CCMinutes - 05/10/04 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council. The State remedies placed a large burden on tenants. The tenant had to contact the courts two days ahead of time to arrange for a translator. Going to court cost money. He called for a local enforcement mechanism that did not intimidate tenants. Housing was a human rights issue. Ron Teninty, 999 Brookside Drive, supported a moratorium on big box development to allow for the community to debate the issues. He acknowledged some such businesses were good community citizens while others relied on the taxpayer to subsidize their operations. He cited Wal-Mart as an example of the latter. He advocated for standards allowing the community to discern which developments were good and which were not. He provided staff with additional names of people in opposition to big box developments. David Hinkley, 1350 Lincoln Street, #6, represented the Lincoln-Westside Neighbors. He said the association supported housing standards as being in the best interests of the neighborhood. He said that homeowners supported the standards as a way to improve the neighborhood's appearance; renters supported them as a needed protection. He noted that process of going to court took longer than the eviction process. Mr. Hinkley emphasized the importance of an enforcement mechanism. Adam Petkin, 625 East 13th Avenue, #5, incoming Student Body President at the University of Oregon (UO), said the establishment of housing standards was a major priority for his administration. He spoke of a situation in Minneapolis where students were killed due to smoke inhalation. The property management company involved had more than 660 complaints over seven years, but the City of Minneapolis did not respond until after the deaths. He thanked the council for scheduling a work session on the issue. He thought housing standards in Eugene were long overdue. The State system was inadequate. Eugene was the largest city in the state lacking such standards. He asked the council not to wait until a tragedy occurred. George Kjaer, 814 Lorane Highway, represented the Eugene Glass School, which was celebrating its fifth anniversary with a party on May 15, to which he invited the council. He reported that David Kline from the Sonora Glass School of Tucson, Arizona, recently visited Eugene and informed him that the City of Tucson had given him a grant and building to start a glass school. In addition, he noted that Lincoln City in Oregon recently started a glass studio and was trying to start a school as a result of the efforts of Brian Duncan, who originated the 2000 glass floats project. That effort doubled Lincoln City's winter motel occupancy rates. He asked the council to consider the school's contribution to the community, and suggested the council consider a week in October prior to an annual function conducted by the school to designate as ~Glass Week." David Sherman, 3810 Watkins Lane, was present with other members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). He said IATSE rarely came to council meetings but on the occasion of its 75th anniversary wished to let the council know they were the people working backstage; if they were not seen, they were doing their jobs well. He recalled the local history of IATSE, from 1929, two years before movies had sound. Mr. Sherman noted that IATSE had worked with the Hult Center from its inception, sometimes doing highly technical work. Ruth Maura Atcherson, 325 Crocker Lane, speaking as a member of IATSE Local 675, said union members were present to put a face on the union. She spoke of the many tasks performed by IATSE members, and said it was the union's goal to make everything backstage happen seamlessly and if as by magic. She termed herself a ~theater nerd" and said union members loved their jobs. She described the tasks she had performed at recent Hult Center events. She felt blessed to work in such a fine facility, and said she heard nothing but compliments from those who came to Eugene with road shows, who were thankful to encounter experienced union crews due to the amount of money involved in putting on such an event.