CC Minutes - 06/20/07 Work Session

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not think the two sites in question were completely off the table. The deed restriction affected only a part of the property, and it was still possible to acquire the Rock ‘N Rodeo property. Mr. Poling indicated unwillingness to do so through eminent domain. Mr. Clark suggested that the City consider acquiring the Eugene Water & Electric Board Administration (EWEB) building as part of a new city hall complex. He thought it might be less expensive and could save EWEB costs in relocating in the long run. Mr. Cohen said the building in question was smaller than the existing City Hall, leaving the issue of finding more space unresolved. He recalled that the site was examined in the site selection process, and there was stronger support for other sites because of their proximity to downtown. Mr. Clark recalled there were 75-80 people at the public forum on site selection and agreed that the site was not highly rated by that group, but he thought that had been part of a larger discussion in which some expressed their belief it was a higher value for a new city hall to be part of a reinvigorated Parks Block downtown, while the survey indicated less support for that. Mr. Zelenka commended the information presented and suggested it had “shifted the floor” for him. It appeared from the survey that a bond would be difficult but doable. He said the survey results made the Facilities Fund and its continued growth even more important. Safety, sustainability, and parking seemed to be important to respondents. Consolidation was also considered important, although Mr. Zelenka would have liked to have seen a follow-up question that asked respondents about their support for consolidation if it cost more. He suggested that the council needed to pay attention to the other high priorities, such as pavement preservation, identified by the public. Mr. Zelenka was less concerned about the consolidation issue than some might be. He said the C-2 strategy made sense to him. He acknowledged the difficulties associated with the butterfly parking lot and Rock ‘N Rodeo site. He referred to A-2 and noted the high cost per square foot associated with each structure and questioned the 30 percent premium associated with the patrol building. Mr. Cohen said that part of the response to the cost per square foot question had to do with scale. There was also parking associated with the patrol function. He said the consultant team discussed the issue extensively with the estimator looking at recently bid projects. However, the consultant team did not yet know if the new city hall building was a free-standing building downtown with a symbolic presence or was a facility located elsewhere that could be built more cheaply. Mr. Zelenka suggested that the survey demonstrated that the more the City informed people, the better the chances of having a measure to support a new city hall passed. The survey also indicated that some of the issues the council thought would resonate with voters did not, while others did, and he thought that gave the council a place to focus its attention to build public support. Ms. Bettman disliked the idea of spending $2.5 million in public money and returning to square one; that is, having services spread around the city and a separate police station. She also was not surprised by the survey results, particularly given the assumptions that informed the questions. She asked if the three failed bond measures for a police facility had been mentioned in the survey and if it had played into people’s opinions of what they could support in regard to expending money on a patrol facility before a new city hall. She believed the project was beginning to unravel in terms of what was supportable. She said that removing the option of consolidation eliminated the values of striving for simplicity and efficiency. She said the consolidation was intended to save money and unify public services. MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 20, 2007 Page 4 Work Shop—City Hall Goal