CC Minutes - 02/28/11 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES Eugene City Council Council Chamber —City Hall 777 Pearl Street — Eugene, Oregon February 28, 2011 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Betty Taylor, George Brown, Andrea Ortiz, George Poling, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka, Chris Pryor, Pat Farr. In the absence of Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy, Council President Betty Taylor called the February 28, 2011, regular meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. PUBLIC FORUM Councilor Taylor reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Zachary Vishanoff, no address given, notified the public of two hearings regarding the expansion of the University of Oregon's Casanova Complex scheduled on March 16, 2011, at 5 p.m. in the Sloat Room of the Atrium Building. He identified issues of concern related to the expansion proposal, which included impacts on the Willamette Greenway, Alton Baker Park, surrounding neighborhoods, and tailgating activities. He hoped someone appealed the any decisions that resulted from the hearings so the community "could have reasonable planning outcomes on our riverfront" as opposed to what he termed "letting the big bucks shred it apart and unilaterally redesign it." Mr. Vishanoff provided the council with copies of an article from The Eugene Weekly entitled Pat Kilkenny Invested in Courtside? He asked Councilor Zelenka to think about his presentation to the City Club regarding the business of the arena and to comment. Mark Callahan, 3621 Mahlon Avenue, indicated opposition to a resolution introduced by Councilor Brown that replaced an earlier council resolution referring an income tax for schools to the voters. He suggested that while it was stated the intent of the resolution was to preclude low- income residents making less than $22,000 from being subject to the tax, he believed it was Councilor Brown's strategy to create the exclusion to gain the support of the student voters in his ward who would not have to pay the tax. He believed the lack of an opportunity for public comment for the replacement resolution suggested the council was "trying to pull a fast one on the citizens of Eugene." He said the replacement resolution expanded the list of those who would be able to vote for the tax but would not be required to pay it, such as Mayor Piercy. Mr. Callahan recommended that government address the cause of the schools' budget shortfall, which was PERS, rather than reacting to the symptoms of the problem with a new income tax. He said that the temporary gas tax that was later made permanent made Eugene citizens wary of additional "temporary" taxes. He predicted that residents would not support the proposed tax to continue the current system. John Dotson, 2447 Canterbury Street, said the public had the right to more clarity about the foundations for the decision about the West Eugene EmX route before more work occurred. Mr. Dotson asked if MINUTES — Eugene City Council February 28, 2011 Page 1 Regular Meeting