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Councilor Solomon, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved to approve the items on <br />the Consent Calendar including the minutes, as amended, from the May 17, 2006, <br />Work Session. <br /> <br />Councilor Papé pulled Item D. <br /> <br />Councilor Kelly said he had previously submitted minutes corrections. Mayor Piercy noted the corrections <br />and deemed them, without objection, approved. <br /> <br />Councilor Bettman indicated she also submitted corrections to the minutes. Mayor Piercy deemed the <br />corrections to the minutes, without objection, approved. <br /> <br />Roll call vote; the motion to approve the Consent Calendar with the exception of <br />Items D, passed unanimously, 7:0. <br /> <br />Regarding Item D, Councilor Papé assumed that it was part of the intention of the agreement finalized one <br />year earlier to finalize the conveyance of ownership of the property to the Metropolitan Wastewater <br />Management Commission (MWMC). He wondered why the property was under the ownership of the City <br />of Eugene in the first place, whether Eugene had paid for the property and, if it had, whether Eugene was <br />being compensated adequately for it. City Manager Dennis Taylor asked Wastewater Division Director <br />Peter Ruffier to respond to the questions. <br /> <br />Mr. Ruffier stated that the proposal before the council sought to transfer 95-plus acres to the MWMC to <br />complete the definitions and the ownership of the regional wastewater treatment plant. He said the original <br />boundary covered approximately 62 acres. <br /> <br />Councilor Papé asked why, if the City of Eugene owned it and had acquired approximately 30 more acres, <br />had there not been some compensation paid. Mr. Ruffier replied that there had never been any compensa- <br />tion paid for the original Eugene Wastewater Treatment Plant, nor had there been any compensation paid to <br />Springfield for the original Springfield treatment plant, both of which were envisioned to be transferred to <br />the MWMC in the original 1977 agreement that formed the commission. <br /> <br />City Attorney Glenn Klein understood Councilor Papé’s question somewhat differently. He explained that <br />the additional acres had been purchased by the City of Eugene and, at that time, MWMC had either <br />reimbursed the City or fronted the money for it. He clarified that the transfer had been conducted in this <br />manner for legal reasons. He underscored that the City of Eugene had not paid for this property from its <br />funds. <br /> <br />Councilor Papé asked if this was the case for the original acreage. Mr. Ruffier replied that the original <br />acreage had never been compensated for by a transfer of funds. Councilor Papé ascertained from Mr. <br />Ruffier that the City of Eugene paid for the original 62 acres and asked why no compensation was being <br />offered for it. Mr. Ruffier stated that the original agreement envisioned a transfer of funds, but over the <br />years, staff wrestled with the issue of who owed what and for what. He asked the council to keep in mind <br />that the regional wastewater system served both Eugene and Springfield and roughly two-thirds of the <br />ratepayers were in the City of Eugene and one-third in Springfield. He clarified that the ratepayers would <br />pay for the facility in that proportion. He reiterated that Springfield abandoned its wastewater facility and <br />had not been compensated, just as Eugene had not been compensated. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 26, 2006 Page 3 <br /> Regular Meeting <br /> <br />