February 8, 2012
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Wednesday February 8, 2012 |
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Letters from August 4 - November 26, 2001
Cartoon comments are enlightening - and people are commenting!
You can see others reactions to specific cartoons. Open the past cartoon page, click on a cartoon, and then scroll down. You'll see "Viewer Comments," click on it and you'll read reactions to that cartoon. You can also just scroll on down the page.
Message Board's a Great Place to See What Others Think!
There's not much talk on the Board. If you haven't visited it yet, you'll find more opinions and points of view. Feel free to add your own thoughts or start a new topic.
Every letter is verbatim, as we received it. We have not edited letters (though we did correct a few obvious typos and an expletive or two - some might have been intentional, so we left them).
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What with preference voting and the West Eugene Parkway, wešve been overwhelmed. So, we havenšt been posting letters from our members. Our apologies.
These are letters wešve received over the past month. We appreciate everyonešs encouragement. Keep talking!
I hope you did get the article in today's Register Guard (10/28) read and noted the deplorable negative attitude exhibited by our city manager. No wonder the ultra liberal and foolish members of the city council seem to be able to accomplish their will. Also it is well to remember what David Kelley said at the City Club meeting to air thoughts about the West Eleventh Parkway when re tried to reassure everyone by saying that if 2054 pass "I will instruct staff to begin the process of going ahead" on the parkway. He really believes he runs the city.
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The Eugene City councilors (BBD S&G) Bonnie, Betty, David, Scott & Gary are getting a handle on urban sprawl in the City soon to become a town. The property owners in Eugene should brace themselves now that the evil corporations (you know, the ones who were providing the jobs and tax base) are gone or going and guess who is left to pick up the tab.
Those living close by need to prepare for the anticipated onslaught of council efforts to include them in the Eugene city limits (simple declarations by this council are not new). Don't let this arrogant council do it to you again (remember the Santa Clara sewer and water fiasco). Even after the courts said it was illegal, the city attorney indicated that the court didn't say they had to reimburse them, just that it was illegal. One bright spot is: If stupidity and ignorance were illegal, most of this council would be in jail.
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I am so glad you are doing this. I feel when I have voted in the past for a city councilman its just a pick and go. Those of us who work don't really have a chance to get to know these people and how they would represent us. Keep up the good work. We would like to have a councilman that would truly represent us and keep in contact with their constituents.
Youšre doing a great job. Good work. Keep it up. Just what the city needs. I was hoping you would initiate this. Thanks so much
Wonderful! The Charter needs to be amended to do this. Great!!!!
I think this is a stupid idea. We have enough trouble with the council without this!!!
YES - this is one of the best changes to be proposed so far.
My vote has always been for the Citywide Council Elections! It is the only
fair way to make things happen. Good Luck!!!!!
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The city has still not let anyone know the facts about the $4 million, and now we find out the City has settled yet another law suit ($30,000 worth) stemming from inappropriate e-mails and perhaps outright slander of a local business (there I go using that B word). The really amazing part is the council doesnšt seem to believe giving away our tax dollars is a big deal.
They have not condemned their own actions, nor have they fired anyone, boy the city legal bill must be scary. Why are these people still in office? Oh, I forgot most of them were elected with less than 20% of the total voters. They are kind of like moss and mold; they just appear and mess up their surroundings.
Now we are up to $4, 030,000.00 in settlements for mistakes by our city councilors and city staffers, still nothing from Bern Johnson and the CPA. I wonder if Bern Johnson even lives in the city? Hey, Bern I hear there is an Oriental restaurant you can harass.
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3000 homeless and low-income people were fed at the Whittaker school alone. That does not include what the different churches did and the amount of food boxes that were given out by those same churches. We have the highest rate for heroin. Could it be because that is where the money is in this town and that we are seen as the place to come to for it? Our police force hasn't enough personal to handle the mess we have here. Even if they did someone would scream about it.
