Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Councilor Zelenka asked if the loan proposed would be paid for out of the existing tax base of the district. Mr. Weinman said yes. Councilor Zelenka asked if any of the taxes generated by new development would be used to pay for the loans. Ms. Cutsogeorge said that would depend on the ultimate number, but in the preliminary financing plan the City was not planning on that. Councilor Zelenka confirmed with Ms. Cutsogeorge that any further action would require council approval. He also confirmed with Ms. Cutsogeorge that the HUD loan was a below market-rate loan. He also confirmed that the BEDI grant was contingent on the HUD loan unless the City increased the indebtedness level. Responding to a question from Councilor Zelenka, Ms. Cutsogeorge confirmed that the $10 million allocated for administration would be spent for staff and other administrative costs through the year 2030 at a cost of approximately $300,000 annually. Councilor Taylor agreed that all citizens wanted a vital downtown but she thought people needed to think about what would be destroyed because of the project. She asked if Kemper would still build condominiums at the Sears site if the project fell through. Senior Management Analyst Denny Braud said that Mr. Kemper has indicated continuing interest through the process. Councilor Taylor hoped that project happened. Councilor Bettman asked how the current financing situation would affect the developers’ ability to go ahead with the project. Mr. Braud did not know. He said that the construction project could be 12 to 18 months, and it was difficult to forecast finance rates at that time. Councilor Bettman asked staff where the council could reverse directions. Ms. Cutsogeorge said that the council would have to approve the project budget for money to be expended and the council, acting as the Urban Renewal Agency, would have to authorize the development agreement. Councilor Bettman believed that the relationship between the BEDI grant and HUD loan was structured in the manner it was because of a council and staff decision. She maintained there had been other ways to access the grant. Councilor Bettman said that talking about spending $25 million was inaccurate as the council was actually talking about upwards of $50 million and there were other things, such as transition and relocation costs, that were not factored into the estimate. The design was not firm and could change, adding more costs. The lack of a firm design also constrained the public’s ability to provide meaningful input. Councilor Bettman said the project might not raise taxes, but it would divert taxes from other units of govern- ment, including schools. Mayor Piercy said nothing was being done for the benefit of the developers. The developers would be implement- ing something the City wanted and the City would be purchasing that from them. She pointed out the West Broadway Advisory Committee would be examining the design elements and what the community wanted in the project, and following the committee’s report to the council, she hoped the community could weigh in on its recommendations before the council adopted it. Councilor Zelenka pointed out that people were objecting to a plan that was not in place. The City did not know if the businesses downtown would be local or non-local in nature. He suggested that people were misinterpreting Table 5 in the packet, which was an example list of what the project could include. The City could still decide to include more public amenities and less parking. Councilor Zelenka agreed that the project goal was not to make the developer rich, and suggested it instead MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 13, 2007 Page 7 Work Session