CC Minutes - 07/23/07 City Council Meeting

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benefit test. He stated that the majority of the 200-plus economic development projects in the business development fund had been required to provide such documentation. He reiterated that the City did not necessarily have to get income data from all of the jobs created because HUD allowed the presumption that jobs would be filled by people at the low or moderate income level. He stressed that the difference lay in that less documentation was required if the money was being utilized in an income-eligible census tract and this did not mean the national objective was not being met. Councilor Ortiz, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved that the City Council adopt Resolu- tion 4914 authorizing execution of a HUD Section 108 loan contract in the amount of $7,895,000 and notes in the amount of $7,895,000. Councilor Zelenka asked for an explanation of the goals behind the Section 108 loan and the BEDI grant. Mr. Braud replied that the purpose of the block grant program included affordable housing, social services, economic development, elimination of blight, and job creation. In response to a follow-up question from Councilor Zelenka, Mr. Braud affirmed that it was only necessary to meet one of the criteria. Councilor Zelenka asked what the formula was for job creation. Mr. Braud responded that the public benefit under the economic development criterion was one job per $35,000 of CDBG/HUD assistance. He said this would require that the project create approximately 283 jobs. He related that the current estimate was that approximately 1,600 jobs would be created, though it was a number they had been given by the developers. He said staff had based its number on full time equivalent (FTE) employees and on the project, which estimated FTE at 600. This meant that just over 300 would need to be filled by people with low or moderate incomes. He stressed that the City would have to document all of the jobs created, just as it was required to do for all of its economic development projects. Councilor Zelenka asked what would happen if the City did not meet the requirements. Mr. Braud said the City would have to monitor the project and provide findings. He stated that with a loan project the City would have the ability to “call the loan” and require the business to pay in order to get the money back as quickly as possible. In response to a question from Councilor Zelenka, Mr. Braud affirmed that he believed the loan application was accurate. He noted that staff had been through a few previous drafts of the application and had incorporated feedback from HUD in the final draft. He did not think the City had any issues regarding the national objective in the low or moderate income benefit category or the slums and blight category. He said staff had completed the environmental review process where it looked at historic preservation issues, environmental condition issues, and the City had conducted the necessary public hearing. He stated that the City had closely followed the required steps. He underscored that the City’s experience with HUD had been that the requirements were rigorous and if the City did not meet them HUD would not approve the application. Councilor Zelenka observed that the environmental assessment portion of the application was approximately 16 pages long. In response to a question from Councilor Zelenka, Mr. Braud affirmed that HUD had seen an initial draft, made comments which then were incorporated into the final draft, and then would make the final determination on the application. He reiterated that the City would be responsible for addressing the findings made in the loan application. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 23, 2007 Page 6 Regular Meeting