CC Minutes - 01/24/05 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ms. Taylor emphasized that the design process should come before any public hearing on an LID. She thought that some people would be happy to pay for the design if it was what they wanted while others did not believe they could afford to pay for the improvements at all. Then the council would be in the position to discuss next steps. Ms. Bettman thought it appropriate to lobby the County for funds because the streets in question abutted Lane County, and they were absorbing traffic with an origin in the county. She thought the County should have an interest in the issue. Ms. Bettman questioned why the money for the design work could not be borrowed from another fund. After staff developed a mutually acceptable design, it could proceed with the LID and pay back the fund. She did not think there was an urgency to proceed. She also wanted to know the answers to Mr. Kelly's questions, and asked for staff feedback on the feasibility of her suggestion. Although Mr. Kelly agreed there was not any urgency to proceed, he wanted to keep the process moving. Mr. Kelly thought in a better environment, the LID could be formed now, but given the trust issues that existed between the neighborhood and City, he preferred not to act at this time. However, that did not mean the City could not find some way to do the needed design. Mr. Kelly asked that staff provide the council with some sense of how it arrived at the $240,000 estimate. While he acknowledged that context-sensitive design was a process, he thought it important for the council to create boundaries for the process. Mr. Kelly said that neighbors ;;felt marginalized" when they suggested such things as mulched bark paths and were told that was not possible. The council could identify those elements that could be traded off. He suggested that perhaps the money could be spent in phases, and each phase would build more trust with the neighborhood. Mr. Pap6 agreed with Ms. Bettman and Mr. Kelly, suggesting that consideration of the resolution be postponed at this time. He suggested the potential the City could ;;kick start" the process using General Fund money. He said the process could be considered a pilot for a citywide approach. City Manager Taylor said that staff had originally envisioned that it would borrow the money for the design until the process was farther along and a decision about the designation had been made. That would allow different options for spreading the cost and would affect what sources of funds that could be used. Responding to a question from Mr. Pap6, Assistant City Manager Jim Carlson said the issue was whether the City Council could spend money and then later roll the money that had been spent into an LID. He said staff was seeking an answer to that question from legal counsel. Mr. Pap6 indicated he had no problem with %eeding" the design process from either General Fund dollars or from County Road Funds if they became available. Mr. Poling referred to Option 2, which called for the use of General Fund dollars, and asked if the council could borrow up to $240,000 from that source to begin the design process and then pay it back once the LID was formed and the money collected. City Manager Taylor again deferred the question to legal counsel. He MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 24, 2005 Page 7 Work Session