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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 07/13/09 Meeting M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber—Eugene City Hall 777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon July 13, 2009 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Chris Pryor, George Brown, Andrea Ortiz, George Poling, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka, Betty Taylor, Jennifer Solomon. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. 1. CEREMONIAL MATTERS 2010 Census Proclamation - Mayor Piercy read a proclamation affirming the City of Eugene’s commitment to the 2010 census process. 2. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Paul J. Biondi , 1625 Henderson Avenue, #F3, thanked the City Council and Mayor Piercy for talking about the benefit for the Musicians Emergency Medical Assistance (MEMA), an organization started to help people in an industry that did not have medical insurance. He stated that more than 92 percent of musicians and people who worked in the industry had very little or no health insurance. He suggested that the City Council sign its support for MEMA in a memorandum or proclamation at some point in the future. He said they had held several fundraisers and had helped approximately 12 different people in the industry with bills they faced when injured or unwell. He noted that musicians were often the first people to come forward to help raise funds for deserving issues. He asked the City and also Lane County to support its artists, musicians, and people in the industry because their income was far less than that of a white collar worker. He announced that musicians would be performing at the World Music Festival, a MEMA benefit, on July 26 at Sweet Cheeks Winery. He hoped that this information could be published on the City’s website. Kenneth Reed , 2459 Haig Street, thanked the council and Mayor for inviting the musicians to speak. He underscored his pride in being a musician. He said musicians lived life differently than most people. He related that when most people were sleeping, they were working and entertaining strangers to “give them an opportunity to go home with a smile on their face.” He stated that MEMA had been created to meet needs of musicians. He thanked Mayor Piercy, in particular, for supporting the fundraising events for MEMA. He commented that people had no idea who the musicians were who provided the music for commercials seen on television, for instance. He underscored that everyone needed someone to help them at least once. He said it was important to have the local elected officials come out and support events such as the World Music Festival. th Lynda Duffy , 940 East 35 Avenue, echoed the musicians’ thanks to the council and Mayor Piercy for allowing them to present MEMA. She underscored that it was about musicians supporting musicians. She MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 13, 2009 Page 1 Regular Meeting noted that she did not have health insurance. She stated that MEMA was a safety net for musicians, their families, and the people who ran lights and sound and stages. She declared that music was the universe communicating to everyone. She listed some of the bands that planned to play for the World Music Festival, noting that MEMA had sponsors but needed more. She said MEMA also needed “a light to shine” on them so that more people knew that it existed. th Eugene Drix , 307½ East 14 Avenue, commented that the Public Forum seemed a little slow when he did not participate. He wanted to give an intrinsic gift to the community. He wanted to “spin” the two holes in the downtown area as opportunities. He observed that the world was in a hole now. He said there should be a value placed on the “Aster” hole; the holes should be shined up like a used car someone needed to sell. He suggested that if the holes were filled with the right thing, the community would grow, and the community should fill the holes with love. He acknowledged that a building should go into the hole, which meant that commerce should be involved as well as residences and entertainment. He thought it would be nice to have a campus downtown with “minds walking around with big questions.” He said the downtown could be a place where people lived and stayed and went to school. He averred that they had to do it one step at a time and everyone should cross their fingers. Mayor Piercy closed the Public Forum. She expressed appreciation for the representatives of MEMA coming and sharing their testimony. She said Eugene was the City for the Arts and Outdoors and the musicians were part of the arts. She wished the musicians did not have to hold fundraisers for health care. Councilor Clark thanked the three musicians. He appreciated the value that they brought to the community. He added that the Public Forum was really a lot less fun when Drix did not come. 3. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes - January 28, 2009, Work Session - April 13, 2009, City Council Meeting - May 11, 2009, City Council Meeting - May 12, 2009, Work Session and Executive Session - May 20, 2009, Work Session - May 27, 2009, Work Session B. Approval to Tentative Working Agenda C. Resolution 4985 Approving a Low-Income Rental Housing Property Tax Exemption for the Property Located at 560-588 South Danebo Street, Eugene, Oregon (Prairie View, LLC, Applicant) The Consent Calendar had been approved during the preceding Work Session with the exception of Item C. Councilor Zelenka, seconded by Councilor Clark, moved to approve Consent Calendar Item C, a resolution approving a low-income rental housing property tax exemption for the prop- erty located at 560-588 South Danebo Street, Eugene, Oregon (Prairie View LLC, Appli- cant). Mayor Piercy explained that the council had pulled the item because it was a “great project” and asked Urban Services Manager for the Community Development Division Richie Weinman to speak about it. Mr. Weinman agreed that Prairie View was a great project. He said it would provide 64 homes for people and was built on a land bank site, which meant it was purchased by the City of Eugene and held for a future MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 13, 2009 Page 2 Regular Meeting low-income housing project. He felt that the City Council had been visionary in its support for the land bank program. He said the City had acquired over 20 land bank sites over the years and, since 1989, the City had assisted in the creation of over 1,600 new homes for low-income households, most of which were on these sites. He stated that the land banking program was just the first step; it was all of the other financing pieces that made the housing affordable to low-income people. He related that for this project, the final critical and, therefore, the “most important step,” was the property tax exemption, which would lower the rents by about $100 per month. He stressed that this could be the difference between who could afford to live there and who could not or, if someone was already living there, it could be the difference between paying a mortgage and being able to afford food or shoes for a child as well. He noted that a majority of the councilors had attended the opening ceremony for the project a few weeks earlier and had seen “what a great project” it was. Mayor Piercy asked Mr. Weinman to elaborate on some of the additional elements included in the project. Mr. Weinman responded that Metro Affordable Housing had built the project. He noted that the other local low-income housing developers included St. Vincent DePaul, the Housing Community Service Agency, and NEDCO. He said all of the projects included elements beyond housing. He related that this project had one of the “coolest” playgrounds one could find, special housing units for people with some disabilities, some support systems, a homework club and some computers for everyone to use, and people who could provide training. He averred that some people just needed the housing, but others also needed a helping hand. He believed that the project would change family’s lives into the future. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Mayor Piercy noted that Councilor Pryor had a motion he would like to place on the table and requested that he do so. Councilor Pryor said he wanted to put a motion before the council to bring back the resolution designating the Willamette Bicycle Bridge so that they could change the name to the Dave and Lynn Frohnmayer Bicycle Bridge, in recognition of their contribution to the City of Eugene. Councilor Pryor, seconded by Councilor Clark, moved to direct the City Manager to bring back a resolution that would designate the Willamette River bicycle bridge as the Dave and Lynn Frohnmayer Bicycle Bridge. Councilor Solomon ascertained that the bridge in question was the one that crossed the river from the Riverfront Research Park to Autzen Stadium. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. The meeting adjourned at 7:51 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jon Ruiz City Manager (Recorded by Ruth Atcherson) MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 13, 2009 Page 3 Regular Meeting