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out that the council had voted to explore locations for a police station that were owned by the City and in the <br />downtown area; the council did not vote to build a police station as reported in the media. <br /> <br />Mr. Poling announced that the Convention and Visitor Association of Lane County (CVALC) was now <br />Travel Lane County. He thanked the 26 community members who participated in the selection process for a <br />new police auditor. He said he had attended the opening of the bike/pedestrian bridge and groundbreaking <br />for the newest EmX route. He congratulated EPD employees who were promoted. <br /> <br />Mr. Brown commended the First Place Family Development Center for its service to the community. He <br />said he had attended the Asian Celebration, a presentation in honor of Oregon’s Sesquicentennial, the EPD <br />promotions ceremony, a McKenzie Watershed Council meeting and the police auditor public forum. He <br />thanked Lane County for making the Armory available as a shelter during severe weather. He hoped it <br />could be made into a permanent facility for the homeless. <br /> <br />Mr. Zelenka noted that in the 2008 population figures, Eugene ranked second in the state. He said 6,865 <br />potholes had been filled in 2008 and over 1,200 filled so far in 2009; also in 2009 there would be 21 <br />transportation projects throughout the city. He said Project Homeless Connect would be held March 6, at <br />the Lane County Events Center and thanked the County for converting the Armory into a homeless shelter <br />during bad winter weather. He said he had attended the bike/pedestrian bridge opening and the EmX <br />groundbreaking ceremony. He indicated that the EmX project was being constructed almost entirely with <br />state and federal dollars; only seven percent of the project cost was locally funded. He thanked the <br />community members who participated on the police auditor interview panel. <br /> <br />Mr. Clark said he attended his first Metropolitan Partnership Board meeting and there was an extensive <br />discussion of the local economy and strategies to address local economic development. He said the local <br />legislative delegation had also engaged in community discussions of the state’s budget shortfalls in the <br />current and next fiscal years. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor stated that the council had not voted on February 11 to purchase the Eugene Water & Electric <br />Board property. She was only willing to support a seismic upgrade and rehabilitation of City Hall and felt <br />the voters should be asked if they were willing to build a police station. <br /> <br />Ms. Piercy clarified that the council’s discussion was not about a police headquarters building; it was about <br />a patrol facility. <br /> <br />City Manager Jon Ruiz commented that he had recently done a ride-along with a police officer and <br />encouraged councilors to do the same as it was an educational experience. He would provide additional <br />information on the budget during the coming week as the impact of the State’s budget crisis on the City <br />became clearer. He said the Budget Committee would be faced with some very difficult decisions. <br /> <br />B. WORK SESSION: <br /> Surface Transportation Program – Urban (STP-U) <br /> <br />Ms. Piercy referred to an earlier presentation by Lane Transit District (LTD) about its budget problems and <br />the dilemma of reducing services at a time when ridership was increasing. She said it was essential to make <br />public transportation available to people in difficult economic times. At a recent meeting of the Metropoli- <br />tan Policy Committee (MPC) meeting LTD had shared those concerns and a proposal to use STP-U funds to <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 23, 2009 Page 2 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />