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<br />M I N U T E S <br /> <br /> <br />Eugene City Council <br />Work Session <br />McNutt Room – City Hall <br />777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon <br /> <br /> April 22, 2009 <br /> 12:00 p.m. <br /> <br />COUNCILORS PRESENT: Chris Pryor, Mike Clark, George Poling, Betty Taylor, Alan Zelenka, <br />Jennifer Solomon, George Brown, Andrea Ortiz. <br /> <br />Ms. Piercy called the work session meeting of the Eugene City Council to order at 12:00 p.m. <br /> <br />A. WORK SESSION – Next Steps on Facility Reserve <br /> <br />Mr. Ruiz wished to allay any concerns that the City Council or executives were acting too hastily and noted <br />that there would be no vote or similar action taken regarding the facility reserve at the current meeting. <br />Rather, Mr. Ruiz noted that his presentation and comments would aim to provide a clearer context of the <br />new Eugene Police Department (EPD) facility as it related to the downtown area. <br /> <br />Mr. Ruiz presented information from the previous council work session regarding the facility reserves and <br />reminded those present that the council had asked staff to provide: 1) a plan estimate to upgrade the <br />current City Hall facility to meet life safety standards; 2) an analysis of, and a recommendation regarding, <br />potential police facility sites currently owned by the City of Eugene in and around the downtown area; 3) a <br />cost estimate for a phased police facility; and 4) the preliminary results of staff’s investigation regarding <br />the use of EWEB’s administration building as a new city hall facility. <br /> <br />Mr. Ruiz presented aerial photos of the downtown Eugene area to illustrate potential sites for the police <br />facility and stated that he strongly supported the idea of a police facility in the downtown area. <br /> <br />Alternatively, Mr. Ruiz noted that staff had investigated the former Qwest facility across the Willamette <br />River on Country Club Road and found that, financially, the use of that building would provide for a new <br />EPD facility at less than half the cost of what would be involved in the construction of a completely new <br />building. He further noted that the use of the Country Club Road building would not require the City to <br />seek additional tax revenues for the new EPD facility and that from an operational perspective the building <br />was ideally located to provide police services for the city. Mr. Ruiz also noted that, if the City were to use <br />the Country Club Road location as the new EPD facility, the EPD’s downtown presence would not be <br />adversely affected and that a police patrol substation might be placed downtown. <br /> <br />Mr. Ruiz noted that while the purchase price of the Country Club Road facility would not call for the use <br />of the entire $16 million in facility reserves, it was expected that any remainder of those funds from the <br />purchase price would be needed for operational upgrades and moving expenses. <br /> <br />Mr. Ruiz, noting the conditions of the current City Hall facility, commented that it was expected to cost <br />approximately $6 million to bring the building up to life safety standards, and that such standards only <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 22, 2009 Page 1 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />