Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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capacity. He stated that if the City was going to continue to offer all of the youth in the community an opportunity to participate in athletic programs and meet its responsibility to its adult athletic programs, the best investment it could make would be to build more all-weather fields. He thought it was imperative that the City Council look at the immediate need the City had for athletic fields and this would improve the chances of the bond measure passing. Kathy Ging , PO Box 11245, recited the Oregon State Motto, “She flies with her own wings.” She said implementation of Oregon Constitution Article 11(d) required a non-partisan, three-member, statewide elected commission to oversee energy production in Oregon. She averred that it would provide local jobs and long-term permanent rate relief and would keep economic benefits at home. She asserted that currently Oregon was “funneling money to out-of-state corporations.” She felt that Oregon could be tapped for solar, wind, geo-thermal, bio-fuels, tidal, and hydroelectric power. She said the Oregon State Grange added Article 11(d) to the constitution through the petition process in 1932 and voted in 2006 to sponsor its implementation in the Oregon Renewable Energy and Fuel act of 2006. She opined that the State was at a historical crossroads to correct a “leadership vacuum” where renewable energy, economic development, and environmental advocates could unite. She supported creation of this commission through a petition to get it on the ballot. Dave Clark , 869 Aldridge Place, spoke in support of building more synthetic playing fields. He under- scored that the City currently had more than 600 soccer teams and over 200 football teams, as well as th lacrosse teams in the 8 grade and below. He said the best fields owned by the City could only support two games per day, while the synthetic fields could support up to seven games per day. He stated that the fields were greatly needed by the youth of the community. David Hinkley , 1350 Lawrence Street, #1, objected to merging three public hearings into one. He cited Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) 294.480(4), which mandated a public hearing prior to taking action on a supplemental budget, and subsections under ORS 279 that allegedly required a public hearing be held prior to taking action to exempt a process from competitive selection. He called it “unforgivable” that the council would choose to combine the hearings as it did not allow enough time for testimony. He felt it was “regrettable” that the council had “left to the last minute” something as controversial as the East Broadway garage project. He opined that lack of planning on the City’s part did not constitute an emergency and it was no reason to combine the measures or to shorten the speaking time to two minutes. Marsha Edwards , 2350 Jefferson Street, advocated for inclusion of five additional fields for community sports in the bond measure for the parks and open spaces. As a current member of the Kidsports board of directors, she said the organization was “desperate” for additional playing fields. She noted that lacrosse was the newest sports craze and the City fell short in meeting interest in that sport was because of facility limitations. She asked the council to consider community youth sports programs in parks planning. Jared Allison , 1513 Mill Street, read the mission statement for Leadership Education Adventure Direction (LEAD): “Our mission is to develop the leadership skills of low-income youth, empowering them to address community problems and change the world.” He thanked the councilors for the interest in meeting with LEAD members. Mr. Allison stated that life assignments were long-term goals that LEAD members chose for themselves. He said his life assignment was to be a positive role model for LEAD teens and show them the values of LEAD such as devotion to staying out of the juvenile justice system and staying in school. He explained that the reason he did so was that teens needed a positive peer role model. He described a good LEAD teen as MINUTES—Eugene City Council -- March 13, 2006 Page 3 City Council Meeting