Why is it that we don't have the jobs where a man or woman can make enough money to buy a Thanksgiving dinner for their families? The stores are worried that it will be a slow holiday season for them. Well the lack of money around here comes from the enormous about of minimum wage jobs. When all you make after taxes is around $700.00 and then only if you get 40 hours a week. It can be real hard to think about Christmas, when you pay the rent and utilities and eat also.
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SUSPICIONS CONFIRMED!!!!! Big construction who recruited a couple of ringers to fool the public.
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All of the city is affected by the votes of our City Councilors, so why should not all of the city vote for all of the City Councilors. They will undoubtedly not change the present policy so lets get an initiative put on the ballot for a citywide vote.
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"Destination square"
Imagine if you will:
Robert
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You Rock!!!
Everyone in the area is talking about the Gang of Nine cartoons--- They are so funny and true to the situation of the area. I just want to say thank you for making everyone aware of the issues we are letting our city council control. It is about time people stand up and out for our declining economy. This is a wonderful place to live--- let's make it possible for people to make a living.
Go Number 9!!
Keep up the good work!!!!!! I have truly enjoyed what you 9 have made happen in this city! Other folks are now aware of what many of us were already aware of! Continue the cartoons! Maybe council will get the hint the public does have say in what happens in this city!
Jan
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My, you've certainly learned how to re-write reality. Was Orwell's "1984" your study guide?
I just went to your "Who are we?" web page, and was astonished to see that any mention of John Musumeci has been erased from that page. You could have added a note that he had been involved but had recently resigned, but that would have been the truth.
Instead, you just re-wrote history, and poof! It's as if he never existed..... Pretty slick....
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I have followed the controversy of PeaceHealth, the city council and the gang of 9 very closely.
My son was born at Sacred Heart over 21 years ago and from his first breath to now he has been admitted more times than I have fingers and toes to count on. I also live in the North Eugene area and have never once complained about the commute. It's time for everyone to back off and let the hospital do the business it needs to do to provide the utmost in quality care. We as citizens don't know what it takes to run a hospital (although some of us think so) but we sure expect the best when we need it the most.
If you the Citizens for a Hospital in the Heart of Eugene have all the answers and experience of running a hospital, why don't you build one?
A concerned citizen
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The will of 80% of the voter spoke in favor about this project & the same will of the people will vote out the council members that voted against it. I live in the Danebo area & traffic is a mess now. How long do you have to fumble around with this much needed project? You people all most lost the federal court house project, You lost a $4,000,000 lawsuit, Peace Health is looking at a Springfield site & now you want to screw up the Westside Parkway. I think the silent majority of voters should not wait for anymore of the type of city government we've been getting & start a recall of the people responsible for throwing my hard earned income so you can throw it away on law suites. Why wait for an election before these people from office. Also tell me where you will make up the taxes that peace health pays when they leave Eugene. Bob Eastgate an angry voter.
As a citizens, we elect people to represent us in governing bodies, i.e., city council and of course the Mayor. Usually we expect our representatives to THINK about what we the citizens would like accomplished with our tax dollars, and of course laws and policies.
It does appear that the current council doesn't want to hear from the people they are elected to represent (i.e., ALL the citizens of Eugene). I believe the parkway will be passed by the citizens of Eugene (again), but I am losing my faith in the current council, and doubt they will act on the vote (unless it fails of course). But by not having a city wide ballot to determine the real feeling of the citizens, we can depend on the same old rhetoric from the same old council members.
It is becoming obvious to me that city wide elections are not only a good thing, but the only thing that will bring sane government back to the City of Eugene.
Please listen to us, and give us a chance to really tell you what we want
done with our community. Put the Parkway on the ballot.
One of the widely repeated lies about the W. Eugene Freeway is that "we voted for it". This was even a line in one of those awful cartoons. It is, apparently, a lie that you believed, as it led you into being part of the Gang of 9.
