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<br />Mr. Kelly thought the downtown area was not as bad as some believed, but it had a long way to go to be the <br />center of the city. Downtown needed to be revitalized as a means to give Eugene a sense of community. A <br />successful downtown includes magnet destinations, and that means some people will drive to get there. The <br />library was another magnet and he believed there were more to come. <br /> <br />Regarding the issue of parking, Mr. Kelly suggested a successful downtown would have neither too much <br />nor too little parking. He did not think the garage felt “out of balance” in that regard. <br /> <br />Regarding the issue of the competitive bids, Mr. Kelly pointed out the two structures would share <br />connections and ramps, and he believed the construction project would be much messier if two contractors <br />were involved. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor believed this was a sad day for Eugene. She wanted The Shedd and its music school to succeed <br />and had initially supported the land exchange, but she did not think the matter was urgent. She was <br />convinced by the eloquent testimony of many citizens that Whole Foods was not a good thing for Eugene. <br />Eugene needed food security in the form of local foods. Whole Foods would bring more people to <br />downtown driving cars. She would not vote for anything that would help Whole Foods locate in the <br />downtown. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman said she initially supported the expansion of The Shedd’s music school but was told at that <br />time it did not involve any subsidies to Whole Foods. She said unlike other councilors, she had not met with <br />representatives of the Guistina Family, so she had not known of “this blatant subsidy.” She opposed the <br />motion because it was predicated on the entire development. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman maintained that the council was suggesting the parking garage would result in downtown <br />revitalization but she had heard that message before. The City built five parking garages that were not at <br />full capacity. The City had limited resources and there were many plans worthy of the funding spent on the <br />project. Ms. Bettman believed the council was taking the proposal on faith. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman maintained that shoppers at Whole Foods would use the parking provided by the City. She <br />said that the Whole Foods Web site made it clear that it was a policy of Whole Foods to locate only where <br />close-by parking was abundant. She further maintained that “other, independent” researchers had done <br />studies that indicated Whole Foods would require “a lot more” than the 240 spaces planned. She indicated <br />that she would address the issue of the funding sources for the project, as she believed there were higher <br />priorities for those funds. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor believed Ms. Bettman made good points about the higher priorities for the money involved; for <br />example, she believed it could be invested in the street preservation or the arts. Just that morning The <br />Register-Guard ran an article about the Eugene Opera having to lay off staff. The opera was in trouble <br />while Eugene claimed to be a great city for the arts and outdoors. She thought that the opera would be a <br />good place to invest public money. She thought the City should be investing first in Oregon Research <br />Institute, which she believed was a local, sustainable business. Ms. Taylor saw no demonstrated need for <br />the project. <br /> <br />Noting it was not likely she would have to cast a vote on the issue, Mayor Piercy discussed her position. <br />She said she had weighed the pros and cons of the issue and wanted to stand up in support of her colleagues <br />who endorsed the project because she believed they had deliberated in the same manner. She thought their <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council March 15, 2006 Page 4 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />