Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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the needs of the neighborhood, and furthered LCC’s vision of extending education to the broadest possible segment of the population. He urged the council to support LCC’s efforts. th George Cole, West 11 Avenue, Eugene, said he was a lifelong Eugene resident. He owned property on the th south side of West 11 Avenue, east and west of Conger Street, and it was occupied by a family business that had been in existence for over 50 years and supported his family well. He had tried to assemble his property so that it could be developed and if EmX was routed along Amazon Creek it would destroy that potential. He was also concerned that a bus rapid transit corridor was being developed when there was no funding to operate it after it was developed. He said that would hurt those who relied on the bus for transportation. He said the cost of construction and the cost to riders should be closely examined. Majeska Seese-Green, Eugene, commented on the topic of homeless camping and Eugene Code provisions related to overnight sleeping. She was working on a pilot project for ACT Lane County. She said the County’s recent count of homeless people indicated the population was over 4,000. Regarding the vehicle camping program, she said many homeless people did not have a vehicle and should not have to acquire one in order to be in the program. She said the code addressed camping on private property with the owner’s permission, but imposed many conditions, including sanitary facilities. Failure to meet those conditions subjected the property owner to fines. She said there were some homeless people who slept on properties near her house and they did not have access to sanitary facilities, but were somehow managing and were good citizens in the neighborhood. She asked the council to address the onerous fines to which property owners who wanted to provide space to homeless people could be subject. th Tabatha Bailey, West 6 Avenue, Eugene, stated that she was currently homeless and was speaking on behalf of others who were homeless. She said people did camp out and there were sanitary facilities they could use. She said some places barred people with pets and that was one of the reasons for the camping program. She said many people regarded their pets as part of their family. She said there were more facilities for homeless people with alcohol and drug problems than for those who did not abuse substances and it would be helpful if more property owners were able to provide space. It would be safer for everyone. th Steve Dodrill , West 13 Avenue, Eugene, staff chair of the Lane County OSU Extension Service, said that 65 percent of the people who used the service were Eugene residents. He said the Extension Service partnered with the City on the compost specialist program, which had been highly successful for 13 years. He said work through the compost and master gardener programs, promoted sustainability and was consistent with the work of the Sustainability Commission. He explained the services provided statewide through the OSU Extension Service. He said the offices in some counties had been closed due to loss of local funding and the Lane County office, which had provided services since 1914, had struggled to remain open after its local funding was lost in 2008. He distributed information about the funding situation and asked the council to help spread the word to their constituents about supporting the Extension Service. th Karren Cholewinski, West 13 Avenue, Eugene, Lane County OSU Extension Service, explained the nutrition education program. She said the program had been in place since the mid-1970s and worked with local school districts, human service agencies, housing organizations and many other community partners to help educate people about proper nutrition. It was particularly important to help young people develop healthy lifestyles and habits to reverse the increasing incidence of childhood obesity. She hoped the council would support the Extension Service and its work. Allen Hancock, Alder Street, Eugene, commented on the Riverfront Research Park. He said many decades ago Oregonians recognized the value of public participation in land use decisions and better results were achieved when people were involved. He said examples of that were the West Eugene Collaborative and the MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 22, 2010 Page 2