We, the citizens of Eugene, did not vote for the W. Eugene Parkway. The state said, "We're going to build this. Do you want route A or route B." That was the vote--which route do you want?
Ironically, the route chosen by the voters is no longer the route planned, should the thing be built as presently designed?
We never voted for the WEP. The council did not change the will of the people by trying to kill it. Those who continue to hollar otherwise are either lying or misinformed.
Mike Helm
I feel it is unfortunate to have to waste the taxpayers money to revote on something the taxpayers have already voted for but since the city council does not feel they can adopt this plan that the people want and have spoken for; then by all means a new vote should go forth. It is not reasonable to expect the taxpayers to pay for the cost of said vote, it is the city council personally that should pay for the entire process not the taxpayers.
Yes, it should be voted on again, due to the congestion that occurs in the West Eugene area! It is not the developers that cause growth, it is all the folks who move into this area, causing us to think ahead, and plan for better hiways in the future!
The decision Sunday to have the West Eugene Parkway project again voted upon by the voters may the single most important occurrence impacting Eugene livability in 30 years. Having lived in this community during those years, I have seen limited, if any improvement in the traffic congestion on West 11th. The correction to this transportation bottleneck is long overdue.
As was so well stated in a recent letter to the editor that growth is product of people not, developers, or growth advocates. The growth will be there with or without good strategic planning. Let us do the "Right thing right" and proactively anticipate that growth.
I would strongly urge that the council recommend West Eugene Parkway be returned to the voters to once again validate that support.
Thank your attention to this important matter.
What is it that you (City Council) do not understand about the passage of this by 80% of the voters? Just a thought for you people. I believe some where in the past you fell off the track and forgot where you live and what is best for the community.
As a professional Business person I have done the same. Do what needs to be done as I have done. Go back and find where you fell off and get back on and then plan what is expected of you as our leaders to move forward and then work the plan. Make it your "MOTTO" Plan your work and then work your plan
Recollections from a Gray Beard.
I do get amused at certain members of the council, concerning their fixation on the wetland issue as it pertains to the West Eugene Parkway. If they live in Eugene, they live on a wetland unless they live on a hill. The city of Eugene is located on wetlands.
I can recall seeing people row a boat on Pearl St. between 14th and 19th Streets. The first people to build on 19th St. between Willamette and Patterson Streets had water around their homes nearly every winter. Water stood all winter from 19th Street South.
When the school board decided to build South Eugene High School on 19th Street, people could not believe it. However when the Amazon Creek was deepened, widened, and lined with concrete (which by the way was a matter of some controversy) not only was the High School possible, the Amazon Park was also possible. I am also concerned about the environment, however the fixation of some council members over 30 or 40 acres of wetland is ridiculous.
I came to Eugene in 1920 and the population was as I recall between 15 and 20 thousand. I grew up on 7 acres of property across the road from the Wayne Morse Ranch Park. I rode my horse all over the South Hills of Eugene, and could shoot my twenty-two rifle in most any direction without fear of hitting any person or building. Selfishly I would have liked Eugene to stay this way. However if a city does not grow it dies. Growth must be accommodated with adequate transportation. Let's build the West Eugene Parkway.
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I am wondering where the Citizens for Public Accountability are? We have a city council that gave up $4 million of our dollars (real cash not tax subsidies), and the possibility of even more money yet to go. But not one word from the community expert Bern Johnson and his infamous CPA.
Could it be that we actually have "card carrying members" of the CPA on the City council? Or could it be that since the recipient of the $4 million is not oriental, it is OK to squander the city budget.
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Once again the City Council has arbitrarily ruled. We're being forced to pay for monthly yard waste pick up whether we want it or not. I support recycling this waste, and do currently without help from the city, which I'd like to continue doing. I wonder also, have our City Fathers given any thought to the fragrance of 62 gallons of weeks old grass clippings in the middle of Summer?
