CC Minutes - 08/06/01 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Laurie Segel, 1210 East 29th Place, opined that the public process was under attack. She said that the City Council was disregarding the public process by possibly making a premature decision at its Wednesday work session regarding the location of the proposed new hospital. She urged the council to wait on its decision until it had collected more information. Moshe Immerman, 1290 McLean Boulevard, urged the public to uphold its dignity and speak to the issues and not make verbal attacks on the councilors. Mr. Immerman stressed that response time for the proposed new hospital was the critical issue. He noted that the proposed location was across the river from most of the city and raised concern over public access to the hospital during a natural disaster, such as an earthquake. Mr. Immerman called attention to the fact that it did not need to be a PeaceHealth hospital that was built. He suggested inviting other hospitals to the city to view the downtown area and see the potential for development. He urged the council to remain steadfast in its desire for a downtown location for a new hospital. David Monk, 3720 Emerald Street, commented that it was a mistake to make a decision on the PeaceHealth issue without having all of the important information. He opined that Crescent Drive would not work for a major hospital facility because of the traffic congestion that it would create. He thought that Peace Health would be more reasonable about considering alternative locations if the council "called its bluff." Mayor Torrey called for council comments. Councilor Bettman said that she had toured west Eugene and believed that the area could do without the parkway since other measures were being taken. Councilor Bettman noted that, in 1991, PeaceHealth's Crescent site was intended to be a clinic with some office use. She added that, in 2000, there had been ads in the paper depicting how the hospital would expand at its present site. She went on to say that PeaceHealth had reaffirmed its plans to expand at its present site and had only changed its mind to put a major facility at Crescent since March 2001. She stressed that there was no guarantee that PeaceHealth would maintain a presence downtown. Councilor Bettman noted that the council started its regular sessions at 8 p.m. in order to schedule a work session that lasted from 5:30 p.m. to 7:50 p.m. and not to dissuade the public from coming to meetings. In response to a question from Councilor Pap~ regarding a waiver of the police fee for the Veteran's Day Parade, City Manager Johnson said that this was the normal fee. He added that the precedent for waiving it for one group would mean that other groups would make requests. He said that it was very difficult to handle those requests and therefore all requests were refused. Councilor Pap~ expressed his pleasure at the public input offered during the forum. He urged people to tell their friends to attend meetings and speak at the public forums. Addressing Mr. Newton, Councilor Kelly encouraged him to speak during the public input period during a Citizen Charter Review Committee meeting. MINUTES--Eugene City Council August 6, 2001 Page 3 Regular Meeting