CC Minutes - 10/10/05 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Regular Session Council Chamber—City Hall October 10, 2005 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: George Poling, Jennifer Solomon, Bonny Bettman, David Kelly, Chris Pryor, Betty Taylor, Andrea Ortiz. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Gary Papé. Council President George Poling convened the meeting of the Eugene City Council. Mayor Kitty Piercy and Councilor Gary Papé were not present as they were visiting Eugene’s sister cities of Kakegawa, Japan, and Chinju, South Korea. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Council President Poling welcomed everyone to the City Council meeting and reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Zachary Vishanoff , Patterson Street, confirmed with staff that Mayor Piercy would have access to the information he provided. He alleged that in a recent Mayor’s one-on-one meeting she informed him of her request that the University of Oregon solicit public input on its plans to build a basketball arena. He wished for this to be put into writing in order to show others that she made this request. He opined that the University was “stonewalling.” He believed that the issue of eminent domain had “come to a head” over the summer. He said now there was talk of an indoor track on campus. He was concerned that eminent domain would be used. He noted that Congressman Peter DeFazio was working on legislation to protect people from the frivolous use of eminent domain. He reiterated his concern that there needed to be more public input regarding the planned basketball arena. Charles Biggs , 540 Antelope Way, spoke in support of Ballot Measure 20-106. He recommended people in the audience review the Web site www.yeson20-106.org. He averred that detractors of the measure were given ample chance to state their points of view but had not come forward. He felt that what was at the center of discussion was the necessity of public transparency and that authorizing the City Manager to hire an outside auditor ran counter to this need. He urged everyone to vote in support of the ballot measure. Janet O’Bryant , 85 North Madison Street, reminded the council that she testified at prior meetings. She wished to know where the council stood on the creation of a ‘quiet zone’ in the Whiteaker Neighborhood so that train whistles would not be allowed to blow as frequently in the night. She related that she contacted the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and City Engineer Tom Larsen about requesting a noise study to establish the levels the train whistles reached. She asserted that trains came through her neighborhood six to MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 10, 2005 Page 1 Regular Session