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MINUTES Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber--City Hall April 12, 2004 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Gary Papd, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Bonny Bettman, George Poling, Jennifer Solomon. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Scott Meisner, Nancy Nathanson. His Honor Mayor James D. Torrey called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Torrey explained the rules for the Public Forum. Noting that there were 31 people signed up to speak, he requested a motion from the Council President to extend the time allotted for it. Councilor Bettman, seconded by Councilor Poling, moved to extend the Public Forum to one hour, and to allow each person two minutes of testimony. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 6:0. Mayor Torrey explained that councilors Nathanson and Meisner were absent due to illness. Gary Nauta, 88139 Keola Lane, Springfield, president of the International Association of Firefighters local, said he provided his testimony and further information in writing. He spoke on the proposed privatization of fire protection services at the Eugene Airport. He asserted the only beneficiary of such privatization would be the airlines, and not the City or its citizens, as they pay for the fire service with landing fees. He related that staff felt high landing fees might reduce airline interest. He countered that airlines had recovered somewhat from the tragedy of September 11,2001, with increased routes through Eugene and the City's successful bid to attract Delta Airlines. He opined there was no danger of losing airline routes due to landing fees. He thought the issue should have come before the City Council a year earlier. He requested the work session on this issue be moved to April 21 or May 19, preferably the former, rather than in June as scheduled. Jon Pincus, 590 West 12th Avenue #5, spoke regarding the building located adjacent to the WOW Hall at 865 West 8th Avenue. He noted that WOW Hall staff and supporters had spoken to the City Council about this building at a previous meeting. He said the building was in good structural condition and would not require further fire and safety upgrades. He commented that this would dramatically reduce the cost of redevelopment. He asked the council to consider allowing the WOW Hall to utilize the building and possibly purchase some of the surrounding property in order to provide a buffer to the WOW Hall. Bob Bussel, 3054 Grand Cayman Drive, director of the Labor, Education, and Research Center at the University of Oregon, urged the council to join the emerging nationwide debate on the social and moral implications of Wal-Mart's impact on workers and communities. He quoted an editorial in The New York Times that stated that Wal-Mart workers were among the working poor. He said one of the ways it