Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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council had been asked to make a recommendation to the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). He called upon the Citizen Planning Committee (CPC) for a presentation. Charlotte Behm stated she represented the Citizen Planning Committee for the Whilamut Natural Area of Alton Baker Park (CPC). She reviewed the history of the Whilamut Natural Area. She said although ODOT had to remain neutral, they had funded four Kalapuya Talking Stones for the park. Doug Beauchamp was the director of the Lane Arts Council and had worked with ODOT on design- enhancement projects related to the Willamette River bridge crossing. He asked the City Council to endorse the proposal to name the bridge the Whilamut Passage Bridge. The CPC sought to find words, phrases and images that encompassed the variety of past, present and future users because it was a place that belonged to many peoples of many times. Naming was significant and carried a theme into the design and finish details that would be experienced for many years. Esther Stutzman, P.O. Box 180, Yoncalla, said the name Whilamut Passage was quite significant. No one had used the Kalapuya name for a geographical location in the State of Oregon prior to this project. She was pleased with the naming endorsement by the CPC, Parks staff and others. The talking stones recognized that the Kalapuya ancestors were still here and honored those ancestors. She encouraged the City Council to endorse naming the bridge the Whilamut Passage Bridge. Ms. Piercy opened the public hearing and called for public testimony. th David Lewis, 1197 37 Place, NE, Salem, was the Director of Cultural Resources of the Grande Ronde Tribe, had studied anthropology at the University of Oregon (UO), and had previously lived in Eugene. He offered a brief history of the Kalapuya people. He had worked with the Willamette bridge project for several years, advising the project on native culture. He offered Grande Ronde’s support for naming the bridge Whilamut Passage Bridge because it described the relationship of this area with the native peoples of the past. Kip Triplett, 3540 Kinsrow Avenue, #206, said he was a native American, and he believed there was no better way to honor someone than to give a name. This project offered an opportunity to be a part of something honorable. Naming the bridge Whilamut Passage exemplified honor. Vicky Mello , 2045 Eastwood Lane, asked the council to endorse the name Whilamut Passage for the bridge. It would call attention to the Eugene/Springfield area, accentuate the Whilamut Natural Area of Alton Baker Park and provide an opportunity to honor people who came before and who would continue to live in the area. David Sonnichsen, 2435 Skyline Boulevard, Ward 3, said Oregon State Representatives Beyer, Barnhardt, Hoyle, and Holvey, Oregon State Senator Prozanski, and Congressman DeFazio had endorsed the project. Lane County, the City of Springfield, the Metropolitan Planning Commission, tribal officials, the Oregon State Geographic Names Board, and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), would be addressing the naming issue. ODOT had indicated it would endorse the proposed name if the elected bodies endorsed the name. Approximately $960 for modest signage had been budgeted by ODOT. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 26, 2010 Page 4