Item 3A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Richard Wohlberg , 310 Crest Drive, had heard Councilor Taylor’s “sincere concern” that a delay to the project would cost more later. While he appreciated this, it seemed to him that changing the assessments was not an option for the councilors. He commented that it might be unfair to change something that had been unfair and everyone else had dealt with it already, but there could be a point at which it was changed. He was interested in hearing from the councilors just how difficult it would be to change the assessment policy. Bill Eddie , 830 Crest Drive, Ward 2, gave kudos to City Engineer Mark Schoening and his engineering team. He felt they had done a “great job” of helping with the design work and putting together the presentation they had for the neighbors. He related that many had felt that the Hearings Official had not shown much interest in the “sincere financial concerns” expressed to him. He opined that the Hearings Official’s recommendations seemed “biased and predetermined.” He said the report included a statement that indicated that a call to change the assessments would be a call to cancel the project. He averred that “rational people” could find a way to proceed with the project and make it financially affordable. He noted that no one at the hearing called for killing the project. He stated that their only goal was to change the assessment policy and to put an end to “this unfair tax.” He believed a citywide assessment to be the best idea. He echoed support for a plan to assess parcels on unimproved and private streets that had no option other than traveling on Crest Drive, Storey Boulevard, and Friendly Street for access. He opined that spreading the financial pain made sense in difficult financial times. Toby Gamberoni , 691 Crest Drive, Ward 2, reiterated that the project should go ahead, but the assessment policy should be changed. He agreed with the comments made regarding a possible citywide assessment or the potential assessment of people who lived in cul de sacs. He averred that even if he was not assessed, he would give his full support to changing the policy. He felt that the City of Eugene was meant to be a progressive, green city that should be an example and move forward to create a better system and a better future. th Fred Lorish , 897 West 36 Avenue, Ward 2, said after nearly six years of effort, the Crest Drive improvements had come to a remonstration, which appeared to be saying the design “was okay” but the assessments were not. He suspected all of the residents in the neighborhood agreed in principle with the concerns that had been raised. He urged the council, however, to move forward with the improvement. He suggested that the council commit itself to seeking a new, innovative, and equitable system of assessing the citizens for road and infrastructure improvement. He also urged the council to move the present LID forward in spite of the remonstrations. He averred that it would get the project going at a time in which costs were significantly reduced. He felt that the council should acknowledge that two of the currently planned road projects had raised serious citizen scrutiny. He asked that the council grandfather those projects so that if the assessment system was changed, they would fall under the newly adopted system. He stated that the Crest Drive Community Team had spent three years on the road design, with some having worked on it for six years. He reiterated that the council should not wait any longer. Mike Lafferty , 766 Crest Drive, supported much of what had been said regarding the equities of the current means of assessing the street owner. He said given that the majority of the people in that area lived on cul de sacs, the council should see if there was not a way to make the assessments more equitable for everyone. He had lived on Crest Drive for most of his life and agreed that the streets needed improving. Ron Gietter , 990 Sundance Road, stated that he was speaking on behalf of the 23 homeowners who were in the South Point Homeowners Association. He had lived in that area for 29 years. It seemed to him that the roads were just as bad 29 years ago as they were in the present. He had been pleased to see that the City MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 15, 2009 Page 7 Public Hearing