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7. PUBLIC HEARING: RESOLUTION CALLING A CITY ELECTION ON MAY 16, 2000, FOR THE PURPOSE OF REFERRING TO THE LEGAL ELECTORS OF EUGENE A MEASURE AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF A MAXIMUM OF $36.2 MILLION OF GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS FOR SITING AND CONSTRUCTION OF NEW POLICE AND FIRE FACILITIES Mr. Wong introduced the item, noting the project costs for the proposed stations and associated financing costs for the general obligation bonds that would be required to underwrite the costs of the facilities. Mayor Torrey opened the public hearing. Cecily Cleveland, 152 Thomason Lane, opposed the proposal to build new police and fire facilities because it was her opinion the citizens could not afford it. She said the police were "like any other business" in that when it needed the people's money, it needed to convince them to invest in their service. She questioned such an expenditure when the library was not complete and a new city hall was being contemplated. She asserted that the City was using fear to attempt to convince people crime was going up. Ms. Cleveland said that crime was at an all-time low, and while crime will always occur, police do not prevent crimes from happening but merely respond to them. Having a newer, bigger building would not stop crime. She called for investment in prevention, education, citizen awareness, and decriminalization of victimless acts. Charles Biggs, 2405 Willakenzie Road, said that the process was going too fast and costing too much. He spoke of a poll conducted by a local news station, which indicated 92 percent of those responding were against the proposal. Approximately 180 people phoned in, although there were only five people at the first public workshop and only ten at the second. Mr. Biggs enumerated the other bonds that citizens were currently paying for, and suggested that soon the City's debt load would be "a billion dollars." Jim Hale, 1715 Linnea Avenue, spoke against the proposal. He wanted the council to put the fire and police stations issues on separate ballots. He believed a police presence did prevent crime and that there should be more police. For that reason, he thought the proposed facility was not sufficiently large to serve in the long term because the projections underlying its size did not assume more police. He disagreed with the conclusion of the City's consultant that a precinct approach would not work in Eugene because of its size. Mr. Hale called for five differently sized police precincts in Lane County, built in cooperation with other governments, and suggested that the City Council and Eugene's voters should "tell the rest of Lane County that they should get in and pay for that." Moshe Immermann, 1290 McLean Boulevard, spoke in support of the ordinance because of the seismic threat to existing City facilities. Mr. Immerman quoted from the October 30, 1997, issue of Nature magazine, which indicated that there had been extensive seismic activity in the Cascadia subduction zone and evidence of several extremely strong tsunamis 300 years ago. Mr. Immermann believed that on the basis of scientific evidence, the area was now two months past the likely time for another earthquake. He said that the City needed a state-of-the-art police facility to withstand such an event. He provided the council with copies of the article from Nature. John Brown, 1260 Charnelton Street, spoke in favor of the proposed ordinance. He said that no one at the public information sessions disagreed as to the need, but there was concern about the cost. The Police/Fire Stations Task Force had worked hard to keep the costs as Iow as possible. Mr. Brown said that there was currently no room downtown for an ambulance, so it was housed MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 28, 2000 Page 11 Regular Meeting