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which could be used to expand services and leverage federal matching funds for various capital construction projects. LTD worked cooperatively with local transportation agencies to maintain the road infrastructure, which was also critical to the business community. Ms. Hocken suggested that targeted transit investments can assist in economic redevelopment, as demon- strated by Portland's light rail project. LTD investments could also serve as a catalyst for investment. She expressed appreciation to local businesses for their support through the payroll tax. She urged adoption of the committee's recommendations. Scott Purcell, 3425 Strathmore Place, commended the Mayor's committee for its work and its recommenda- tions. As a business owner and a father, he supported adoption of the recommendations. He wanted to see those in the community now lacking opportunity to have the ability to secure a job. He advocated funding for the commercial/industrial lands survey. He called for an accurate inventory of those lands. Mr. Purcell said a strong economy was good for the people, and he trusted the council to be balanced in its approach. Corey Neu, 2344 L Street, vice president of the Eugene Association of Realtors, expressed the association's support for the recommendations of the Mayor's Committee on Economic Development. He specifically supported the recommendation for a commercial/industrial lands survey. He said such an analysis was critical. He said the committee's overall recommendations would improve the business climate. All the recommendations represented common ground and a high degree of committee consensus. He called for funding for such a commercial/industrial lands study, saying it would demonstrate the council's commitment to a strong economy and community quality of life. Jim Portland, 3311 Lakeside Drive, asked the council to support the recommendations of the Mayor's Committee on Economic Development. He thanked the council for recognizing the community needed economic development. He thought the committee's recommendations were essential and represented what the community wanted as expressed through the City's annual survey. He cited some of those results, and asked the council to keep them in mind. He supported funding the proposed inventory of commercial and industrial lands. Amy Dufour, 746 East 19th Avenue, expressed her continued support for housing standards for rental housing as she believed the current system was inadequate and too costly and time-consuming for renters. She shared a memorandum from housing advocate John Van Landingham, one of those involved in creating the current system, identifying problems with that system. Virginia Starling, 3302 Storey Boulevard, questioned the signage throughout her neighborhood regarding the upcoming community meeting about the collector street proposal for the Crest Drive neighborhood, and asked why the meeting was open to the general public. She suggested that the Planning Division had hired a public relations firm to spread ;;propaganda" about the project. James Reed, 990 Crest Drive, questioned the hiring and cost of a public relations firm to facilitate the upcoming meeting between City staff and neighborhood residents regarding the Crest Drive neighborhood collector street proposal. Residents had not been consulted about the agenda for the meeting. Given the timing of the meeting, which he believed was to be held after the council went on break, he questioned whether any councilors would be in attendance. He asked that the streets in question be designated as local streets rather than collector streets. MINUTES--Eugene City Council August 9, 2004 Page 3 Regular Session