05/23/1988 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council B. J.1s Restaurant May 23, 1988 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Freeman Holmer, Ruth Bascom, Debra Ehrman, Jeff Miller, Emily Schue. Mayor Obie called to order the adjourned meeting of May 18, 1988. I. WORK SESSION: FUTURE LIBRARY PROJECT Ms. Decker referred the council to the flow chart in the packets. She said that tonight staff is seeking further direction on site and site-related issues. The site-related issues to be focused on will be mixed-use and parking. Ms. Decker said that Abe Farkas of the Development Department will discuss the benefits associated with a mixed-use approach. Following Mr. Farkas, Jim Robertson will respond to some of the questions raised by the council regarding the use of the Bon or Sears buildings for a future library. e Ms. Decker said there will be a brief presentation by Scott Luell on parking issues related to the library project. Then staff would like to return to Jim Robertson to discuss scenarios of how the library and parking could fit on a Broadway-Charnelton site, with the idea being that the council needs to begin to develop some kind of vision. of how the components of the library could work on the site. Staff will then poll the councilors on their reac- tions to the presentations. Ms. Decker said the staff had planned to deal with the vacation of Broadway at this meeting as well, but staff had concluded that the vacation of Broadway is a design-related issue. If the council decides it wishes to locate the library on the site where a vacation is necessary, staff can explore possibilities. Mr. Farkas presented a general background on mixed use and then focused specifically on the possibility of the Eugene Library in a mixed-use setting. Mr. Farkas said one of the two alternative sites being considered is the Charnel ton site, which is proximate to the downtown retail core. If the library were to be developed in a mixed-use environment at this location, there would be a number of benefits that the library would provide to the retail environment and a number of benefits that the retail environment would provide to the library. Mr. Farkas enumerated the benefits to retail: 1) the library draws many people, estimated by one consultant at about 2,000 people per day; 2) the library's strongest hours are during the evenings and on weekends, which from a retailer's perspective is ideal; 3) the library e MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 23, 1988 Page 1