CC Minutes - 11/08/10 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MINUTES Eugene City Council Council Chamber — Eugene City Hall 777 Pearl Street — Eugene, Oregon November 8, 2010 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Mike Clark, Betty Taylor, Andrea Ortiz, George Poling, Alan Zelenka, Chris Pryor, George Brown, members. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Jennifer Solomon. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the November 8, 2010, regular meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Carlis Nixon, 1556 Wilson Court, believed it was important to distinguish between bus rapid transit systems and Lane Transit District's proposed EmX system. She questioned how the two systems could be compared. The EmX system had reduced stops and expensive lane reconfigurations; bus rapid transit did not involve expensive construction and did not have reduced stops. Ms. Nixon asked the council to direct LTD to analyze an enhanced system with reduced stops and to determine the costs of providing more stops. She said unlike other communities with which she was familiar, there was no provision for parallel service on EmX routes with reduced stops. Drix, a resident of the West University Neighborhood (WUN), spoke of the transitory nature of students living in his neighborhood and the challenge of working with a student population. He reported that the WUN had a new neighborhood organization chair person as well as many new neighbors. He commended the Eugene Police Department and noted the recent celebration recognizing Officer Randy Ellis' 40 years of service. He said Officer Ellis was connected and committed to the neighborhood. Drix noted that Veterans Day was approaching and expressed appreciation for the country's veterans. He repeated the five words he offered to every veteran, reporting that he always found them to be acceptable: "Thank you for your service." Roy Benson, 570 Filmore Street, owned a business on West 11` Avenue and was opposed to the proposed EmX system. He recalled that Councilor Poling had reacted in a sensitive manner to a suggestion offered in testimony at a recent Public Forum that the EmX system would result in the rezoning of property along West 11 Avenue. He said the week after he read Councilor Poling's reply to George Cole's e- mailed apology, the newspaper printed an article about a piece of property on the road that would need to be rezoned. He wondered if Councilor Poling's reaction was because he knew that. He also recalled Councilor Ortiz's remarks about modeling the Eugene system after the system in Bogota, Columbia, and said he had done further research and learned that Bogota had 8.5 million people. He did not think Eugene was anything at all like Bogota. MINUTES— Eugene City Council November. 8, 2010 Page 1 Regular Meeting