New recreational facility to get
lion’s share of room tax funds
ay LUHHAINE NELSON
Of the Emerald
A public facility for recreational, cultural and
tourist activities is in store for Eugeneans after Mon
day night s city council meeting. The council passed
a resolution which will allocate 40 per cent of city
hotel-motel room tax funds toward the facility.
An additional 10 per cent of the room tax funds can
also go toward the central facility if the Room Tax
Committee so desires. Room tax funds this year
amount to approximately $180,000.
According to council member Betty Smith, the
40-10 per cent split in funds allows the city flexibility.
Smith said "it is possible that 10 per cent of the funds
would be needed to build another building — a
museum for example.”
Smith said the next step would be to conduct a
study to determine what type of facility would best fit
the needs of Eugene. The Room Tax Committee will
have future public hearings to allow for citizen input
on the issue.
Remaining room tax funds were divided equally
between recreational and cultural activities and
tourist-related functions.
Speaking as a member of the Room Tax Commit
tee, Mayor Gus Keller said the committee hoped
the 50-25-25 split would remain in effect for at least
two years However, the council can change the
resolution at any time.
jnctlman Ray Bradley was concerned that local
er and cultural groups could not afford high rents
resoiuii
>ur
on a large facility. He asked if there was a way small
groups could be subsidized or assured they would
not be excluded from using the facility. Keller said the
city council would discuss these questions when a
proposal for the type of facility to be built came before
the council.
Of the nine people who testified on the issue during
the public hearing, no one opposed the 50 per cent
allocation for facilities. At a public hearing April 6,13
organizations supported the facilities’ portion of the
resolution, and two opposed it.
The council was unable to agree on an ordinance
giving the mayor the authority to appoint a new Room
Tax Committee. The existing one will expire July 1.
The Room Tax panel is a budget subcommittee that
makes recommendations for expenditure of room tax
funds.
Councilman Jack Delay said he felt committee
appointment by the mayor would be blatantly unfair.”
Councilman Tom Williams and Bill Hamel said the
mayor had been elected by the whole community to
represent the people and saw nothing wrong with
Keller making the appointments.
The council will decide who will appoint the Room
Tax Committee at its next meeting May 9.
A 1968 ballot measure authorized the collection of
room taxes amounting to three per cent of hotel
motel room charges. The tax was intended for the
acquisition, construction, operation and mainte
nance of cultural, recreational, convention and
tourist-related activities.”
the
Plant
Plumber
By MICHELE PEEPLES
For the Emerald
We aH know the water Situation
in many areas is going to be tight
this summer, and many of us who
are conscientious con servers or
plant lovers will be concerned and
' cunous about how to stretch the
.^^r supply
1^-e of the biggest questions
yotf may ask is whether dish or
bathwater can be used to water
thirsty plants. Dishwater which
contains bio-degradable soap
(ones m which certain chemicals
can be broken down to eliminate
harmful toxins or poisons), can be
used when watenng houseplants,
but it is not recommended for use
on vegetables or edible plants
Bathwater is not recommended
on edible plants due to the possi
bility of contamination
Bleaches, chlorines and boron
substances are definitely not re
commended for use on both
houseplants or edible ones as
Used dishwater satisfies
dry, thirsty house plants
they are toxic to the fotiage. If
bleach has to be used in water
which is to be saved for watering
outside plants, as in irrigation
watenng, use as little bleach as
possible, and let the water sit
overnight before applying it to the
soil
Containers of soaps and clean
ing aids will list their ingredients on
their labels, so it is a good idea of
pay particular attention to these
labels when considenng the use
of dishwater or bathwater in water
ing plants, both edible and not
Another point to consider is the
acidity of your soil and how your
plants will react. The addition of
soaps to a soil will increase the
acid content in it so you may want
to check which plants will benefit
from this addition and which ones
will not. Your tomatoes may thnve,
but your lettuce or beets may be a
little more comfortable with a
neutral soil.
There are still other means in
conserving moisture in and
around plants.
Humidity around houseplants
may be increased by setting
plants on trays of pebbles in which
water has been added. The water
level should be just below the pot
so that plants are not sitting in
water Grouping plants together
will raise the humidity even higher
as well as lending an exotic at
mosphere to rooms.
If plants must be set next to a
very sunny window, try planting
them in plastic pets to cut down on
watering. Plastic pots will not rob
the soil of needed moisture as the
porous clay pots do.
If plastic pots are not available,
try placing plants and their original
pots into a ceramic pot which has
been lined with moist sphagnum
moss. The addition of sphagnum
moss to the soil will also aid in
keeping plants moist for a longer
period
A light misting of water on
foliage will also raise the humidity
level. This should be done early in
the morning so that plants will not
be left with "wet feet' at night, and
so that foiiaye will not burn when
the sun becomes warmer later in
the day.
Outside vegetable plants and
flowers may benefit if a thin layer
of mulch is applied to the soil.
Mulches have a tendency to retain
water so that more moisture will
be available to the soil when the
very hot weather sets in. Be cauti
ous not to apply mulches too heav
ily, though, as they may absorb
more water than necessary, pre
venting water from reaching roots
below the soil.
Whatever your conservation
methods are this summer, re
member to read the labels on
cleaning aids carefully, do not
apply toxic substances to vegeta
ble plants as they may harm the
plants (and you) and be sure to set
out buckets to catch any rain
which may just happen to fall!
r~
If Experience Is Your Guide...
/ery year the University community elects seven
new members to the ten member Bookstore Board of
Directors.
le Bookstore feels that less turnover every year
would promote more efficient management of the board.
amendment has been proposed to extend the
term of office for all members of the board to two years.
This way only 5 new directors would be elected each year
and the board as a whole would be more experienced
and better able to manage the Bookstore affairs.
Vote For the Bookstore’s
Amendment
Vote May 2-3
U of O Bookstore
13th at Kincaid
phone 686-4331
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PKotto 343 0014 PlMne 343-0013