Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

Home Browse Search

said this was the type of project that fit the no-bid contract and was allowable according to ORS 279. He averred that the crux of the process was the speed of delivery, coordination of trades on a complex site, the provision of public benefit to the public agency involved, and having a contractor that had public contracting experience and good rapport with the contracting community. He stressed that there was still “plenty of public bidding opportunities” built into the process as over 90 percent of the hard costs of construction would be competitively bid by local trades-people, vendors, and subcontractors in the community. He hoped the council would support the process. Kelly Saito , 1120 Northwest Couch Street, Suite 600, Portland, stated that he worked for Gerding/Edlen Development Company and his company partnered with the Broadway and High Associates to put forth the proposal for this development. He asked for approval on the resolution to grant the sole source exemption. He commented that it was unfair to paint Whole Foods Grocery as a corporate baron coming to town to put local businesses out of business. He felt it was a good company that would provide good jobs. He pointed out that Whole Foods had been consistently ranked as one of the 100 best companies to work for. He predicted Whole Foods would be a steward to the community and to the environment. He also wished to underscore that the parking garage project was not a subsidy to the Whole Foods Grocery. He stressed that Whole Foods was paying a premium to be in this location and was paying for its parking. He asserted that the store could purchase land with surface parking for far less in the outlying areas of the city. Mike Schwartz , 725 Olive Street, said he and his family had owned a business in downtown Eugene for 69 years. He had served on the Downtown Commission, the Downtown Development Board, and the Eugene Renewal Agency. He stressed that Whole Foods Grocery was “everything” the Downtown Plan that had been passed in 1984 wanted, both in scope and in the parking garage. He wondered why this debate was being held at all. He stated that the city and its citizens had spent millions of dollars and thousands of hours of volunteer time trying to set up a downtown just for the projects it was now beginning to see proposed. He averred that any downtown in the country would love to have a Whole Foods Grocery interested in locating there. He wondered why people were finding ways to oppose a project that was in perfect harmony with the Downtown Plan. He found it ironic that most of the opponents to the project were in support of smart growth principles and were anti-sprawl. He called the project a “poster child for smart growth.” He said there was a documented need for parking in the proposed area and the City would never get another garage in such a strategic location and at a better price. He felt this was an opportunity to say ‘yes’ to exactly the kind of development that Eugene’s downtown vision and plan called for. He added that in the late 1960s Eugene had said ‘no’ to Nordstrom’s and the store had gone to Salem. Alex Brokaw , 1123 Barber Drive, asked the council to trust Planning staff. She said they had studied and researched the proposal. She felt that should this project fell apart as a result of the “actions of a vocal minority” then it was very possible other plans for revitalizing downtown Eugene would go down the drain. She urged the council to “stay the course” and vote for downtown Eugene’s future. Ruth Duemler , 1745 Fircrest Drive, opposed the parking garage project. She predicted that the cost of gasoline would increase to $10 a gallon in ten years. She felt it was short-sighted to focus spending on a parking garage and suggested that the money would be better spent on the library. She predicted a future with small neighborhood grocery stores that supported small local farms. She supported the idea of extending the park blocks to the river. She imagined that Eugene residents would adjust to a healthier lifestyle that involved more walking and bicycling. th Michael Coughlin , 860 West 38 Avenue, stated that he was a downtown building owner and co-owner of the only privately held garage downtown. He indicated that the parking garage was over 100 percent full. He had reviewed the Downtown Plan over the past few weeks and agreed there was a need for parking in the MINUTES—Eugene City Council -- March 13, 2006 Page 17 City Council Meeting