Item 3A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Jeffrey Librett , 920 Crest Drive, considered the assessment policy to be outmoded and unfair. He supported the formation of a policy that would have everyone in the City pay for all road improvements. He opined that the fact that the policy had been long-standing did not legitimate its “eternal perpetuation.” He considered the project to be too costly. He thought that given there was no cost limit written into the law, the costs to homeowners could be allowed to become unaffordable. He averred that the law should contain a cap. He found fault with the Hearings Official process because the neighbors were not consulted about the assessment policy. He did not believe he had been adequately educated regarding assessments during the time that the road project was being considered. He called the road project and assessments a “forced choice under very constrained circumstances.” He predicted that the law would be changed eventually and it seemed to him that not to change it now was only to avoid “dealing with the problem out of timidity or in an attempt to avoid the hassle of it.” th Kathleen Bosteder , 55 West 30 Avenue, Ward 2, stated that she had served as secretary to the Crest Drive Association since 2006. She regretted that she had felt she had to testify because she had hoped that the Crest Drive/Storey Boulevard/Friendly Street rebuild would come to a successful end in what she termed “our cantankerous neighborhood” and they would be able to move forward with a much-needed street rebuild. She related that at the close of the May 19 neighborhood association meeting an assessed resident announced that she wanted to present a motion that would cause the association to write a letter to the City Council and City Engineer’s office asking for a delay in the street project. She said the person had indicated that what she really wanted was for the whole assessment process to be changed citywide. She stated that the proposed motion had not been on the published agenda and many interested parties who would oppose the delay were not present at the meeting. She noted that whether or not the meeting had been adjourned at the time was also still in question. She felt that passing the motion would set aside all of the work done by the Crest Drive Street Community Team. She related that 18 people had been in attendance, 10 of whom were from assessed Crest Drive residences, and most were not regular meeting attendees. The vote had been 11:4, with two abstentions, to write the letter. She was present to register her concern that the submitted letter was not representational and was far from being the true intent of many in the Crest Drive Neighbor- hood. She noted that generally the association considered ten to be a quorum and that the chair did not consider the association to be fully united behind the request for the delay. She stated that the association had voted on February 12, 2008, to recommend that the City Council approve the proposed street design. She submitted her testimony in writing. Bill Hirsh , 3210 Storey Boulevard, echoed support for the project. He recommended the council direct the City Manager to work on the assessment policy. He suggested that the City take the money committed to the project and keep it in the project which would reduce the assessments and make them more manageable. He noted that the City had taken lower bids and had reduced its share by 50 percent and the residents share by 20 percent. He also wanted to recommend that the City assess people the same minimum amount and not by assessing people by linear road frontage. Additionally, he asked that the City come up with a zero percent interest rate for its loans. Cindy Breaux , 3240 Inspiration Point, voiced her support for the project. She asked the council to please not delay it any longer. She expressed concern for the safety of the children who walked or rode their bicycles to school in the area. She declared that the roads definitely needed to be repaired. She asked the council to “think outside the box” and get the project moving forward. She remarked that it was a beautiful road design and that people had spent a lot of time, effort, and money on it already. Jules DeGiulio , 3205 Whitten Drive, Ward 2, asked the council to please overturn the recently submitted remonstrance. He did not wish to address the assessments. He felt that even if the assessment language was imperfect, the ordinances in question had been in effect for years and were well known by the residents in the MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 15, 2009 Page 5 Public Hearing