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2. PUBLIC HEARING: <br />Housing and Urban Development Section 108/Brownfield Economic Development Initiative <br />Individual Project <br /> <br />City Manager Taylor said Denny Braud, Senior Development Analyst for the Community Development <br />Division of the Planning and Development Department, was present to introduce the item. <br /> <br />Mr. Braud stated that the Section 108 Guaranteed Loan Program available through the Department of <br />Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was being considered to support the West Broadway Redevelop- <br />ment project. He explained that use of Section 108 funds would allow the City to access the $2 million <br />Brownfield Economic Development Initiative Grant awarded to the City of Eugene from HUD in the <br />previous year. He said the program created opportunities for cities to borrow up to five times the amount of <br />their annual HUD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) allocation. He recalled that in March, <br />2006, the council had approved a resolution authorizing submission of a $7.895 million Section 108 <br />application to HUD. He said the application had been approved by HUD and with the $2 million brownfield <br />grant it had established a loan program that could be accessed for specific projects identified after the <br />approval of the loan pool. <br /> <br />Mr. Braud clarified that the public hearing was related to a project-specific proposed use of the Section 108 <br />funds, which included acquisition of properties that were part of the West Broadway project by the City. He <br />listed the properties, as follows: the Centre Court building and the adjacent hole, the Washburn Building, <br />the property fronting Broadway on the south side between Olive and Charnelton Streets, the Roberts <br />Building, and the Scan Design building. He said the total cost of the properties would be $10.8 million and <br />urban renewal funds were being proposed to fill the gap between the Section 108 funds and the total cost. <br /> <br />Mr. Braud explained that the properties had been selected for purchase because they had proposed <br />redevelopment uses that aligned with HUD national objectives, primarily job creation and that among all of <br />the purchase options negotiated on the West Broadway project the properties listed were offered closest to <br />market value. He stressed that the funds could only be accessed after the council reviewed recommendations <br />made by the West Broadway Advisory Committee (WBAC) and approved a supplemental budget authoriz- <br />ing the use of the funds. He noted that both of those were coming before the council in September. <br /> <br />Mr. Braud underscored that the City intended to structure the 108 funds in a manner that would mitigate any <br />risk to future CDBG fund allocations. He said staff was confident that the combined property sale proceeds <br />and the pledge of the existing downtown urban renewal tax revenue would offset any future risk to the <br />program. He added that financing staff demonstrated that the existing urban renewal tax increment was <br />more than sufficient to cover the debt service on the 108 loan. He stated that the CDBG Advisory <br />Committee reviewed the proposal and unanimously recommended that the application be submitted. <br /> <br />Mayor Piercy asked if there were any questions from the council. <br /> <br />Councilor Bettman opined that the memorandum of understanding (MOU) looked like a binding decision <br />from the City Council. She asked if the council would have to approve the final components of the proposal. <br />Mr. Braud reiterated that there would be two council actions. He underscored that there were no binding <br />aspects in the MOU for either side. City Attorney Glenn Klein further clarified that the council would not <br />delegate approval authority to staff. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 16, 2007 Page 2 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />