CC Minutes - 02/25/08 Work Session

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Ms. Ortiz noted the council’s receipt of an e-mail message from resident Brian Obie, who had suggested the City, through the United Front effort, request federal money to underwrite the costs of a quiet zone. She endorsed Mr. Obie’s suggestion. She thought Mr. Obie was correct and given his huge investment in the community, the City could, on its part, work to get a quiet zone, which affected his business. Ms. Ortiz said the Whiteaker Community Council took a position that, while it did not prefer street closures, affected residents should not have to pay for it. Mr. Larson said the City had not decided on a local improvement district, although it had been discussed. He noted there were quiet zones based on a downtown business tax and on revenue bonds; it was up to the community to decide how to pay for it. Ms. Ortiz did not want to see the neighbors assessed for the street closures given that all residents would benefit from the quiet zone. Mr. Clark said if pushed, he would accept the manager’s recommendations, but he too was not satisfied with any of the options. He supported a quiet zone in concept but pointed out that whistles were designed to keep people safe at the crossings. He noted that Coos Bay was considering facility improvements that could substantially increase rail traffic going through Eugene, further increasing the opportunities for accidents at railroad crossings. He had some concerns about creating a quiet zone in advance of that because it could create safety challenges for the City. Mr. Clark said that $1.4 million for a quiet zone was quite a bit of money given the City’s budgetary challenges. While he would like to support the zone, he would have to say, “not at the moment, but we’ll keep working on it.” He agreed that the City should look to its federal representatives for assistance. He did not favor placing the item in the budget right now. Mr. Pryor said in principle he supported such a zone as residents wanted it. However, Mr. Poling stressed, the crossings must be safe; that must be the overriding consideration. He agreed the City should seek federal funding. He pointed out that the physical improvements associated with the zone would be a one-time expenditure. He thought that fact created more opportunity if the council was willing to take it. He acknowledged the council would have to find a source of funding. Mr. Pryor confirmed with Mr. Larson that the needed improvements must be made to an entire area to achieve quiet zone status. Mr. Larson said that there were about two miles involved overall. Speaking to the issue of safety, Mr. Larson said the anticipated reduction in vehicles and the safety measures to be installed would produce a safer situation. Mr. Pryor said that safety and a quiet zone were not mutually exclusive. He wanted to keep moving forward with a quiet zone in a realistic manner. He said if the council decided on a one-time capital commitment, he believed it would need to decide what other project would be dropped. Mr. Pryor reiterated that he wanted to continue to move forward on the process. Ms. Solomon was unclear as to why the City needed a consultant to do work she thought could as easily be done by staff. She did not favor closing streets as she envisioned that would create ghetto-like qualities in the residential areas affected and harm to the businesses involved, and the other side streets nearby would be stressed by the additional load from cars avoiding the area. Ms. Solomon asked the costs of installing quad gates. Mr. Larson said that it was $400,000 to $500,000 per gate. There were likely to be associated maintenance costs of about $10,000 annually. MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 25, 2008 Page 7 Work Session