CC Minutes - 01/09/06 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Zachary Vishanoff , a resident of Patterson Street, offered the council the following Web site regarding Nike: www.nano.electromagnet.us. He spoke of a Planning Commission meeting he attended earlier that day, specifically the commission’s discussion of the Walnut Street Mixed-Use Task Force, whose meetings were apparently not being noticed to the public. He said the commission was having difficulty locating mixed-use development. Mr. Vishanoff said the basketball arena public forum had yet to occur, and his neighborhood park was proposed to be sold for development, which were two events that he asserted made residents fear infill. He said the interface between the basketball arena and the nearby mixed-use area was obvious, and the City should “level with the neighborhood” about that. He suggested the council allow itself to be educated by the community, or the mixed-use project would be doomed. Kimberly Gladden , a downtown resident, said she worked downtown and did not own a car so mostly patronized downtown businesses. She frequently walked down Broadway and saw many problems in the west end that development had only made worse. Now one had to walk through youth as opposed to around them, and the discarded cigarette butts littering the streets threatened business viability. Tour buses that blocked store fronts did not help. She said many societal problems existed in downtown and pushing youth from neighborhood to neighborhood accomplished nothing; the council had yet to address that. Multi- million dollar tax breaks for large companies did no good. She did not think Messrs. Connor and Wooley spent any time downtown or their properties would not look as they did. Parking was another problem; people did not want to walk from parking structures to the stores they wanted to visit. Her issues needed to be addressed or investment would do nothing at all. rd Ken Harren , 1261 West 3 Avenue, owned a retail store in downtown Eugene. He encouraged the council to place downtown at the top of its priority list. He said that downtowns represent the face of a community and was where government and culture happened. It should be the heart of the economy. People most often complained of a lack of critical mass of business, public safety, and parking. He said the solution was the responsibility of all but the City could lead the way, particularly with regard to parking, which he acknowledged was a difficult problem. He called Eugene a wonderful place waiting to happen and encouraged all to help Eugene realize itself. Walter Hunt , 2745 Spring Boulevard, said he worked in the McDonald Building downtown. He said the council’s work to date had already improved the downtown a great deal, and he cited the hanging baskets and statute of Ken Kesey as examples. He thanked those associated with the First Friday Artwalks. He called for a cleaner downtown, with more frequent sweeping. Mr. Hunt supported the Human Rights Commission’s recommendations related to homelessness and suggested they would help some of Eugene’s core problems. He asked the council to make maintenance and safety of the downtown core a priority. Tracy Joslen expressed appreciation for the many City and County programs that helped people who were in need. She spoke warmly of the dinner services provided by Saint Vincent de Paul soup kitchen in downtown, where she previously worked. Ms. Joslen said sleeping and eating were human rights. Those she encountered at the soup kitchen who managed to survive were amazing people. She said that the youth in downtown might be a problem but they were young and seeking a place to hang out, such as a youth center. She said the City needed to protect the homeless from the criminal element. Ms. Joslen invited the council to visit the soup kitchen and meet the good people who were served there. She advocated for a publicly run shelter for the homeless. MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 9, 2006 Page 2 Regular Meeting