12/15/1986 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Sweet said he served on the Crime Action Task Force and found that many people are frightened. He said public safety needs should be the City's first e priority. If the airport can be financed without using existing funds, he urged the council to consider it. He said the Lane County jail bond issue may be defeated if citizens are asked to vote on bonds for the airport expansion at the same time. Dan Williams, 220 Johnson Hall, said he is a Vice President of the University of Oregon. He said the university administration supports the expansion of the airport. He said an adequate airport is not a luxury. It is a necessity. He said the faculty cannot serve the citizens of the state and the students cannot come and go without good air transportation. Good air transportation is also very important when the university hosts national and international events. He said people expect their arrival and departure to be convenient and enjoyable. Mr. Williams said Eugene will compete with other commun it i e s for new businesses in the Ri verfront Research Park and adequate transportation facilities are very important. He said the airport expansion is a necessary investment to maintain the University of Oregon as a major research institution, the largest employer in the city, and the home of over 16,000 students. Jon Silvermoon, 2441 Madison, said people want to know what will be sacrificed for the expansion of the airport. He said 30 percent of the City's Capital Improvement Program (CIP) comes from the General Fund and that money could be . put into the operating budget. If CIP funds are used for the airport expansion, he wondered what CIP projects will be delayed. He said the council e should make that information available before the CIP and the funding of the airport expansion are approved. Mr. Silvermoon read from an editorial that appeared in The Register-Guard. He did not indicate its date. He said General Obligation bonds for the airport expansion will affect City operations because they are backed by property taxes. He wondered how much bonding the City can afford in the next few years. He said bonds could also be used for the library and parks. He emphasized that the airport expansion will affect City services and facilities regardless of the council's intent. Mr. Silvermoon said, if the airport expansion wi 11 help the economic development of Eugene, it wi 11 a 1 so he 1 p the economi c deve 1 opment of Springfield and Lane County and citizens of Springfield and Lane County of those jurisdictions should help pay for the expansion. He said the extensive airport expansion was one reason the citizens defeated a City income tax and it is unfortunate the size of the airport expansion was not decreased. He emphasized that the council should clearly i dent i fy the funding for the airport expansion. Diane Uto, 44 West Broadway, said she represented the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Partnership. She said the expansion of the airport is very important to businesses. She said the partnership recruits small, as well as large, companies and sometimes airport facilities are very important to small companies. She said other City facilities are also important but people who e MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 15, 1986 Page 8