Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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financial hardship, housing affordability and transportation costs, access to services, and community safety. The presentation also highlighted the best and worst outcomes for each area developed by the Community Resource Group (CRG) after its meetings with various stakeholder groups in listening sessions, as well as strategies for achieving the best outcomes. Mayor Piercy solicited comment from the members of the CRG. Mr. Slattery said it was his personal opinion as a builder that the community needed more land for new housing. He thought it would be a mistake if the community was not prepared to expand when the need existed. That required long-term planning. He believed the community needed to identify where it was going in that regard and then address the issues highlighted in the presentation. He had great hope because he believed the process had opened doors and given residents like him a voice in an environment where they often considered the “bad guys.” He said he was not the enemy and wanted to do his job in cooperation with others. Mr. Slattery expressed appreciation for the work of the council and for the opportunity to participate in the CRG process. He commended the work of City Manager Ruiz. Ms. Grossman said while the process had been cumbersome and frustrating at times it was always rewarding. She felt hopeful about the outcome of the process. In regard to the presentation, Ms. Grossman said the YMCA saw about 100 potential members monthly who sought financial assistance to join, and when the agency inquired about their extenuating circumstances it often heard that mortgage and rent were the extenuating circumstances. That put a very personal face on the issue. In regard to the process, Ms. Grossman acknowledged that when such a large conversation occurred it could be circular, with many themes rising to the top. The themes that continued to resonate with her were the challenge of planning when one could not predict the future and the need for flexibility given that fact. She said that many people wanted to invest their time, energy, and money in improving the community but it was often a challenge to get through local processes. She thought that was unfortunate. Ms. Grossman suggested that no one disagreed with the concepts highlighted in the presentation, but the “devil was in the details.” She reiterated the importance of flexibility and of responding quickly to those who wished to make the community a better place to live. Mayor Piercy observed that the new downtown projects had not been easy to put in place and they took much determination on the part of the City and developers to bring them to fruition. Even if one wanted to do the right thing it was not easy, particularly in this economy. Mayor Piercy thanked Mr. Slattery and Ms. Grossman for their work on the CRG. Mayor Piercy solicited council comments and questions. Mr. Clark also thanked Mr. Slattery and Ms. Grossman. He acknowledged that the social equity element of the TBL was the most challenging to him in terms of knowing the wisest choices to be made. He questioned the use of words like “access,” which had different connotations to people depended on how it was used. He said “access” as used in the presentation seemed to imply affordability. Ms. Wells said that was part of it. Mr. Clark asked if access to health care implied affordability. Ms. Wells said that access meant both physical access and economic access. There were many access barriers that were not economic in nature. Ms. Gardner added that increasingly, access to Web-based programming and services was an issue. Ms. Jennings suggested the issue of access was related to creating an environment that facilitated access to affordable housing, health care, etc., and was also related to the line between the role of government MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 12, 2010 Page 2 Work Session