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in conjunction with Springfield, and noted that Eugene would participate in a study related to <br />consolidation and mergers, and it would cost that City approximately $45,000 to add Eugene to <br />that effort. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner was concerned that Eugene was working on the subject of building materials but <br />other jurisdictions were not. <br />Planning and Development Department Director Tom Coyle discussed the department's progress <br />on the work plan activities under the goal Sustainability Community and Growth. <br /> <br />Mr. Rayor commended the work done by staff on the hospital issue the previous year and hoped <br />that staff would keep the work done in conjunction with that issue ready as events unfolded. He <br />asked about the financial status of the Permit and Information Center and the impact of the <br />implementation of the Land Use Code. Mr. Coyle believed that in three months he would have a <br />better assessment of the impact of the code on center's financial status. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly agreed with Mr. Rayor regarding staff's work on the hospital issue and commended the <br />department's swift response to some of the unintended consequences of the code. <br /> <br />Referring to the work activities on pages 8 and 9 related to downtown economic development, Mr. <br />Kelly expressed concern that work was not progressing in a timely way and urged staff to propose <br />adequate funding to the Budget Committee in the fiscal year 2003 budget. Focusing more <br />specifically on the work activity related to an economic development strategy in general on page 9, <br />he questioned how progress could be made without more resources. Mr. Kelly was very <br />concerned about that. He recommended that staff bring the associated resource issues to the <br />council soon and do what was possible to seek funding sources outside the City. He recollected <br />interest on the part of the Institute for Sustainable Ethics and Economics in working with the City <br />on the subject, and the City received a letter from the Rocky Mountain Institute volunteering to <br />raise matching funds. Mr. Johnson said that there had been a recent contact between staff of the <br />institute and the Chamber of Commerce on the topic. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner concurred with Mr. Kelly's concerns about the economic development strategy. He <br />noted a concern about the City's progress in protecting downtown housing, and said that opening <br />Broadway may create pressure for the conversion of such residential structures to commercial <br />uses, which heightened his concern about the delay. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner was pleased with the planning going on around the site of the new federal courthouse <br />and former Chiquita area. He questioned how the City could integrate its plans for downtown with <br />the courthouse development area. He also expressed concern that the Planning Commission was <br />embarking on planning for the Chiquita redevelopment without anyone thinking about the costs <br />involved, such as the funds that would be required to move the road, for example. Noting that the <br />City had preliminary cost estimates, Mr. Johnson reported that at the third public meeting there <br />were good comments from both staff and the consultants regarding the cost of the project and the <br /> <br /> MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 28, 2001 Page 3 <br /> Goals Process Session <br /> <br /> <br />