02/09/1983 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e Councilor Smith noted that in accepting the report the council would not be accepting the recommendations of the task force or even the concept of the canal project. She said that the recommendations would be considered in the future. She expressed appreciation for the work of the task force. Councilor Hansen said he felt that it was appropriate for the council to accept the report but that the issue of the need to hold a public hearing should be addressed later. Councilor Holmer and Mayor Keller responded that council acceptance of the report would not indicate endorsement of the recommendations contained in the report. Mr. Hansen moved, seconded by Mr. Obie, to accept the report. Roll call vote; motion carried unanimously. Mr. Lindberg moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, that the council direct staff to set a public hearing date. Councilor Obie said he believed that during the current time of economic diffi- culty for the City and its citizens he was hesitant to hold a public hearing on the canal project, with an estimated cost of $22 million, since citizens might infer from the holding of such a hearing that the council was considering making this expenditure. He referred to the recent decision to purchase property at 8th Avenue and High Street and said that this purchase had sent a confusing fiscal message to City taxpayers. Councilor Smith agreed that it might be premature to hold a public hearing at this time and suggested waiting until there is a more specific proposal for the 4It public to respond to. Councilor Schue suggested that the report be referred to a council committee for review and monitoring. She felt that pursuit of outside funding was a good idea and noted that to date the project has been supported primarily by Federal funds. Councilor Hansen said he believed it was not in the best interests of the community to spend any staff time or City, Federal, or other tax dollars pursuing the canal project. Councilor Lindberg said that the task force had recommended referral of the report to existing boards and commissions, such as the Downtown Commission, the Joint Parks Committee, and neighborhood groups, for consideration in terms of their individual perspectives. Councilor Ball said that he personally did not wish to pursue the canal project but that he felt public discussion of the issues was healthy and that the council should give the public a chance to address the proposal before making a decision on disposition of the recommendations contained in the report. Councilor Holmer said he did not have problems with the council's holding a hearing on this matter, but he was uncomfortable with the notion of delegating coordination of the project to L-COG since that agency is already short-handed. - MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 9, 1983 Page 8