07/12/1989 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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. e Mr. Boles said he would find it difficult to justify the City's pledging its full faith and credit behind debt for an area outside the city limits. Mr. Smith reviewed some information about how Lane County might participate by bearing some of the costs to provide sewer service to the River Road/Santa Clara area. He also provided some financial information about repayment of the $6 million sewer construction grant that the City received from EPA. Mr. Bennett asked about the possibility of renegotiating the sewer connection schedule with EPA, as opposed to simply defaulting and opting to repay the grant. Mr. Smith said the City's chances of receiving an adverse decision from EPA and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) increase if the City is not making reasonable progress to meet the schedule. In response to questions, Mr. Smith and City Manager Micheal Gleason said it is not merely financial matters that are at stake (the cost of constructing sewers in the River Road/Santa Clara area, the cost of repaying the grant, and so forth). The City's credibility is also very much at stake. If the City fails to meet the conditions of the grant, its credibility with DEQ, EPA, and the State Legislature could be impaired. Mr. Smith said that if the council decides to pursue Option 1, it would be very difficult to meet the deadlines for a March 1990 election. The council indicated a preference for the soonest possible election date (May 1990). Tony Mounts, Finance staff, briefly reviewed information on several topics: sewer construction financing options; alternatives to lower costs; financing e options for River Road residents; tax differential options for River Road residents; and the projected revenues and costs associated with annexation of the River Road area. Mr. Holmer asked about the possibility of a general sewer assessment deferral program (as opposed to a deferral program just for low-income households). He said such a program would allow residents to defer sewer assessments until the title of their property is transferred. He said the payment at that time could be set so as to cover the City's cost of holding the debt during the interim. Other councilors indicated an interest in having staff provide some information on such an option. Pat Decker, Planning staff, said the City Council, if it wished, could direct staff to begin implementation of Option 1 (annexation and election for the River Road area) and to proceed with the changes needed to use Option 2 (extension of sewer service without annexation) as a fall-back position. Mr. Rutan said there are strong reasons for having the River Road/Santa Clara area in the city of Eugene, and they have nothing to do with a desire to increase the City Council's domain; rather, they have to do with fairness and effiCiency. He said it makes sense to annex the River Road area. The question before the City Council is how to accomplish this in a way that responds adequately to the financial situation of River Road residents. Mr. Rutan said Option 2 is short-sighted. He said he was not interested in considering Option 2 at all. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 12, 1989 Page 3