CC Minutes - 06/22/09 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

th Randy Stenerson , 159 East 15 Avenue, #9, Ward 3, stated that Lane County was taking steps to open more jail beds. He observed that in light of the ongoing problems in the downtown area, he was “looking forward to the police department making sure the space was well-utilized.” He recalled that one year earlier, th the City was discussing what to do with the site on the corner of 10 Avenue and Olive Street. He averred that the City now had, after 16 years and several failed development plans, a million dollar hole in the ground. He had proposed that the site be turned into a Eugene Library park but had since changed his mind. He had talked with several business owners in the City who felt this was a bad idea because they believed it would be a magnet for drug addicted people, alcoholics, and others. He said since then the Downtown Exclusion Ordinance had been put into effect and had changed the downtown area somewhat for the better. He suggested that instead of “moving hundreds of jobs out of the downtown” the council should put the police where they were needed and not “over by a country club that rarely causes problems.” He believed that the placement of the police facility on the site would leave half of the site to be made into a Eugene Library park. Joe Collins , P.O. Box 24411, continued to be irritated by the group of people who repeatedly attended council meetings to object to the Crest Drive LID. He agreed that they had the right to complain about having to “pay their fair share” for upgrading the road, but he objected to their “dominating City Council meeting after City Council meeting.” He found it “unseemly” that those who lived “in…splendid homes” should band together to “bully” the council. He opined that the wealthy people were trying to browbeat the councilors into submission. He asked that the council not be intimidated by them. He wanted to ensure that the residents there were treated no worse and no better than any other citizen. He also asked that Councilor Taylor recuse herself from the vote if she lived on one of the affected streets. Majeska Seese-Green , P.O. Box 1214, averred that she and others sent emails to the councilors and never seemed to get any response. She felt it was hard to know whether or not they were being read or whether they were at least “pretending like” they were listening. She had reviewed the Agenda Item Summary (AIS) and some of the minutes of Sustainability Commission meetings while they were working on the work plan. She understood that there was a point regarding neighborhood associations that had been in a draft but it had been removed. She encouraged the council to “somehow put it back in the work plan.” She said it had been deemed redundant to the commission because an earlier point in the work plan included communications and getting information to groups in the public. She opined that getting communications to the public was not the same as developing a relationship with them. She related that the point that had been deleted had to do with strengthening the relationship with neighborhood associations and the Neighborhood Leaders Council in order to help achieve joint sustainability outcomes. She believed that the work of the Sustainability Commission was “hard for a lot of members of the public to relate to,” but neighborhood associations were reporting a lot of interest in sustainability issues, particularly in relation to food production. She noted that there was a citywide committee of the Neighborhood Leaders Council that focused on sustainability. She wanted it added back into the work plan because it would “bridge the gap” between all of the community members who were not relating to the Sustainability Commission’s work and those who had “a lot of energy” for it. Mayor Piercy closed the public forum. Councilor Clark thanked those in attendance for coming. He assured Ms. Seese-Green that he read all of the emails that came to him. He apologized for those emails he was unable to respond to, noting that he received quite a few. Councilor Ortiz also assured her that she read all of her emails. She underscored that the work load for the job of councilor was immense, though that did not mean that people did not deserve a response. She thanked Ms. Seese-Green for bringing up the Sustainability Commission. She said she was in the process of MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 22, 2009 Page 2 Regular Meeting