Frank Ryan
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I think I found out why people get so frustrated that Measure 7 & and Gangs of Other Numbers are part of Oregon life. In our case, our frustration occurs not in Eugene but one block outside of the Urban Growth Boundary, and I haven't seen anything about this particular type of zoning mess in any news.
We purchased a 1939 house on the corner of Crest Drive and Chambers in October of 1997. We knew it needed a lot of work, but loved the one-plus acre with a country feel. We liked the location; close to work but right outside of the urban growth boundary.
We lived in the house for a couple of years and began to plan some repairs and changes. A flat-roofed 60's-style porch hung off of part of the front of the house. The concrete, earth-filled front steps were broken and sagging. We planned to replace the porch with one that complemented the roof line and style of the house while replacing the old roof before it started leaking. This would involve extending the porch down the length of the front of the house 11 more feet while maintaining the 6 foot depth of the existing porch.
Neither Crest or Chambers are even recorded on the title to our property; our "property line" extends somewhere out into the middle of the streets. Well, we knew that couldn't be right, so we went to the county maps room and got a map that showed a 50 foot right-of-way for Crest
Drive. Our inquiry to the county confirmed that the setback was 20 feet from an existing right-of-way. That meant we needed to be sure that the closest corner of the porch was 45 feet from the center of the road. We breathed a sigh of relief when we measured the corner of the planned porch at 48 feet back from that point.
The plans were drawn up, papers signed to start the clock on the construction loan, and plans submitted to the county almost a year ago. We'd get the roof off, new dormers framed upstairs, and the porch replaced before the rains started in earnest. My husband, a contractor, set aside late summer and fall to work on our own house.
And then we learned about something called "planned right-of-way."
It doesn't show up on title searches when you buy property.
It doesn't show up on county maps.
It isn't an easement, and the county won't pay you for it, but it restricts the use of your property.
It's INVISIBLE.
And it affects the value of our home by making it a "nonconforming structure." That means that any change to our original house makes it "more non confirming" and we have to apply for a variance.
We learned this in mid-October while wondering where our permit was. A letter arrived telling us that a 70-foot planned right-of way existed on Crest drive. That meant that the right-of-way was potentially 35 feet from the center of the road. And the 20 foot setback from there? Well, because of the configuration of the land (Probably the steep bank from the existing road) an additional 10 feet was needed.
65 feet from the middle of the road.
Right through our living room.
"But only if we ever put the road in," we were told.
When we received a letter from the county telling us about this planned right of way, that's the first we'd ever heard of it. It's the first our neighbors had heard of it too, and some of them have lived here for 10 or more years. One neighbor had even completely renovated a garage within this boundary, fully with permits, and the county had never mentioned it to them.
But our 66 square feet of "new construction" by way of an extended porch set off a wave of events that were expensive and time consuming.
By Christmas, still no permit. Our Christmas money went toward an $800 dollar application for a variance. Now, mind you, that is just a request to put our nonconforming porch onto our nonconforming house; there was no guarantee that the application would be granted.
I must say the guys down at the planning and public works departments were polite and as helpful as they could be (with only one exception) within the restrictions of the Lane County Code. They answered as many questions as possible to help us determine, before we threw the money out, what the likelihood of getting the variance approved would be. And they helped us, a little bit, learn how this could have happened.
I looked online for the Lane County Code that addresses planned right of ways. No luck. I found information telling me what they were, but not how they were brought into existence. So a trip to the library and a few bucks worth of copies later, I had part of the code to show my husband Dan. It was a list of roads in the county Including in Eugene) and planned setbacks for them. At the bottom of these pages were a baffling array of numbers. Another trip to the County offices, and I learned that these were the dates of meetings that were held when any one or more of the roads listed on that particular page were discussed. I could go to another department in the county building and ask someone to help me sift through each of these dates, going back through meeting notices as long ago as the 70's, to find out when Crest Drive was planned as a "collector" and our land potentially affected by the decision.
