CC Minutes - 04/26/10 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber Eugene City Hall 777 Pearl Street Eugene, Oregon April 26, 2010 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Mike Clark, Betty Taylor, Chris Pryor, George Brown, George Poling, Alan zelenka. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Andrea Ortiz, Jennifer Solomon. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. 11 PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Craig apperman, 728 Centennial Boulevard, Chief Executive Officer of Looking Glass, wished to thank City staff and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Advisory Committee for recommending that the funds be allocated for the property at 931 west 7 th Avenue. He felt honored to be on a recommended funding list with the Pearl Buck Center, Food for Lane County, Head Start, and St. Vincent DePaul. He underscored that all of the agencies provided vital services to the community and the CDBG funds helped to keep a "fragile safety net" intact. He said the property bordered the New Roads program which provided comprehensive programs to hundreds of runaway homeless youth. He averred that adding the property would provide a small but significant campus environment. He felt that a porch and a yard to spend social and recreational time waiting for services was valuable and would reduce the time that homeless youth spent in locations downtown. He stated that this would improve the community, increase Looking Glass service facilities, and it would create a safe and comfortable space for runaway and homeless youth that was not currently available to them. He introduced Liz Schwartz, Director of Runaway and Homeless Youth Services, and Bill Randall, who served on the Looking Glass board. Robin Burk, 2462 Panorama Drive, member of the Board of Directors for Looking Glass Youth & Family Services and Region President for U.S. Bank, wished to speak in support of Mr. Opperman and everything he had shared with the council about New Roads and its homeless youth facility. She had considered it a dream come true the day she saw the house next door to the facility go up for sale because it was the perfect place to expand the services to those youth who truly needed a place to congregate that was safe. She said, as a person who worked in the downtown area, it was apparent that the downtown would be greatly improved if those kids had a place to go that was centrally located and provided them with a safe environment and needed services. Karen Edmonds, 770 Bailey Hill Road, Programs and Services Director for Food for Lane County, noted that Joseph McCarthy, who managed the Family Dinner Program was present as well. She said Food for Lane County (FFLC) was the regional food bank for Lane County dedicated to alleviating hunger by creating access to food. She stated that one way they did so was through the Dining Room, which served people food free of charge. She related that FFLC had applied for CDBG funds to add accessibility amenities — a wider front door that was operated by a push button and a project to install push - button operated accessible doors on the restrooms. She explained that the Dining Room served food in a restaurant environment, serving people with dignity and respect. Mary Leighton, 4046 Normandy Way, said she was there to ask for help in Network Charter School's (NCS) quest for a new home downtown. She explained that NCS was a public charter school with 120 students, grades MINUTES Eugene City Council April 26, 2010 Page 1 Regular Meeting