02/25/1991 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e Tom Sciarretta, 2616 Winsdor Circle, advocated support for the plan, indicat- ing that it provides a good blend of pedestrian and traffic access. Heather Westing, 84937 Willamette Street, voiced concern that Eugene's down- town mall is inconvenient, unsafe, and unpleasant. She offered support for the redesign plan and encouraged the council to invest the money necessary to repair problems that currently exist in the mall. Julie Aspinwall-Lamberts, 1286 Piper Lane, offered her support of the propos- al as a means to revitalize downtown. She said that the pedestrian mall concept that was an appropriate solution to problems in 1968 is no longer suitable. The redesign plan is one part of a unified strategy to downtown improvement. Bob Rubenstein, 115 West 8th Avenue, spoke as a downtown business owner with a long history of involvement in Eugene's downtown area. He noted that in the absence of some type of change, Eugene's core area will continue to dete- riorate. He urged the council to support the conceptual design proposal. Chris Humberson, 1130 Risden Place, acknowledged that mall redesign does not guarantee a solution to problems downtown and offered his full support of the proposal. He encouraged the council to look to other areas such as Orlando, Florida, where major design improvements have greatly enhanced cultural and financial vitality. William J. Mason, 1803 W 34th Avenue, identified himself as a long-time Eu- gene taxpayer and testified against the downtown redesign proposal. He said that tax increment finance moneys should not be spent on a redesign plan; they would be better directed at paying off the urban renewal debt. William Eaton, 2311 willamette Street, spoke as chair of the Citizens for the Fair Allocation of City Taxes (COFACT) against the redesign plan. He voiced opposition to the use of tax increment moneys as a means of financing the project and urged the council to payoff the urban renewal debt. He comment- ed that many citizens do not fully understand the debt which is incurred through financing projects with urban renewal moneys. Cynthia Wooten, 259 East 2nd Avenue, indicated that she would be speaking on behalf of a majority of members of the Save the Mall Committee. She ex- pressed concern that the committee has not had sufficient time to review and become involved in this issue; the committee has requested an additional five days to review and discuss all information pertaining to the measure. She stated that the ordinance contains inconsistencies and vague language which need to be clarified prior to placing it before voters for a vote. She also said that the measure should contain a statement of financial impact. (Ms. Wooten noted that as representative of the Save the Mall Committee, she was representing many Eugene citizens and requested additional time to speak on this subject. At Mayor Miller's request, Ms. Wooten agreed to withhold the rest of her testimony until the end of the meeting.) MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 25, 1991 Page 5