Is this a process the average homebuyer goes through before buying a house, or even knows about? Hardly. A call to the title company yielded an explanation that did not surprise me; the right of way is not in the public records so does not show up in title searches. And we have a doggone good realtor who has dug around during other property searches to double-triple check on issues we weren't aware of but she was, and this was news to her. The only not-helpful person at the County offices that I encountered through all of this told me, simply, that if we "had just come and asked beforehand" this whole mess wouldn't have happened. Gosh, I'll remember that next time. What would the cost to the county be if every potential buyer came by to check and see if an invisible, unrecorded right of way is planned on their property?
We tried to use a sense of humor to get through the fall while half of our possessions were in a storage container next to the house and we were camped out in the bottom story of our two-story house. Dan built a plywood Christmas tree and painted it green. He finished it off with an array of brass screws, which we hung a few ornaments on. Our "stockings" were paper Miller Paint buckets.
We coiled up some house wire, wrapped it with pink and green ribbon used to mark property lines (or invisible planned right-of-ways) and hung it on the door as our wreath. The piece de resistance was a couple of pieces of galvanized metal rain gutter with red and green colored water inside, on which floated votive candles--our centerpiece for Christmas dinner.
And as the new year arrived, so did our permit. But by then, Dan had other job commitments to clients so our own house work has turned into a weekend project. This has wreaked havoc with our bank and the construction loan process. And we are just about tapped out of humor, our most important survival tool when we take on fixer projects.
It may be a drought year, but when you have to tear your roof off in the dead of winter because the bank wants the construction completed by April, it seems very, very wet. The water stains on the downstairs ceiling are a reminder that tarps work only when the wind doesn't blow. Even when you hang sash weights from the old windows from the corners of the tarps. The wind comes up at 3:30 A.M. and "bang! bang!" those sash weights start pounding the old siding that you were going to have to rip off anyway......
All laughing-so-we-don't-cry aside, when our repairs and remodeling are completed, the effects of this process on our property continues in perpetuity. The County has effectively "reserved" 20 additional feet of our land. Running down a 300-foot side of our property, that amounts to 6,000 square feet, or the size of a modest-sized city lot. Now, they tell us it isn't an easement and that we can use it. "Use it?" What does that mean? Our use is restricted in a way that we were not aware of when we purchased the land. We had planned to add a master bedroom addition to the house someday, but have now scrapped those plans. It seems unwise to invest more into a nonconforming structure, and the variance process would add expense (we figure the 66 extra square feet of porch ran an additional thirteen dollars per square foot). If we ever sell the land, we have to disclose our knowledge of the planned right-of-way, and that will negatively impact the selling price.
Fortunately, we want to stay here, or we'd feel very trapped. And while we think that designating this portion of Crest drive as a heavy traffic road is misguided (90 percent of eastbound cars go up Loraine Highway from the west, and cars coming down Crest from the East turn at Chambers---or miss it and dive into our driveway to turn around), we do appreciate PARTS the proactive and farsighted planning process going on. What we have a problem with is that decisions are made about property owners' land that they may not know about upon purchase, and that, while county officials maintain that "it's still our land" and that "we can use it," the use of our property is restricted by county planning but we aren't compensated for it. It's like they have "reserved" our land but won't pay us for it or allow us the use of it in a typical fashion.
We added a layer of plastic on the outside wall of the house to cut down on the cold air coming through when the siding was off in February (that was our President's Weekend project). We got the new roof on by March, and until the upstairs was insulated and finished we sealed off the stairwell in an effort to keep the heat downstairs. I spent spring weekends insulating and hanging drywall, and my then my summer vacation was time was used to do painting.
Right now, we are exhausted and have almost run out of jokes. We look forward to sitting on the new porch in future years and enjoying safe electrical and plumbing in the repaired part of the house.
And when this job is done and I settle on the porch, I'll be sure to watch out for cars driving through our living room.
Kris Wilson
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