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approximately $25,000 and was “more of a burden than [they] could shoulder.” He said given the current real estate market, it was unlikely they could sell the property to pay off the loan. He felt they were left with no viable options. He opined that it was “grossly unfair” that cost of repairing the road, after “years of neglect,” should fall on a “small group of property owners” in that area. He urged the council to work toward a more equitable solution. Pam Hirsh , 3210 Storey Boulevard, said she had lived on Storey Boulevard for seven years. She felt the street was very busy and asked the council to consider who uses the street and who should pay for the road project. She had talked to many people and it seemed that everyone thought there should be a more fair way of distributing the costs. She agreed that the project should go forward. Bill Hirsh , 3210 Storey Boulevard, Ward 2, stated that he had lived in the area for 25 years. He could recall very little street improvement over that course of time. He agreed that there was a lot of traffic on Storey Boulevard and wanted the assessments to be spread out over more of the users. Jacque Seim , 3391 Elmira Road, said she was a third generation Eugene resident. She related that her home had been built in 1900. She noted that Elmira Road had been a county road until 1964. It was her understanding that the City annexed the road because it was projected to become a main collector street due to increases in population that were predicted for the area and that part of this included an agreement to improve it. She did not think any improvements had occurred, with the exception of filling potholes. She stated that all of the area residents were working class people who worked hard to make ends meet. She related that she had purchased her house 16 years earlier for $90,000. She said the assessment for the property was $27,000. She noted that this was nearly one-third of the original cost of the house, adding her feeling that it was too much. She asked the council to please look at the policy regarding street assessments. She felt that traffic in Eugene was much heavier than it was when the policy had been crafted 50 years ago. Colette Ramirez , 884 Taylor Street, stated that she worked for the City as a Skate Program Coordinator for the Outdoor Program, though she was speaking as an individual. She asked for the council’s continued support for building a Washington/Jefferson skate park. She related that according to organizations such as the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP) and the National Recreation Parks Association, research showed that positive recreation opportunities, such as a regional sized skate park, would enhance the livability of a community. She believed that the proposed park would provide positive recreation opportunities all year long, enhance the safety of the area, enhance the aesthetic value of the area, and would provide a place for year-round fitness. She averred that the future of the city lay in creating the most livable community citizens could envision. Price Armstrong , 1745 Moon Lee Lane, University of Oregon student and financial officer for the University student group Live Move, a group that promotes livability and sustainability in communities, asked the council to support the “Idaho stop” law. He related that when a bicyclist was “cranking along” in a lower gear, it made it difficult to come to a full stop and regain full speed. He was also challenged by having his feet clipped in to the pedals. He said a friend had received a traffic ticket for rolling through a stop sign on a bicycle and had been financially challenged to pay it as he was a student. Marlene Varady , 420 Crest Drive, Ward 2, provided remonstrance petitions. She also submitted some supplemental information she had provided in bullet-point form. She was glad that the Elmira Road area was also being assessed because she felt this brought to light that the assessment methodology affected residents of the whole city. She believed it was the right time, given the current economy, to change the code. She said they could not get signatures to remonstrate from the Wayne Morse Family Farm or from the school. She felt that Senator Morse would have tried to consider another way to make the street repairs happen. MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 13, 2009 Page 7 Regular Meeting