Laserfiche WebLink
decision to cut a customer service position at the Permit and Information Center, and said he <br />would continue to advocate for refunding that position so that citizens can receive assistance in <br />dealing with the complex City Code. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly indicated his belief that the meeting format was not working well, and said he would e- <br />mail his top six major areas of concern to the council and staff. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner determined from Mr. Shuler that Lane County was being involved in the code analysis <br />related to the hillside fire prevention effort. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner emphasized his interest in the formation of special districts as a means to fund <br />services that were regional in nature. He was looking for more equity for City residents. Ms. <br />Hamm acknowledged Mr. Meisner's concerns. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor shared Mr. Kelly's concern about the meeting format and suggested that in the future, <br />the council meet with one department at a time. She also suggested that the City establish a <br />citizens school, comparable to the Police Academy, where residents could learn about the various <br />departments. <br /> <br />Mr. Pap~ suggested that staff look to what other communities do in the way of hillside fire <br />prevention. Mr. Shuler indicated that many models were available. He said that staff would give <br />the council a list of options related to what could be done to create a safe interface between the <br />community and the surrounding hills. <br /> <br />Mr. Rayor wanted more information about City sites that would be available for redevelopment <br />soon. He was also interested in hospital zoning, and the concept of a third hospital in the future. <br />He said he was looking forward to the white paper on the EMS redeployment, and suggested a <br />similar paper be done on hospital zoning. He thought Eugene needed to plan for the possibility it <br />did not have a trauma center. Mr. Carlson indicated a work session was scheduled. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman expressed dismay that the work plan item related to the fixed rail street car <br />downtown was not making progress. If there were no resources available now, the council <br />needed to identify how the cost could be paid. She pointed out that other work plan items needing <br />resources had made progress. She wanted to see more work in this area. <br /> <br />Ms. Nathanson called for work on a Millrace demonstration project, and said she would bring the <br />issue up in the future. She thought such a project would help the City seek federal funding for <br />water quality improvement. She also called for more information as to what was involved with the <br />City's downtown space planning efforts. Ms. Nathanson said that she liked having representatives <br />of all the departments available. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey emphasized the importance of replacing the grant writing position, which helped to <br />generate millions of dollars for the City. The City was losing the ability to take advantage of many <br />funding opportunities by not having the position. <br /> <br />Responding to a question from Ms. Taylor, Mr. Shuler confirmed that the City could ban fireworks if <br />circumstances warranted. He noted that fireworks had been banned in the south hills once in the <br />past. <br /> <br /> MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 12, 2002 Page 6 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />