CC Minutes - 10/08/07 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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clarified that the legal language of the bond did not attach funding amounts to the different categories of parks, but how it had been communicated to the voters did attach funding amounts to the categories. In response to a follow-up question from Councilor Clark, City Attorney Jerome Lidz said he had not reviewed the bond language recently and should not answer the question posed to Ms. Weiss at this time. Councilor Clark surmised that the money was set aside and intended for the purpose of building a park in the Santa Clara area and that it had been sold to the voters with that in mind, but it was within legal parameters for the City to change its collective mind. Councilor Bettman recalled that the CCIGR unanimously approved the application for the Forest Legacy to include a City match of 25 percent. She asked why staff had “unilaterally upped it to 50 percent.” Ms. Weiss explained that staff was trying to put together the most competitive application possible and trying to stay within the spirit of what was determined in the CCIGR. She said staff knew there would be another chance to come before the CCIGR. Councilor Bettman called this a major inconsistency. She wondered what the purpose was of coming before the CCIGR if staff would make a “completely different decision and unilaterally allocate $1 million” in PROS funding. She averred that councilors should stand up and demand “some kind of accountability.” In response to a question from Councilor Bettman, Ms. Weiss clarified that the amount of money for the City’s match had been reduced from $1.678 million to $1 million because a couple of the properties had been dropped from consideration for acquisition leaving two. Councilor Bettman accused staff of circumventing the direction of CCIGR to go with the 25 percent match. She asked when the results of the grant applications would be known. Ms. Weiss responded that the OWEB grant application result would be known in early spring and the Forest Legacy tended to be known in early March. Councilor Bettman asked how long the City would have to withdraw the Forest Legacy application. Ms. Weiss replied that this could be done at any time. Councilor Bettman asked when it would be known whether the Forest Legacy application was accepted or rejected. Ms. Weiss responded that the City would know whether the application was moved on to the next phase in the next two months. Councilor Pryor suggested that such a change in a grant application after approval be related to the CCIGR in the future, whether by email or otherwise. He said there were two choices: support the grant or withdraw the application. He had no reason not to support the grant. He commented that it was “too bad” the council was faced with this situation but he believed it was still a good purchase and would hate to withdraw the entire application. He added that he favored the Beverly/Green properties but for him the key element was that he wanted to purchase from a willing seller. He was not convinced that the Ridgeline acquisition was related to it. Councilor Zelenka asked what the deadline was for the application for the OWEB grant. Ms. Weiss replied that it was due October 15. In response to a question from Councilor Zelenka, Ms. Weiss replied that the land in the Ridgeline acquisition ranged from $10,000 to $15,000 per acre. Councilor Zelenka asked staff to get that information specifically for each property. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 8, 2007 Page 12 Regular Meeting