Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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the state. He explained that all recruits would attend this academy now. He thought it possible that the cities of Portland and Eugene would have to open up their regional academies again at some point. Mr. Poling announced that the National Law Enforcement Memorial Service would be held on May 15 at noon at the Wayne Morse Free Speech area. He noted it was an annual event. He said that at 3 p.m. on May 16, the EPD would hold its award ceremony at the Hilton Hotel. Ms. Solomon related that the Housing Policy Board (HPB) held a retreat on May 7. She said the previous year had been a big year for the HPB as it had worked on the ordinance changes related to manufactured home parks. She stated that the ordinance changes were nearly complete and the HPB was looking forward to seeking out more opportunities for affordable housing in the area. She said the board would be looking at ways to creatively add to the stock of affordable housing. Ms. Solomon stated that several weeks earlier an email circulated that said there would be news about the J.H. Baxter & Company and the email asserted that its emissions had been found to potentially cause cancer to neighborhood residents. She said this was not true. She related that the report, conducted by the Superfund Agency, would indicate otherwise. The agency was scheduled to review the results of the report at 7 p.m. on May 17 at the Red Cross Office on Bethel Drive and anyone was welcome to attend. Mr. Clark noted that 1,000 Friends of Oregon indicated support for the City of Eugene to conduct a buildable lands study. Mr. Clark reported that he met with Lane County Commissioner Bill Fleenor and members of the Santa Clara Community Organization. He said they discussed their choice of place for a community park that had come before the council in terms of potential consideration of eminent domain. He related that they had looked at several alternatives for parks locations. City Manager Taylor thanked Assistant City Manager Angel Jones for filling in for him on a busy week. He said he had attended his daughter’s graduation from nursing school. He added that his daughter now worked in the operating room at the Billings Clinic in Billings, Montana. Ms. Ortiz said she met with Police Chief Bob Lehner at the Bethel Public Safety Station on May 2. She noted that she missed the Police Commission meeting on May 10 because she had attended the Dia de las Madres celebration at Meadowview School. She stated that over 350 people attended and the event featured children doing dances from different states in Mexico. Ms. Ortiz related that she had driven to Portland with a group of Bethel School District representatives. She explained that State School Superintendent Susan Castillo had recognized 10 schools for closing the achievement gap. She noted that the schools Ms. Castillo focused on were those with low socio-economic status (SES) students. She was inspired to see so many people working toward the common good of educating children. She stated that Meadowview School had been a recipient of this honor. Ms. Ortiz said she attended an open house at Peterson Barn presented by the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) regarding its potential building project in that neighborhood. She related that it was well- attended. She had also met with Trainsong neighbors to plant a garden. She felt it would have been better attended had it not been Earth Day. MINUTES—Eugene City Council May 14, 2007 Page 2 Work Session