Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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William Ivanoff , 1810 Harris Street, #336, noted that fuel stations had indicated a move to rid the City of the tax. He believed the City should save legal and ballot costs by repealing the tax when it sunsets. He averred that automobiles were becoming more fuel-efficient while the wear and tear of the streets increased. He said every time the City annexed more lane miles for public use the maintenance costs for the City increased while funds did not increase commensurately. He asked if the City Council was willing to “starve” the rest of the City to insure that the people who lived on the edges of the City or outside of it could drive on smooth roads. He asserted that the only people who used roads on the outsides of the City were the people who lived there and their guests. He felt the streets that were closer to the core of the City were used by everyone. He suggested that the City allow the people who lived on the periphery of the City to maintain their own roads as private streets. He said if that was not an option, the City should tax each square foot of parking area and remove minimum parking standards. Zachary Vishanoff , Patterson Street, questioned whether there was truly a $170 million backlog. He wondered if a consultant was saying that because he or she wanted money and suggested that the City get a second opinion. He added that turning the cameras on for all City meetings would bring “light to all fiscal issues.” He thought the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations (CCIGR) had “all sorts of pork barrel spending that happens.” He felt that it was easy to turn the switch on for the cameras in the McNutt Room. He asserted that the reason the City had a backlog of street repairs was that it had “handed out premiums to developers.” He opined that selling off the parking garages would bring in income to counteract the backlog. He also thought the “nest egg” set aside for a future City Hall should be applied to the backlog. He said the taxpayers would then say “oh gee we’re not hiding money anymore” and they would be more likely to support a City Hall project in the future because they perceived that the government was “willing to be straight.” He added that if the backlog of projects was addressed as part of the regular City budget then the City would not “do the Olympics first and then the potholes.” He likened this to “eating dessert before having dinner.” Terry Connolly , 1401 Willamette Street, speaking on behalf of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, said given the likelihood that the 2 cent gas tax would be referred to voters and then repealed if the council chose to keep it, the decision before the council was whether it would be better off spending the next several months engaged in another debate about a gas tax or using the time to make the case to the public for a bond measure to pay for street repairs. He felt to do so without the gas tax competing with the message to the public would benefit the potential bond measure. He related the Chamber’s recommendation which was to choose the latter course of action. He believed that the energy to be spent on the gas tax would be better served in working with others who were focusing on a comprehensive funding package in the Oregon Legislature to be approved in the 2009 session. He stated that the Eugene Chamber and “virtually every” leading business organization and trade association in the State of Oregon was asking the legislature to approve a package that would provide the funding that was needed for the operation and maintenance of the transportation infrastructure throughout the state, counties, and cities. He understood why the City would not want to part with the $1.7 million that the 2 cent gas tax generated per year. He felt that choosing to let the 2 cent tax sunset for the time being would allow the council and the Budget Committee to identify other sources of existing revenue or a portion of the capital reserves to offset the reduction “at least for a couple of years.” He also thought this would be looked upon favorably by the voters. Ron Tyree , 4000 Spring Boulevard, Ward 2, stated that he operated a local distributorship. He supported the upgrade needed in transportation and fuel taxes as a source of revenue for those repairs. He did not MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 14, 2008 Page 9 Regular Meeting