CC Minutes - 01/14/08 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilor Taylor related that she planned to present another resolution at the next meeting opposing the WOPR with more specific language. She declared that logging was “destroying the future for human beings.” She said the council should undertake anything it could do that might have some influence on the BLM plan. Councilor Zelenka agreed it was regretful that the council could not pass its resolution prior to the BLM deadline for public comment. He felt the choice that pitted the environment against the economy was an effort to divide people locally. He thought it was very important to protect the forests. Mayor Piercy stated that she had sent a letter in opposition to the WOPR, as had Councilor Taylor, prior to the deadline for public comment. Councilor Clark concurred with Councilor Pryor. He did not like the choice the community was faced with. He disagreed that the federal government had placed the County in this position. He thought it was a combination of the courts and a number of other things. He resented that the council was being presented with a resolution that said councilors were either in favor of the resolution or they were in favor of clearcutting “vast swaths” of Lane County. He declared that the truth was a “much more nuanced position” that required more discussion. The motion to approve Resolution 4923, concerning protection of mature and old growth forests in the State of Oregon, passed 5:3; councilors Clark, Solomon, and Poling voting in opposition. Mayor Piercy called for discussion of Item D. Councilor Bettman congratulated the Finance staff for an “almost entirely clean” report. She asked for an explanation of the over-expenditure listed on page 156 of the report. Finn Cronin, Financial Reporting Manager for the Finance Division, explained that the first over- expenditure was in the Urban Renewal Agency. He explained that the budget had been made two years earlier and at that time staff had estimated that half of the staff time would be spent on the Riverfront District and half would be spent on the Downtown District. He reported that last April the council had ramped up the activity in the downtown area because of the Broadway Redevelopment proposal. He said the supplemental budget in May had estimated the budget could be exceeded by a minimal amount. He explained that rather than taking up staff and council time by bringing forward a small addendum to the supplemental budget, they decided to “live with” the over-expenditure. He stated that as the costs came in for the consultants to craft some of the options, related attorney fees, and staff time to support the newly formed the West Broadway Advisory Committee (WBAC), they had amounted to a $72,000 increase for the Fiscal Year (FY) 07 expenses. He underscored that a large portion of the increase had not been recognized until the end of July, when FY07 expenditure reconciliation was complete. Councilor Bettman thought the council had voted to appropriate $200,000 when it had voted to implement the WBAC. She asserted that the council had “generously funded” the activity. Community Development Division Manager, Mike Sullivan, clarified that the motion that directed the formation of the WBAC included no funding. MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 14, 2008 Page 6 Regular Meeting