City Council, May 28th

Maybe the most interesting thing at Council tonight is a clarifying motion by Councilor Bennett to close the public hearing on the third bridge on Friday, June 21st:

I move that the Salem River Crossing Public Hearing be continued to the June 24, 2013, Council meeting and that the record be held open for written testimony only. I further move that the record for written testimony be closed at 5:00p.m. on Friday, June 21, 2013, so that Council may have time to review the record in its entirety prior to the June 24, 2013, meeting.

Given the amount of material to review, this makes good sense. But it underscores the importance of submitting comment and testimony before the hearing and not just showing up in the belief you'll be able to speak.

Also a move to extend the reporting of the Parking Task Force from May 31 out to August 31.  With the contentiousness of metered parking, and the need for debate and outreach, who's going to disagree?  (Meanwhile, Salem Cherry Pits has shared more on the initiative petition to ban metered on-street parking downtown.  And why, on the contrary, metered parking might be a good idea here.)

There's material on an airport ground lease rate.  And a couple of "tax enterprise zone tax abatement" extensions.  One for Garmin AT at the airport, the other for Hanard Machine in West Salem.  Don't know whether these are good or bad deals for the city and its citizens, but if you're interested in the scale, scope, and ROI of business tax incentives, here's some raw data for you.