CC Minutes - 01/26/09 Regular Meeting

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City did not spend too much time and energy on it, because this could potentially get in front of the needs of the school district and the future benefit of the children of the community. Richard Larson , 2590 Central Boulevard, supported the City’s effort to find some solution for the “wonderful ten- acre site” that was positioned in one of the “best development locations.” He said the stadium was one of the few places one could go and watch an event for $4. As such, he called it a place for citizens. He felt that it would be a shame to lose the resource. He recognized that the solution to it was not on the table at this time, but if the stadium was torn down, there would not be the opportunity to find it. He encouraged the council to take its time and to seek a solution. He thought there could be a development to which the stadium would be an asset. th Dennis Hebert , 850 East 38 Avenue, stated that he was the President of Save Civic Stadium. He said he had been to almost every game in the past two years and had talked to thousands of people. He related that the overwhelming response was that the stadium should be saved. He recalled that he had brought a petition before the council when testifying previously. He presented the council with a list of the people who had signed it divided by zip codes and countries. He stated that there were overwhelming numbers of people from the City of Eugene and environs, but the names also included people from Ohio, Florida, and Ireland, among others. He declared that they had a treasure in the stadium, not only to Eugene but “to Lane County, America, and the world.” He stressed that it had been a Work Project Administration (WPA) project built in 1938 during hard times. He believed that in spite of facing hard times again, the community could preserve the stadium if it worked together. Joyce Berman , 2440 Charnelton Street, advocated for taking “thoughtful and visionary” action about Civic Stadium. She related that the owner of the Eugene Emeralds had sent a letter letting the Save Civic Stadium members know that if they could come up with $15 million by January 31, to restore Civic Stadium, the Ems would remain there. She said just in case there was “an avid Ems fan with $15 million” she would make this public. She hoped they would retain the stadium with or without the Ems. She noted that the group had contacted other baseball teams regarding the stadium and there were other interested parties. She hoped that with stakeholder involvement they could find a creative way to develop the property that would make the current landowner happy and would still provide smart uses for the community. She averred that the stadium was located in a gateway area. She said 4-J School Superintendent George Russell had indicated his interest in transferring or selling the acreage to the right set of public, private, and non-profit partners who could transform the area into a “mixed use treasure” while still providing important field space for 4J students. She believed it was important for the City to act proactively given that some zoning and use changes would be required. She said it was important for the leadership to begin the process of steering the development in a smart and useful direction for everyone. Majeska Seese-Green , P.O. Box 1214, expressed appreciation for the unanimous decision the City Council had made during its work session to support staff looking into making restrooms available for homeless people. She related that the Whiteaker Community Council board had also supported having rest rooms available in the neighborhood for people who need them. She averred that the problems would not go away. She said they looked forward to helping however they could and possibly involving businesses in the neighborhood to help as well. Steve Sylvester , 2390 Jefferson Street, related that he had written a letter to the Eugene Weekly in September, 2005, suggesting that the Civic Stadium site become the new site for a hospital. He noted that McKenzie-Willamette Hospital had been owned by Triad at the time and it was now owned by Community Health Systems. He recalled that in his letter he had pointed out that two hospitals had been rebuilt after the earthquake in Los Angeles, the Santa Monica Hospital and the Westwood Hospital. He said the Santa Monica facility had been built on 3.2 acres and the Westwood Hospital had been built on a four- acre site. He opined that the people in this area were “nuts” because RiverBend Hospital was situated on 181 acres. He remarked that McKenzie-Willamette Hospital also “had this notion” that a large acreage was needed. He suggested that it would be beneficial to check out the two Los Angeles hospitals in order to see what an urban hospital looked like and “could look like.” He thought they should make an effort to sell this idea to McKenzie-Willamette Hospital. MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 26, 2009 Page 3 Regular Meeting