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public transportation. Councilor Ortiz reported that she recently met the mayor of Bogota, Columbia, which employed such a system very effectively. While she acknowledged that Eugene was not on the scale of Cleveland, she had been impressed by the Cleveland system in the 48 hours she had spent in that community. She said that many stakeholders had been involved and their issues were addressed. She perceived the value of the system and believed it contributed to that community's quality of life. She suggested that in the context of the "whole picture," a Eugene EmX system made sense. Councilor Ortiz pledged her personal support to helping business to remain viable if West l P Avenue was chosen as the route. Mr. Poling addressed comments made in testimony. He emphasized his belief that EmX was not a zoning issue. It was a build or no -build issue, and he wanted people to stop talking about rezoning. Councilor Poling said he had never described West 11 Avenue as a strip mall or ugly and urged those who accused the council of doing so to point to the person who made the comment and when it was made. He looked forward to the analysis and was keeping an open mind. Councilor Poling pointed out he was on the advisory group for the Coburg EmX route and had wanted that project to work, but had to vote against it in the end. Councilor Taylor believed strongly in transit but did not think the issue was transit or no- transit. She believed in buses and was not convinced bus rapid transit was the solution. She said the community needed connecting bus routes and all should be able to reach a bus. She thought the extension should go down West 6th and 7 th avenues but had not decided how she would vote. She acknowledged the potential that LTD could receive federal money for construction costs and wished that LTD could request federal money to expand bus service. She suggested it was an economic development issues. Poor people needed buses to reach work and services and if they did not have buses they were handicapped. Councilor Taylor emphasized her interest in ensuring that transit was available to everyone. Mayor Piercy said the council had lobbied for operations dollars but the federal government does not provide that money. Councilor Clark thanked those who spoke. He wanted to support the West Eugene EmX route but was troubled by its impact on businesses and an over - burdensome effect on individual businesses. He agreed with Councilor Ortiz that the council needed to consider the big picture but it was also charged to protect the rights of individuals. He suggested that individual property owners would be affected disproportio- nately for a service that will benefit the entire community. He did not think that that LTD should make those business owners pay for that shared benefit. He hoped to keep an open mind and be better educated on the subject. Speaking to Councilor Polings's remarks objecting to statements about zoning, Councilor Brown pointed out that the subject of rezoning along West 11 Avenue had been discussed in the context of the Envision Eugene process by the Community Resource Group. He offered to share the group's comments with Councilor Poling. 2. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes - June 16, 2010, Work Session - July 26, 2010, Council Meeting - August 9, 2010, Work Session - August 9, 2010, Council Meeting MINUTES— Eugene City Council October 25, 2010 Page 7 Regular Meeting