Item 2A - Minutes Approval - Laserfiche WebLink

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Kevin Matthews, PO Box 1588, president of the Friends of Eugene, said his organization supported funding mechanisms that connected transportation to its users. He felt the City was pressing ahead with the West Eugene Parkway although the State had indicated that some of the maintenance costs would be assigned to the City. He said the Friends of Eugene could not accept a gas tax as part of a rational transportation funding process. Ron Tyree, 4000 Spring Boulevard, was owner of Tyree Oil, a local company that provided over 50 jobs. He objected to the inclusion of diesel fuel in the ordinance, although he appreciated the need to improve roads. He said his company was the only oil distributor located within the City limits of Eugene. He related that he paid $100,000 per year in Public Utility Commission road mile taxes for his trucks, which equated to 58 cents per gallon for State taxes alone on top of the 24-cent federal tax. He felt this was his fair share. He stated that while his trucks did five percent of the driving in Eugene, 95 percent of the fuel was purchased there and he was paying the three-cent-per-gallon City gas tax on it. He thought more tax could potentially drive his business to relocate or, at the very least, to purchase fuel in Springfield. He opined that taxes to fund road improvements should not overburden one type of business. Mayor Torrey closed the public hearing and called for questions and comments from the council. Councilor Kelly asked staff to clarify whether the existing code exempted bio-diesel fuel. He was also unclear as to whether Mr. Tyree was referring to the fuel he was transporting or to the fuel the trucks themselves burned. He was a little confused by the requests for exemption for diesel fuel. He expressed appreciation for Mr. Green's testimony and asked staff for a memorandum regarding paving standards. He also appreciated Mr. Mikesell's testimony regarding competitors in the two different cities but within close proximity of one another. He emphasized the need to find a way to improve the roads. Councilor Bettman opposed the ordinance. She underscored her sense that what was needed was fiscal discipline. She reiterated that systems development charges (SDCs) were "artificially low" causing road tax money to be spent on new roads. Councilor Bettman asked if the subcommittee looked at concrete road construction and its maintenance and also what it would cost to restore such a road after tearing it up for repairs. Noting that the chamber representative had suggested the City take funding from its lower priority services to fund road maintenance, Councilor Bettman said she would like to see a list of the services the chamber thought to be low priority. Councilor Bettman requested that staff verify the 80-percent figure cited by Mr. Connolly in his testimony regarding the City of Springfield's reimbursement for diesel fuels. Additionally, Councilor Bettman asked staff to provide a "ballpark estimate" of what portion of the list of road projects the council was slated to approve on December 8 included "flexible" funding. She averred the Monroe/Friendly bike path project was funded by "flexible" funding that could have been channeled into maintenance and preservation. Mayor Torrey conveyed his opposition to the elimination of the transportation system maintenance fee (TSMF), rescinded earlier in the year. He felt it should have been put to a vote of the people in order to provide the citizens with the opportunity to discuss the importance of the transportation backlog. He said the council had pulled the TSMF with the understanding that the County and the Eugene Area Chamber of MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 6, 2004 Page 12 Regular Session