CC Minutes - 06/27/05 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

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grocery store had been in the top 100 employers since 1998, and most years it was in the top 50. She said the store fostered community participation by giving five percent of its profits to local charities and by paying employees to volunteer. She related that the store had salary caps with maximum margins between its lowest and highest paid employees. Additionally, she pointed out that Whole Foods supported sustainability by buying local produce and by recycling and reusing materials and reducing waste. She quoted a favorable letter to the editor of The Register-Guard from a former Eugene resident who was employed by the store, noting in particular that the store offered domestic partner benefits. She averred that a downtown was most vital when it included national retailers. For her, downtown revitalization meant people living downtown and, for that reason, a full service grocery store was a primary need. She related that an opinion piece in the Eugene Weekly was errant in its assertion that Symantec had left downtown after its tax exemption was exhausted. She understood that there never had been a tax exemption and Symantec was still paying the City for parking. She also disagreed that the Downtown Athletic Club (DAC) was built with block grants that ultimately decreased money for low-income housing. She asserted that the loans were paid back with interest. She felt the DAC remodel spurred surrounding development that made for full tenancy in that area. Bob Foster, 369 West D Street, # 11, Springfield, expressed concern about Whole Foods moving to Eugene and hoped it would not drive out the smaller stores. He had not heard that Whole Foods bought local produce, but if this was so it alleviated some of his concerns. He asked for a dialogue between the City Council and the smaller stores before a large store was invited into the neighborhood to ensure that the larger store would not undercut the small ones and put them out of business. Moshe Immerman, 1290 McLean Boulevard, opined that Whole Foods was far from an optimal choice for a store because it would be investor-driven. He asserted that the average morsel of food in the United States traveled more than 1,400 miles to its eventual destination. He alleged that the Wild Oats Natural Food chain was highly suppressive of free speech among its customers. He claimed that he was a healing arts practitioner and was not allowed to speak to clients about the health benefits of the formulas bought at that store. He supported forming a food cooperative. He provided the Mayor and council with copies of a newsletter from a food co-op in Sacramento that he shopped at while visiting. He pointed out that the co-op in Sacramento focused on purchasing local produce. Mr. Immerman requested that the council direct the City Attorney to render a legal opinion on whether the City could partner with a retailer such as Whole Foods. He did not think it was legal or ethical. He also wanted the City Council to put out a Request for Proposal (RFP) from all non-profits and private and corporate sources for what kind of option to put in that location and he wished this to be followed with a public hearing, to be held in the Convention Center. He alleged that he had an initial commitment for a $10,000 grant from a "national organization" for a feasibility study for a food cooperative and that he had also secured an initial commitment for a $50,000 grant for a market and marketing study. Paul Nicholson, 1855 East 28th Avenue, commented that it was difficult to know what was going on regarding the possibility of Whole Foods locating in Eugene. He asserted that some projects in the city of Eugene quickly moved "directly from rumor to a signed memorandum of understanding." In response to Ms. Mosely's testimony, he said he stood by the statement he made in the Eugene Weekly that the DAC received a large "way-below-market rate loan" backed by Community Development Block Grant funds. He thought the issue boiled down to whether the City was conducting its planning ad hoc or in a "real way." He pointed out that some of the elected officials expressed support for small businesses in their campaigns. He noted he had nothing against Whole Foods per se but he averred the "twin millstones that grind up small MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 27, 2005 Page 2 Regular Session