CC Minutes - 08/11/03 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

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Eugene Organ, 2850 Pearl Street, President of the Board of Lane Independent Living Alliance (LILA), a center for independent living for people with disabilities in the City of Eugene, spoke on the design of the new federal courthouse. He noted that the courthouse was not designed with a ramp for wheelchair accessibility. The design had improved as the elevator that had been included in the design had been moved from the rear of the building to the front of the building. He stressed the importance of having such a landmark be accessible by all people. He asserted that, according to the Census Bureau, 32.4 percent of residents of Lane County designated themselves as having a disability severe enough to require some assistance. He said that the lack of a ramp disregarded the message that the community had been conveying for years. Mr. Organ recalled that the City of Eugene had entered a contest in 2002 to determine what city was the most handicapped accessible city and had come in second. Eugene was proud of its accessibility. He asked the City to join LILA in expressing its disgust for General Services Administration (GSA) and its plans to build a courthouse that was less than accessible for all people. Elaine Barrett, 996 Jefferson Street, spoke as a representative of the volunteers at the Trude Kaufman Senior Center. She stated that she had handed out an attachment outlining the response from Emerald Empire Council on Aging (EECA) to Resolution No. 4773, which would authorize execution of a lease with the EECA to operate the Kaufman Senior Center. She related that the EECA supported the resolution. She added that it was feasible to use the annex building, that there were several nonprofit groups that were interested in being tenants, and that this would help to provide some ongoing revenue. She said that the Budget Committee had approved of $22,237 in fiscal year 2004 to provide for major maintenance for the center. She explained that City staff had now said that it would give an additional $12,000 from the Trude Kaufman Trust Fund to the EECA to offset the loss of revenue for the annex building. She related that the board felt that this money could be better used to help maintain the annex building by providing a new roof and a paint job. She noted that there were licensed contractors willing to donate their labor. She stressed that the building looked "bad" and would only continue to look worse. She asserted that the building would degrade further without occupants. Janetta Overholser, 30300 Cottage Grove Lorane Road, Cottage Grove, explained that she was a member of the task force appointed by Commissioner Bill Dwyer on animal control. She stated that the task force was meeting and had come up with some suggestions, but even if those suggestions for improvement were submitted to the Board of Commissioners today, the funding would not be available to reopen the cattery at the Lane County Animal Regulation Authority (LCARA) for some time. Ms. Overholser said that much money had been spent on the wetlands project and asserted that unwanted cats would be dumped at the wetlands. She related that a garbage man had found a sack with kittens in it earlier in the day and had brought them to her. She commented that, even though no one wanted to euthanize cats, it was a more humane alternative to dumping them. Ms. Overholser noted that the council had asked for funding suggestions. She reminded the council that $335,000 had been allocated to the airport for advertising. She suggested that the MINUTES--Eugene City Council August 11, 2003 Page 4 Regular Meeting