hall as an entertainment venue. MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 6, 2004 Page 1 Regular Session