Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Ms. Taylor asked if the council would be told if the public did not want a project. Mr. Braud said that was not the direction the committee had received from the council. Mayor Piercy pointed out that the council had charged the committee with addressing five items: preferred design elements, mix of uses, public open spaces, options for parking and a transition plan for existing businesses. Mr. Zelenka encouraged Ms. Taylor to attend the committee's meetings. He said the consultant had a national reputation and had helped communities across the country work through those same issues. He agreed with Mayor Piercy that the council had not asked the committee to evaluate whether the project should be done, but rather provide recommendations on five elements of the project. He said the committee would not be discussing the merits of the project, but the public was always welcome to comment and could certainly express opinions in opposition and try to sway committee members' opinions. Mr. Clark reiterated that it was difficult to argue that the project was a "done deal and being ramrodded through" while at the same time arguing there was no plan. He said the council was pursuing its goal to involve the public in the creation of the plan to achieve a better outcome. He rejected the notion that downtown was doing well and recent surveys clearly reflected that a majority of the community did not like the state of downtown. His constituents had consistently expressed interest in a downtown they could be proud of and enjoy and he felt the current process and public involvement would help to achieve that. Ms. Bettman hoped that everyone involved in the project would asked themselves whether each component of it was worth a public subsidy or whether there was a better use for the funds than handing them over to private developers. She repeated her request for details of the project activities and funding sources before the council took action on it. Ms. Cutsogeorge said that changes Ms. Bettman requested on July 16 to the ordinance and report had already been made and posted on the City's website. She said the categories in the table were categories included in the Urban Renewal Plan with general descriptions; details of the West Broadway project in terms of all of the funding sources and amounts would not be available until the project plan was more fully developed. She said the City's maximum contribution was $40 million. The motion passed, 6:2; Ms. Taylor and Ms. Bettman voting in opposition. Mayor Piercy commented that the developers themselves did not yet know the details and were involved in determining whether they could collaborate on a viable project; the council would then determine if that was a project it was willing to support. The meeting adjourned at 1 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis M. Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Lynn Taylor MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 18, 2007 Page 6 Work Session