02.10.20 City Council Work Session Minutes

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MINUTES Eugene City Council Harris Hall, 125 East 8th Avenue Eugene, Oregon 97401 February 10, 2020 5:30 p.m. Councilors Present: Betty Taylor, Emily Semple, Alan Zelenka, Jennifer Yeh, Mike Clark, Greg Evans, Claire Syrett, Chris Pryor Mayor Vinis opened the February 10, 2020, work session of the Eugene City Council. 1. Executive Session: Pursuant to ORS 192.660(2)(e) City Council met in Executive Session pursuant to ORS 192.660(2)(e). 2. Work Session: Town Square Project Update Urban Development Manager Will Dowdy gave an update about the Town Square Project and asked for decision points about City Hall from City Council. Discussion Councilor Clark- asked about the continued increase of construction costs and the impacts of state legislation on those costs; said he was hoping the City would set a budget and decide what it can get for that, instead of making decisions before a budget is put in place; said he has asked about how long the Downtown Urban Renewal District would have to be extended in order to fund a $22 million dollar city hall and that the voters will not support an extension; said asking for money on the ballot to fund city hall will fail; said he would vote no on each decision today because this is the wrong approach for moving forward. Councilor Taylor - said she thinks the City should build for the future and not pursue a building that will be torn down in 50 years; said she'd like a third choice on the first motion, including bringing City offices that are currently renting space to city hall so that they are all in one location; said she thinks the underground parking is worth doing and much needed downtown, especially after the butterfly lot is removed; said she wants to first ask what is needed in a city hall and what is good for the future of the city and then figure out where to get the money; said environmental sustainability of the building is important, but not the LEED certification, and that she supported the hybrid seismic standards. Councilor Syrett - said she's not in favor of building additional office space to lease or to house other city offices; said she's not in favor of the underground parking because it's too expensive and conflicts with goals to discourage people from driving; thanked staff for bringing the costs and options for environmental standards forward; said she supports city policy and working towards LEED silver certification; asked for an example of monitoring that creates the $40,000 cost for administering the certification; said she's in favor of the "safety plus" as an alternative for seismic standards because it protects the investment in the building without needing immediate occupancy; confirmed that the building would be insured up to $75 million dollars. Councilor Zelenka - said he's not sure cap and trade would contribute to the cost increase of a building and that energy efficiency would bring costs down over the long run; said adding more floors would increase the cost and that there was an analysis done that showed the City's leases are cheaper than adding new building space and he's in favor of a modest building that meets basic needs; said it's important that the public meeting space be multi -purpose and overlooking the market and plaza; asked how many underground parking spaces would be possible and said he was not in favor of adding it; asked how maintaining certification standards adds value to the MINUTES - Eugene City Council February 10, 2020 Page 1 Work Session