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appeared that Wal-Mart had low prices was that it paid wages so low that most employees could not afford to purchase health insurance from the company. He cited a statistic from Atlanta Constitution that indicated that 10,000 of the 160,000 children receiving state-subsidized health insurance were children with a parent who worked at Wal-Mart. He quoted another statistic from a Harvard Business School study which found that Wal-Mart spent $1,300 less annually on employee health care than other retailers and wholesalers. He stressed that when such employers fail to pay adequate wages and provide inadequate benefits they were a hidden cost to taxpayers and communities. He said low-wage workers were more likely to draw on food stamps, housing subsidies, and other social services. Mr. Bussel added that the entry of such an especially tight-fisted employer into the community compelled competitors to whittle at their own employee costs, which translated into lost jobs and smaller paychecks. He averred this unaccountable corporate power was having a serious effect on the dignity of labor, the quality of community and civic life, and the power of communities to decide what constituted the public good. He noted that Wal-Mart liked to wrap itself in "American values" while failing to recognize that one American value was fair treatment of and equitable compensation for labor. Jill Schwab, 90 East 40th Avenue, expressed concern regarding the proposed expansion of the Wal-Mart located on West 11th Avenue into a "super center." She believed the expansion could have far-reaching negative impacts on the community if it was not stopped. She said predatory pricing was a common practice of Wal-Mart. She noted that a Wal-Mart in Conway, Arkansas sold 30 percent of its pharmaceu- tical line below actual cost and drove local pharmacies out of business. She felt further expansion of the local Wal-Mart could potentially lead to the demise of small local groceries. Ms. Schwab stressed the importance of looking at what sorts of jobs the expansion would create. She stated that Wal-Mart was well-known for hiring part-time employees to avoid paying benefits. She added that Wal-Mart managers were instructed to let people leave if business was slow. She felt the expansion could cause grocery stores with union-represented workers to reduce contracts. She pointed out that Wal- Mart often closed one or more of its smaller stores in an area upon opening a "super store" and 400 such stores currently stood empty nationwide. She urged the City Council to immediately pass a moratorium on commercial development over 15,000 square feet in order to allow time to consider the impacts of such "super stores" and to avert "this damage to the community." She submitted her testimony and recommen- dations in writing. Kathy Ging, 2878 Harris Street, submitted her testimony in writing. She stated that a group of investors planned to make a proposal to purchase the building by the WOW Hall. She suggested the community had consternation about the process, criteria, and timeline for the request for proposals (RFPs) that the City postulated regarding possible sale of the parcels next to and the lot located behind the WOW Hall. She related the original four community groups interested in the purchase were no longer involved, but the new investors had conceptual support from the Farmers Market, which might be interested in renting space if it was bought. Ms. Ging said Eugene had purchased the parcels ostensibly to landbank them for low-income housing while maintaining options. She related that one City staff person had recommended to the Housing Policy Board (HPB) that cooperation with an integrated community group and collaboration between private business and government would be the sort of creative partnership needed to redevelop downtown. Ms. Ging opined that the process was being stacked to accommodate outside developers who could pay now and plan later as the timeline for the RFP had been planned to end in July. She recommended bumping the deadline back to October. She asserted that the City should issue an initial RFP for development proposals for sale and use for the building and lot in question. She felt that, should those proposals not be successful, the City could then issue an RFP for housing proposals. She thought housing was incompatible with the neighborhood. She predicted police activity would greatly increase as the decibel level sometimes