Item C: City Council Priority Issue - Hospital Update

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EUGENE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY c Work Session: City Council Priority Issue - Hospital Update Meeting Date: November 28, 2005 Department: Planning and Development www.eugene-or.gov Agenda Item Number: C Staff Contact: Susan Muir Contact Telephone Number: 682-6077 ISSUE STATEMENT This work session has been scheduled to discuss the recent announcement by McKenzie- Willamette Medical Center regarding a selected site for a hospital in Eugene. BACKGROUND The City Council adopted a priority issue to facilitate the development of a hospital in Eugene's central core. Last week, McKenzie- Willamette Medical Center announced it had selected its preferred site which it has agreed to purchase. The site is currently a golf course off Delta Highway north of Ayres Road. The letter announcing the site from Roy Orr, Chief Executive Officer ofMcKenzie-Willamette is attached. Staff has done some very preliminary work on the proposed site, based on the information known to date. That information is attached in correspondence from the City to Roy Orr. Staff would also like to note that as potential sites move forward in local processes, there is additional information City decision-makers should be aware of related to ex parte contacts and bias. Ex parte contacts are communications, information or contacts relating to the matter to be heard by the City Council that occur after an application is filed with the City. This includes verbal and written contacts from anyone, site visits, or media information. Communication with City staff is not considered ex parte contact. If there is an ex parte communication, the councilor (or Mayor) must publicly announce the contact and context and state whether it has impaired the person's ability to be impartial. Parties to the quasi-judicial proceeding then need to be provided a chance to rebut the ex parte contact either at the hearing, or if the hearing has already occurred, at a re-opened hearing. Bias means having certain preconceived thoughts about an issue of policy, the law, the facts or the parties that will keep a decision-maker from being persuaded to consider any other perspective on the matter. A biased elected official may not participate in a quasi-judicial decision. Parties in a quasi- judicial proceeding may challenge a decision-maker's participation based on bias, particularly where the decision-maker has made statements that demonstrate that he or she has made up his or her mind about a proposal even before the decision-maker has listened to the testimony. LICMOl200S Council AgendaslMOSl128lS0S1128C.doc