Item 2A - Approval of Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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picture. She did not know why the airport would choose to privatize ARFF services as it would not be in the best interest of the public nor the eight family-wage jobs it provided the community. She underscored that this change saved money for the airlines and did not benefit the taxpayer in any way. Gary Henry, PO Box 2592, provided a packet of information in writing to the council. He related he had the option to buy property adjacent to the Eugene Airport outside of the urban growth boundary (UGB). He proposed that the council consider bringing the property inside of the UGB for future development. He suggested that the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) could move there. He asserted the properties in this area were currently being neglected and the change would "clean up" the area around the UGB. Phil Barnhart, 182 Sunset Drive, State Representative for District 11, considered the possible privatization of fire and emergency services an important policy issue as it involved an essential service for public safety at the Eugene Airport. He asserted that maintaining current services at the airport was in the best economic interest of the facility as well as a perception of lower safety standards could make people disinclined to utilize the local airport. He encouraged the council to act to prevent privatization and maintain the growth of the airport and its contribution to the local economy. Kevin Matthews, PO Box 1588, president of the Friends of Eugene, doubted the Eugene Airport could provide a critical mass for a robust independent fire service contractor. Mr. Matthews opposed limiting testimony to two minutes as most people came with three minutes of prepared testimony. He thanked Councilor Taylor for her opposition to the limit. Mr. Matthews asked that Item (D), concerning a road right-of-way issue, be removed from the Consent Calendar and discussed in greater detail. He asserted the transportation infrastructure planning in the courthouse area was not right because there had been and continued to be systematic misrepresentation of public testimony. He alleged that staff had dismissed 17 pieces of testimony without giving it consideration. Nick Urhausen, 2858 Warren Street, called the recent election results a "legal left-wing takeover" of City government. He advocated for City Councilors to be voted into office citywide instead of by ward. Ron Teninty, 999 Brookside Drive, a 37-year representative of the Teamsters Union, shared that he had dealt with the issue of privatization in many venues. He said the reason privatization worked was that it "got the job done more cheaply" and the reason the job was done more cheaply was that it paid workers less. He asked the council to consider the long-term effect on morale of sending a message to employees that their jobs were up for bid any time and all of the time. He stressed that the value would no longer be placed on the quality of the work of an employee and this would degrade services. Floyd Prozanski, PO Box 11511, State Senator, provided Bill Dwyer's comments in writing as a favor to his fellow colleague. He agreed with Mr. Dwyer that first responder services should never be privatized. He called it a "commitment with the community" to ensure the services were there. He reiterated that, in the event of a catastrophe that a contractor could not take care of, Eugene Fire and EMS would be called, and there would have to be cross-training to make this work. He felt such training with a private contractor would be unfeasible. Mr. Prozanski registered his opposition to the use of motorized vehicles on the bike paths as they posed a MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 14, 2004 Page 5 Regular Meeting