CC Minutes - 03/07/05 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

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In response to Councilor Pap6, City Manager Taylor stated that the amendment was iterated in the agreement with the hospital and because of this he was amenable to it. Roll call vote; the amendment passed unanimously, 7:0; Councilor Pryor abstaining. Councilor Bettman, seconded by Councilor Kelly, moved to amend the Policy Guidelines on page 8 of the Capital Improvement Program to add the following three policies: "7. Funding sources that have been identified for a specific project and approved with the adoption of the Capital Improvement Program shall remain the funding source for that project unless a specific exception is directed by the council. "8. Flexible funding available from federal, State, County, and local sources that is eligible will be used to fund maintenance and preservation of existing capital infrastructure, unless a specific exception is directed by the council. "9. New capital projects that are located within the Eugene City limits will be reviewed by the Eugene City Council before inclusion into any regional or multi-jurisdictional project list or plan." Councilor Bettman stated that this amendment was necessary in order for her to vote in favor of the CIP. She reiterated her concerns regarding the Chad Drive extension, which was originally proposed to be funded by assessments and systems development charges (SDCs) but ultimately had become a project to be paid for by assessments and Surface Transportation Program-Urban (STP-U) funding. She wished to be assured that the source of funding for a project would remain the same and if it would be changed, that the City Council would be given the opportunity to approve or deny the change. She reiterated that the council had committed to fund maintenance and preservation projects first. Councilor Kelly enthusiastically supported the amendment. He complimented Councilor Bettman for taking a different approach. He felt that the CIP was a challenging and voluminous document and it was easy to miss something unusual. He said the amendment would not affect projects that were underway. He likened it to taking a "yellow highlighter" and underlining certain projects in order to flag them specifically for the City Council. Councilor Solomon asked City Manager Taylor to speak to the amendment. City Manager Taylor said staff had not received the proposed language in advance of the meeting and would like the opportunity to review the amendment and understand its implications. He was uncertain what the exact meaning of 'flexible' was under proposed Policy 8. He stated that the amendment seemed to be aimed at the City's financial goals and policies and reiterated that he wished to have more time to explore its implications. Councilor Solomon concurred. She preferred to have a lengthier conversation on the proposed amendment. City Manager Taylor cited, as an example, a potential change in funding sources that could occur as a result of the United Front lobby efforts. He asked how this would be handled, should Councilor Bettman's policy changes be approved. He emphasized that these issues would be better dealt with in the context of policies and not as addenda to the CIP on the final night of its adoption. Councilor Pap~ appreciated the intent of the motion. He agreed that the CIP was a complex document. He thought it deserved more attention from the Budget Committee and the City Council. He commented that he assumed some staff time and planning had gone into the numbers included with the projects. MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 7, 2005 Page 9 Regular Session