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low-income housing project. He felt that the City Council had been visionary in its support for the land bank program. He said the City had acquired over 20 land bank sites over the years and, since 1989, the City had assisted in the creation of over 1,600 new homes for low-income households, most of which were on these sites. He stated that the land banking program was just the first step; it was all of the other financing pieces that made the housing affordable to low-income people. He related that for this project, the final critical and, therefore, the “most important step,” was the property tax exemption, which would lower the rents by about $100 per month. He stressed that this could be the difference between who could afford to live there and who could not or, if someone was already living there, it could be the difference between paying a mortgage and being able to afford food or shoes for a child as well. He noted that a majority of the councilors had attended the opening ceremony for the project a few weeks earlier and had seen “what a great project” it was. Mayor Piercy asked Mr. Weinman to elaborate on some of the additional elements included in the project. Mr. Weinman responded that Metro Affordable Housing had built the project. He noted that the other local low-income housing developers included St. Vincent DePaul, the Housing Community Service Agency, and NEDCO. He said all of the projects included elements beyond housing. He related that this project had one of the “coolest” playgrounds one could find, special housing units for people with some disabilities, some support systems, a homework club and some computers for everyone to use, and people who could provide training. He averred that some people just needed the housing, but others also needed a helping hand. He believed that the project would change family’s lives into the future. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Mayor Piercy noted that Councilor Pryor had a motion he would like to place on the table and requested that he do so. Councilor Pryor said he wanted to put a motion before the council to bring back the resolution designating the Willamette Bicycle Bridge so that they could change the name to the Dave and Lynn Frohnmayer Bicycle Bridge, in recognition of their contribution to the City of Eugene. Councilor Pryor, seconded by Councilor Clark, moved to direct the City Manager to bring back a resolution that would designate the Willamette River bicycle bridge as the Dave and Lynn Frohnmayer Bicycle Bridge. Councilor Solomon ascertained that the bridge in question was the one that crossed the river from the Riverfront Research Park to Autzen Stadium. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. The meeting adjourned at 7:51 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jon Ruiz City Manager (Recorded by Ruth Atcherson) MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 13, 2009 Page 3 Regular Meeting