CC Minutes - 09/27/99 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ms. Nathanson asked staff to ensure that what was being purchased and planned now would meet the future demand. She asked to take a step back and review the effect of not buying the medium-sized property to the east. Ms. Andersen said both staff and Amtrak had discussed the expansion needs, noting there could be further acquisition to the west if the property owner opposed going further east. She said staff was requesting flexibility in the attempt to work out a negotiated agreement about how the project would eventually look while keeping in mind the notion that the structure, in and of itself, was not adequate for the long term. Mr. Larsen added that the high-speed rail study identified a 1,500-foot expansion just to the west of the existing station to make it adequate and staff would certainly anticipate doing that at least. Ms. Nathanson said it appeared that the council wished additional discussion time and she believed further discussion of the actual negotiation would be best discussed in executive session. Ms. Andersen said that at this point staff was directed to move forward with acquisition of the property without coming back to the council unless staff was unsuccessful in negotiations, adding that there was no current process for involving the council in the actual negotiations. Ms. Nathanson said an executive session might be appropriate if too many details were revealed at the table. Mayor Torrey asked the council to be prepared to take action on the item at the next council meeting. B. Work Session: Priorities for Five-Year HUD Consolidated Plan Linda Dawson, Planning and Development Department provided a PowerPoint presentation on the plan, noting that the council would be adopting the next Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Consolidated Plan in April, 2000. Mr. Kelly ascertained that copies of the PowerPoint presentation were not available and asked staff to provide them hereafter as they are very helpful for making notes on specific points. Ms. Dawson said this was a joint effort with the City of Springfield and Lane County. She said the plan encompasses a process that identifies and addresses needs in housing, homeless and in community areas, and was required by HUD for a variety of funding sources. She reviewed the plan's three components: a needs assessment; a housing market analysis; and a set of long term objectives/priorities and strategies to address those needs. She indicated that the public process had started in June with a kick-off public hearing and included a steering committee with representation from all jurisdictions and others. Comment boards have been placed at over 70 community locations on the Internet, and advertised on bus posters. Ms. Dawson said staff would develop a draft plan and hold a second public hearing in December. The draft plan would be released in January, a final public hearing will be held in March, 2000, and final council action has been scheduled for April 24, 2000. At Mr. Rayor's request, Ms. Dawson described the survey she distributed to the council. Mr. Meisner said he was surprised at the low figure allocated in the council survey for households with children, adding that was his highest priority. Mr. Lee reported on the HUD conference he had attended recently in Kansas City, saying the disparity between the rich and poor was starkly apparent in that city. He said one of the problems locally was that housing projects were not integrated with work force development services, something Kansas City was successful in doing. Mr. Lee said the federal government was interested in "one-stop" centers, a combination of employment services/workforce development in school districts. He expressed disappointment that housing was left out of that discussion, which is part of the "best practices" guidelines. Ms. Dawson said MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 27, 1999 Page 3 5:30 p.m.