CCMinutes - 06/14/04 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

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Kevin Matthews, PO Box 1588, president of the Friends of Eugene, doubted the Eugene Airport could provide a critical mass for a robust independent fire service contractor. Mr. Matthews opposed limiting testimony to two minutes as most people came with three minutes of prepared testimony. He thanked Councilor Taylor for her opposition to the limit. Mr. Matthews asked that Item (D), concerning a road right-of-way issue, be removed from the Consent Calendar and discussed in greater detail. He asserted the transportation infrastructure planning in the courthouse area was not right because there had been and continued to be systematic misrepresentation of public testimony. He alleged that staff had dismissed 17 pieces of testimony without giving it consideration. Nick Urhausen, 2858 Warren Street, called the recent election results a "legal left-wing takeover" of City government. He advocated for City Councilors to be voted into office citywide instead of by ward. Ron Teninty, 999 Brookside Drive, a 37-year representative of the Teamsters Union, shared that he had dealt with the issue of privatization in many venues. He said the reason privatization worked was that it "got the job done more cheaply" and the reason the job was done more cheaply was that it paid workers less. He asked the council to consider the long-term effect on morale of sending a message to employees that their jobs were up for bid any time and all of the time. He stressed that the value would no longer be placed on the quality of the work of an employee and this would degrade services. Floyd Prozanski, PO Box 11511, State Senator, provided Bill Dwyer's comments in writing as a favor to his fellow colleague. He agreed with Mr. Dwyer that first responder services should never be privatized. He called it a "commitment with the community" to ensure the services were there. He reiterated that, in the event of a catastrophe that a contractor could not take care of, Eugene Fire and EMS would be called, and there would have to be cross-training to make this work. He felt such training with a private contractor would be unfeasible. Mr. Prozanski registered his opposition to the use of motorized vehicles on the bike paths as they posed a safety hazard. Mayor Torrey closed the Public Forum and called on the council for comments. Councilor Taylor apologized for the two-minute limit on Public Forum testimony. She reiterated her opposition to the privatization issue. She felt the evening's testimony to be very compelling. Regarding testimony on agricultural land, Councilor Taylor conveyed her firm belief that it should stay zoned for agricultural use, as that type of land was needed. Councilor Pap~ noted, with interest, the level of attention the privatization issue had brought to the foreground. He stated that when the City of Eugene had tried to raise interest in regionalizing the airport in order to gain more support from the surrounding area for it, no one stepped forward. He said the City paid from the General Fund into an Airport Marketing Fund. He suggested, given the level of interest in the airport, the creation of a special district be reinvestigated. He felt it unfair that the promotion of the airport should only fall on the backs of the taxpayers of Eugene. Councilor Bettman apologized for the shortened time for testimony. She added that this had been a part of council process rules adopted by a majority vote and it was important to adhere to the rules. She encour- aged all those who testified to submit their testimony via email to the council. She stressed that it would all