05/29/1991 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e Mr. MacDonald indicated that the lane Council of Governements (l-COG) recent- ly directed its staff to negotiate for the acquisition of the Schaffers Building. He said that purchase of this building would be important for the stability of downtown. B. American With Disabilities Act Mr. MacDonald said that he was recently contacted by the Executive Director of the State Disabilities Commission who has asked how Eugene is planning to respond to the requirements of the American With Disabilities Act. Mr. MacDonald suggested that this issue should be discussed by the council within the context of the Eugene Decisions environmental scan. C. Grazing at Buford Park Mr. MacDonald said that local residents have protested the grazing activities which are permitted in Buford Park, a publicly owned park located near Mount Pisgah. He advocated for placing a prohibition on grazing in the park and said he would be testifying before the County Parks Commission to this ef- fect. He asked whether the council was interested in taking a similar posi- tion on the issue. e Ms. Bascom pointed out that grazing has some advantages, such as reducing the grass and plant population thereby reducing fire hazards. She said that the council should gather more information on the issue before taking a position. The council agreed. D. Defeat of Ballot Measure 20-02 Mr. MacDonald read a letter recently submitted in The Register-Guard encour- aging the community to accept the defeat of the downtown mall redesign and urging the council to continue planning for the future of downtown. Mr. MacDonald said that he hopes the council will continue to demonstrate its leadership on this issue and pursue other strategies for downtown, specifi- cally those outlined in the Retail Task Force plan. Responding to a question from Mr. Nicholson, Mayor Miller said that regard- less of the vote on the mall redesign, he continues to support fully the relocation of the library to the Sears bUilding downtown. Mr. Green noted that the City of Sacramento has reconstructed its downtown area into a very vital area and said that he has asked staff to secure infor- mation from that city with respect to their design plan. E. Negative Option Marketing Mr. MacDonald indicated that Springfield Utility Board's (SUB) General Manag- er Steve ludland recently sent a letter to TCI cable company expressing his outrage with Tel's decision to use negative option marketing, a technique recently employed by TCI in which customers are charged for an additional e MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 29, 1991 Page 5