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Marlene Varady <br />, 420 Crest Drive, shared Margaret Mead’s quote regarding the power of a small group of <br />thoughtful citizens to change the world. She had lived on Crest Drive for 25 years and had raised four <br />children there. She agreed that the streets were dangerous. She understood that there were a lot of people <br />accessing the roads and wondered if some of the cul de sac residents could help to pay for the assessments. <br />She appreciated the council’s willingness to listen to the residents. <br /> <br />Richard Wohlberg <br />, 310 Crest Drive, had heard Councilor Taylor’s “sincere concern” that a delay to the <br />project would cost more later. While he appreciated this, it seemed to him that changing the assessments <br />was not an option for the councilors. He commented that it might be unfair to change something that had <br />been unfair and everyone else had dealt with it already, but there could be a point at which it was changed. <br />He was interested in hearing from the councilors just how difficult it would be to change the assessment <br />policy. <br /> <br />Bill Eddie <br />, 830 Crest Drive, Ward 2, gave kudos to City Engineer Mark Schoening and his engineering <br />team. He felt they had done a “great job” of helping with the design work and putting together the <br />presentation they had for the neighbors. He related that many had felt that the Hearings Official had not <br />shown much interest in the “sincere financial concerns” expressed to him. He opined that the Hearings <br />Official’s recommendations seemed “biased and predetermined.” He said the report included a statement <br />that indicated that a call to change the assessments would be a call to cancel the project. He averred that <br />“rational people” could find a way to proceed with the project and make it financially affordable. He noted <br />that no one at the hearing called for killing the project. He stated that their only goal was to change the <br />assessment policy and to put an end to “this unfair tax.” He believed a citywide assessment to be the best <br />idea. He echoed support for a plan to assess parcels on unimproved and private streets that had no option <br />other than traveling on Crest Drive, Storey Boulevard, and Friendly Street for access. He opined that <br />spreading the financial pain made sense in difficult financial times. <br /> <br />Toby Gamberoni <br />, 691 Crest Drive, Ward 2, reiterated that the project should go ahead, but the assessment <br />policy should be changed. He agreed with the comments made regarding a possible citywide assessment or <br />the potential assessment of people who lived in cul de sacs. He averred that even if he was not assessed, he <br />would give his full support to changing the policy. He felt that the City of Eugene was meant to be a <br />progressive, green city that should be an example and move forward to create a better system and a better <br />future. <br /> <br />th <br />Fred Lorish <br />, 897 West 36 Avenue, Ward 2, said after nearly six years of effort, the Crest Drive <br />improvements had come to a remonstration, which appeared to be saying the design “was okay” but the <br />assessments were not. He suspected all of the residents in the neighborhood agreed in principle with the <br />concerns that had been raised. He urged the council, however, to move forward with the improvement. He <br />suggested that the council commit itself to seeking a new, innovative, and equitable system of assessing the <br />citizens for road and infrastructure improvement. He also urged the council to move the present LID <br />forward in spite of the remonstrations. He averred that it would get the project going at a time in which <br />costs were significantly reduced. He felt that the council should acknowledge that two of the currently <br />planned road projects had raised serious citizen scrutiny. He asked that the council grandfather those <br />projects so that if the assessment system was changed, they would fall under the newly adopted system. He <br />stated that the Crest Drive Community Team had spent three years on the road design, with some having <br />worked on it for six years. He reiterated that the council should not wait any longer. <br /> <br />Mike Lafferty <br />, 766 Crest Drive, supported much of what had been said regarding the equities of the current <br />means of assessing the street owner. He said given that the majority of the people in that area lived on cul <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 15, 2009 Page 7 <br /> Public Hearing <br /> <br />