CC Minutes - 07/08/02 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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He wanted government to spend tax dollars efficiently in a time of declining revenues. He wanted the City to support existing schools and businesses rather than subsidize new schools and businesses. Nick Urhausen, 2858 Warren Street, noted his involvement in the election to place the flag on Skinner Butte Park, and said that if the measure had not passed he would not have whined about the fact it might have passed with a few more votes. He likened the situation to the vote on the West Eugene Parkway. He acknowledged that the vote was close but said the fact of the majority was not insignificant for that reason. Mr. Urhausen urged the council to abide by the election results. Mayor Torrey closed the public forum and called for council comments. Councilor Kelly thanked those offering comments regarding the proposed school-related measure, and said he hoped the City could move ahead with the measure. Councilor Meisner said he recently discussed the proposed school measure with a member of the Pendleton School Board, who indicated that city took a similar approach but the proposed measure had failed dismally because of the question of regional equity. City voters were being asked to support a much larger district. He anticipated he would receive information about the measure from the school board member, and indicated he would share that with the council and staff. Councilor Bettman thanked those offering comment. She agreed with the remarks of Ms. Whitmore and said she hoped the council could offer the voters a measure they could support. She wanted the measure to be instruction-related or supportive of actual teaching, such as funding school counselors or school nurses. She said she would support a measure that mirrored those interests. Speaking to Ms. Cuellar's remarks, Councilor Bettman said the cost for general information was a "moving target," and the cost had increased to $400,000 from an initial $300,000. Subsequently, $325,000 was allocated to the PIC, and the Planning and Development Department made the decision regarding how to allocate the funding. She characterized the study done by the department regarding the provision of information as perfunctory, and called for a more comprehensive study of other services provided by the department, as it was her perception that the City was providing a lot of free services to the development community. 2.Ceremonial Matters Mayor Torrey recognized Councilor Rayor for receiving the Engineer of the Year Award from the Professional Engineers of Oregon. He noted that among other things, Councilor Rayor was recognized as the engineer of record for the DeFazio Bicycle Bridge. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 8, 2002 Page 2 Regular Meeting