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