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th <br />Drix <br />, 307½ East 14 Avenue, averred that Eugene was a wonderful town. He believed every member of the <br />community had “another little piece of the truth.” He said everyone had ideas and a good place to put those <br />ideas would be in the two holes in the downtown area. He supported trying something new. He opined that <br />a hole was a place that the wrong thing had not been built in yet and in that way was a good thing. <br /> <br />th <br />Jon Cline <br />, 643 West 10 Avenue, advocated for the City Council to take action for quieter train crossings. <br />He asserted that anyone who lived within a mile of the trains was affected by the noise of train whistles. He <br />said trains “blast” through every train crossing. He related that he had overnight guests recently who were <br />unable to sleep through because of the noise. He noted that he did not reside in the Whiteaker neighborhood. <br />He felt sorry for Whiteaker residents as the summer was coming and people would want to open their <br />windows to let in air. He recalled that the council had voted in June 2006 to direct the City Manager to take <br />steps necessary to obtain State section 130 funding for crossing safety improvements to quiet trains. He <br />stated that City Traffic Engineer Tom Larsen had attended many meetings with a variety of neighborhood <br />and business groups and had made presentations regarding several potential options for altering the current <br />situation. He urged the council to act to move the process forward and work to quiet the train blasts. He <br />called it a significant quality of life issue. <br /> <br />Council President Ortiz closed the public forum and invited comments and questions from councilors. <br /> <br />Councilor Zelenka thanked everyone for coming. He specifically thanked the high school students for being <br />there. <br /> <br />Councilor Zelenka likened the work session vote on the potential downtown development to “getting <br />engaged.” He said the council would follow up with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the <br />developers that would explain how the City wished to proceed and what its intentions were and included in <br />this would be a public process over the next three months. He stated that this would create a plan which <br />would then return to the City Council for its approval and this would turn into a development agreement in <br />September. <br /> <br />Councilor Solomon welcomed all of the youth to the council meeting. She said if any of them ever had any <br />questions, the councilors would be glad to respond. She noted that some councilors would be willing to <br />come and talk to a class. She especially wished to welcome Grant Gardino, a seven-year-old student at <br />Buena Vista Elementary School. She explained that Mr. Gardino already loved politics and had a heart for <br />social service. She related that he had “raided the kitchen cabinets” the previous weekend in order to put <br />food out for the postal service food drive. <br /> <br />Ms. Ortiz observed that a Boy Scout troop was also in the audience and welcomed them. <br /> <br /> <br />3. CONSENT CALENDAR <br /> <br />A. Approval of City Council Minutes <br />- February 26, 2007, Work Session <br />- February 28, 2007, Work Session <br />- March 12, 2007, Work Session <br />- March 12, City Council Meeting <br />- April 18, 2007, Work Session <br />B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda <br />C. Adoption of Neighborhood Matching Grants <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council May 14, 2007 Page 2 <br /> Regular Meeting <br /> <br />