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Speaking to the proposed West Eugene EmX extension, Mr. Rubin objected that LTD was making service reductions while planning to increase its budget by $1 million to underwrite the costs of West Eugene EmX service. He did not consider the project sustainable because of that and suggested that the City ask LTD to identify the source of funding for future West Eugene EmX operations now. He did not think the payroll tax increase would be sufficient to operate the route in the future. He also believed LTD should identify now the areas it was contemplating for future reductions. Mr. Rubin did not accept LTD's contention that EmX represented increased service in West Eugene, pointing out it would have fewer stops a greater distance apart than the current system. He objected to the fact that LTD had never tried an express service on West l 1 1h Avenue although it clearly had the advertising budget to promote such an express, as evidenced by its advertising in support of the West 11 th Avenue EmX project. He believed LTD had lost sight of its real mission in its desire to secure Federal Transit Agency (FTA) funds. He did not think congestion would be solved by a giant bus, and pointed out that existing park and rides on along West 1 l Avenue were not used to capacity. He said that forecasts can be wrong, and planners can issue rosy but wrong projections. Keith Edding, 1970 Columbia Street, called for open and honest discussion of the status of school funding as the reductions being contemplated by Eugene School District 4J would damage the schools, erode public confidence, and erode Eugene's positive reputation as a place to live and do business. He moved to Eugene in part because of the solid reputation of the public schools. His daughter was getting a reasonable education but had large classes and was losing time to furlough days. He believed conditions would worsen as a result of the draconian reductions he anticipated the district would adopt and as a result the district's schools would not meet State requirements. He called on the council to exercise its leadership and refer a City income tax devoted to K -12 to the voters. Pete Mandrapa, 4120 West Amazon Street, a retired teacher, said he moved to Eugene because of the reputation of its schools. He said in the 1970s and 1980s he worked in an exemplary school system where teachers and students were well- supported. Things had changed with the passage of Ballot Measure 5 when funding responsibility for the schools was shifted to State government. The State income tax was a more volatile source of funding than the property tax. During the 1990s the school system started going downhill and class sizes began increasing. He supported a City income tax because the community needed to do something about the funding shortfall in the short-term while the State worked toward a long -term solution. Josef Siekiel - Zdzienicki, 1025 Taylor Street, indicated support for an income tax dedicated to K -12 education. Speaking to the proposed West Eugene EmX route, Mr. Siekiel - Zdzienicki said that LTD wanted a 15 -foot easement in much of the 61 -mile route that it planned. That added up to a lot of easements, and he thought the public should be alerted to that. He called for synchronization of Envision Eugene and the EmX route planning effort. He said that every property owner living along all the transportation corridors being discussed should be notified of the potential impact of the Envision Eugene process and he promised that many people would show up to share their concerns. He believed that having the policy discussion now would avoid the need to have the same discussion later for the other corridors. Jeff Morton, 93103 Powerline Road, said he owned the Boulevard Grill and also had children in the local schools. While he appreciated the cause, Mr. Morton did not support a sales tax on restaurants because people would either spend less or opt out of dining in restaurants altogether. As a result, unemployment could rise in the food service industry. He pointed out that the community was already seeing a trend toward limited menus and food carts due to the lower costs of those businesses. Restaurant profit margins were thin, particularly for non - franchise restaurant owners. MINUTES— Eugene City Council January 11, 2010 Page 2 Regular Meeting