CC Minutes - 11/08/99 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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decision and the fact a bond election could not be held before the decision date. Mr. Rayor said another issue was urban planning. He briefly described the GSA's plans for the site previously selected and suggested that it would not have as adverse an impact as was feared. He pointed out that the property owners of the lot had the ability to create a similarly sized building now in the absence of a height limitation and the lot's location in the parking exempt zone. Mr. Rayor suggested that the needs assessment be completed and the council consider how to deal with the police and fire functions independently in a timely manner. However, he did not want to return to the taxpayers with a request for more money. Mr. Pap~ agreed with Mr. Rayor's remarks regarding the needs assessment, which he felt was important to undertake, particularly as it related to the police and fire functions. He said that police and fire had needs that must be met regardless of what happened with City Hall. Mr. Pap~ estimated the costs of addressing those needs at approximately $28 million. He advocated for a bifurcated process that separated those functions from consideration of other City functions. Regarding the other functions in the existing City Hall, Mr. Pap~ said that there were many options the council could pursue, including doing nothing and working with the properties that the City already owned. Ms. Nathanson said that the council must resolve if now was the time to move police and fire from City Hall. She believed that the financial picture was better now than it would be in the future. Regarding the issue of consolidation, Ms. Nathanson said that the term did not mean to her all employees worked downtown under one roof. She said that consolidation could be achieved by a municipal complex consisting of two or three buildings. She said that relocating City staff into the Sears building would help to create such a complex, and she would term that consolidation. Addressing Mr. Papa's remarks suggesting the process be bifurcated, Ms. Nathanson said that there were creative options available to the council. If the council decided now was the time to address the needs of fire and police, she would like the committee to discuss moving administration onto the fourth floor of the library. That could bring certainty to the funding for the library project, and buy the City some time to develop an appropriate solution for the administrative function, perhaps at the Sears site. Mr. Kelly did not want to see the federal courthouse on the 6th Avenue site. He said that the GSA wanted a full block and he was not convinced that a building oriented toward 6th Avenue would not adversely impact the 5th Street Historic District. In addition, he did not believe that current City Hall spaces were adequate, and the federal payment could go to addressing some of those needs. However, he stressed he was not yet comfortable with how the council might fund the additional costs above the federal payment, particularly at a time when other City services were inadequately funded. He said that the different options did not vary much in cost, and urged the council to consider the overall magnitude of cost. Regarding Mr. Rayor's remarks about the potential a large-scale building could be constructed on the 6th Avenue site, Mr. Kelly said he had asked staff to return with proposals about height and scale limitations that could be attached to the property. The meeting recessed while the council toured the existing City Hall facilities for Police, Fire, and Municipal Court. The council reconvened in the McNutt Room following the tour. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 8, 1999 Page 2 5:30 p.m.