CC Minutes - 11/08/06 Work Session

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Ms. Taylor indicated she would support the amendment but she did not agree that it needed to be in the legislative document. She thought the document should be pared down so that anyone could pick it up and see what legislation the City was supporting. Mayor Piercy called for the vote. The motion to amend the main motion, as amended by friendly amendments, passed unanimously, 7:0. Ms. Solomon, seconded by Ms. Ortiz, moved to restore on page 25 of the draft under the “local Flexibility for Enterprise Zone” section in Recommendation 1, the word ‘additional.’ Mayor Piercy explained that from her perspective the City was looking for additional opportunities for the State to give the City more flexibility when it came to community standards. Ms. Taylor thought ‘flexibility’ spoke to the intent by itself. Ms. Bettman asked legal counsel if the word would make a difference. City Attorney Jerry Lidz stated that the word ‘additional’ would imply that there was some local flexibility and the City would like more flexibility. The motion to amend passed, 6:1; Councilor Taylor voting in opposition. Ms. Solomon, seconded by Ms. Ortiz, moved to delete on page 29 of the draft, under “Funding for Streets” Recommendation 1, Item “h,” the words “supports an elected Lane Transit District (LTD) Board.” Mayor Piercy said while she may support an elected LTD Board, she could not support it in this document. She felt this was unnecessarily disrespectful to a community partner and would be seen as cross- jurisdictional interference that would not help local efforts on many fronts. She added that it would be appropriate to address the issue if it came up during the legislative session. Mr. Kelly asserted that it would come up during the session given that State Senator Bill Morrisette brought it up during the last legislative session. He said the City Council raised concerns in the past about the appointment process. He did not believe it to be a “slap in the face” to the LTD Board. Ms. Bettman averred that there were “many issues” in the document that anticipated issues and were proactive. She believed that given that LTD was eligible for transportation funds, its budget should be approved by an elected body; that was democracy. She felt that in terms of how important transit was, the board was making very important transit and resource decisions. Mr. Papé concurred with the Mayor. He did not favor an elected board at this time. He said “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” He pointed out that the LTD Board was obviously a “heavy” volunteer position. He felt it would be prohibitive to get good candidates to run district-wide for positions. In response to a question from Ms. Ortiz, Ms. Walston clarified that her recommendation for the amend- ment, if approved, was that it should be moved somewhere else in the document. MINUTES—Eugene City Council November 8, 2006 Page 3 Work Session