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projects that were not in the current constrained RTP. She asked why the council was not approving the <br />entire United Front project list, since other jurisdictions' projects impacted Eugene's projects. <br /> <br />With respect to the council approving other jurisdictions' lists, City Manager pro tem Jones said that was <br />not how the United Front process had been designed. She said jurisdictions agreed that projects on the <br />United Front priorities list would not be in competition for the same funds and the full list was reviewed to <br />assure that. She said she would convey the council's interest in reviewing the project list from a regional <br />perspective, but there would need to be a mechanism for resolving any disagreements. She said the United <br />Front initiative was an effort to capitalize on the funding available to the region and did not involve policy; <br />under the current process the council did not have the authority to approve or disapprove projects on another <br />jurisdiction's list. <br /> <br />Mr. Inerfeld pointed out that the two Springfield interchange projects had been moved from the RTP future <br />list to the constrained list as part of the 2031 update and were now part of the current RTP constrained list. <br />He said the West 11th Avenue was the council's second transportation priority and Beltline from Roosevelt <br />Boulevard to West 11th Avenue was the third. He said staff was trying to combine those projects into one <br />project for a future NEPA study and hoped to work on all three council priorities. Ms. Wilson added that <br />funding for the Beltline Corridor project could also be placed on the SAFETEA-LU reauthorization list if <br />necessary. <br /> <br />Mr. Zelenka questioned why the Beltline Corridor project, which was the top regional priority, could not be <br />added to the federal priorities list for NEPA process or construction funding to avoid delaying the project <br />until FY10-13 STIP funding became available. He was also concerned with prioritizing the United Front <br />list at the regional level to avoid competition among projects. He said the two new projects submitted by <br />Springfield totaled $90 million, which clearly competed with the higher priority Beltline Corridor project. <br /> <br />City Manager pro tem Jones emphasized that there was nothing that precluded a jurisdiction from lobbying <br />independently for funding; the intent of United Front was to present a package of projects that did not <br />compete against each other and would maximize funding coming to the region. She said the United Front <br />process did not include a mechanism that would enable the list to be reviewed from a regional perspective, <br />although that could be considered for the 2009 effort. Ms. Wilson added that the council could act to return <br />the Beltline Corridor project to the City's 2008 federal priorities list. She said that was not precluded by <br />Springfield's two projects. <br /> <br />Mr. Zelenka suggested returning the Beltline Corridor project to the list. He said the purpose of the local <br />criteria requested by the MPC was to assist in objectively developing priorities for the region and removing <br />politics from the process to the greatest extent possible. He asked if the Beverly and Green properties would <br />be eligible for the Forest Legacy Program. Ms. Wilson said the properties would be eligible for the program <br />if the owners were willing sellers and staff could develop a plan for submitting them to the State as Forest <br />Legacy projects. She said the Wildish property near Springfield would also be eligible. She said those <br />projects would need to be submitted for the 2009 priorities list because the 2008 application period had <br />closed. <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor agreed that local criteria would be helpful in clarifying priorities. He understood United Front <br />was a collaborative strategy among local jurisdictions and had not been formalized through an intergovern- <br />mental agreement. He said it was based on good will among jurisdictions, not a legal mandate, and <br />participation was voluntary. He said it was inappropriate for the council to attempt to impose its authority <br />on other jurisdictions in the United Front process, which was working well as a coordinated effort that did <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 14, 2008 Page 4 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />