CC Minutes - 04/13/98 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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employees, all former or present University students. Mr. Naleway believed that although some faculty were opposed to the park, many other faculty members were supportive of it, such as himself. He believed that the members of the Riverfront Research Park Commission were dedicated to developing the park in a manner that maintained the setting it was in. Robert Nardo, 85590 Svarverud Road, represented Youth Voice, a local youth advocacy organization. He attributed much of the current youth delinquency to the fact there were insufficient activities for youth in Eugene. He said that a major resource of youth was the library, but its operational abilities were greatly restricted by a lack of space. He said that the library needed space for more activities and resources, such as nonprint resources. Mr. Nardo indicated support for either Option B or Option O Melissa Barkin, also represented Youth Voice. She said that the library was inadequate for a community the size of Eugene, and it did not reinforce the message to youth that education was important. She said that a new library would be a great asset and the attitude of taxpayers toward funding a new library was "sad." Ms. Barkin asked the council to encourage education by supporting the use of funds for a new library. Neale Hyatt, 740 Madison Street, said that a new library was needed. However, he said that the City could have used urban renewal to build a new library ten years ago, and asserted that staff was only offering the option now. He suggested it was only to save urban renewal so that staff could return in future years and ask the agency to fund more downtown projects. Mr. Hyatt said that while surveys indicated people were dissatisfied with downtown, he believed that the condition of downtown today could be attributed to 30 years of urban renewal. Mr. Hyatt said that associating the library with urban renewal was "an absolutely disgusting tactic" to save a program that should be terminated. He said that no tax dollars would be saved by any option offered to the public except termination. Mr. Hyatt favored Option A, pointing out it would realize $650,000 annually. He said that people could still be asked to vote for a bond issue for a new library. He said that he would vote against any library proposal tied to urban renewal. Mr. Hyatt did not support the riverfront district and did not perceive it was producing any research. He said that it was not large enough to be effective but could be large enough to destroy a unique area that residents used a great deal. He supported Option E. John Brown, 1260 Charnelton Street, said that he was a former member of the Downtown Commission. He said that he had tracked downtown vacancies for the past ten years and believed he was qualified to address trends in that period. Mr. Brown said that urban renewal had not been a failure; the job was just not complete. He asked the council to retain its commitment to the downtown district to ensure that end. Mr. Brown believed the council would have the support of a majority of residents. W. Douglas Serrill, 1858-1/2 High Street, spoke in favor of Option E for the riverfront district. He said that the University not only offered its students excellent faculty and facilities, but a peace of mind and atmosphere that many other urban colleges lacked. That atmosphere was attached to the green space north of the campus. Mr. Serrill said that the riverfront gave students a place to study, a place to ride bicycles away from traffic, and a place to value and enjoy. He said that the University had a comparative recruitment advantage offered by the benefits of the current MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 13, 1998 Page 6 7:30 p.m.