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<br />- <br /> <br />- <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />Mayor Keller asked for a councilor to volunteer to serve on the Metropolitan <br />Wastewater Management Commission Advisory Committee. Councilor Holmer said he <br />did not believe it was necessary to have this position filled by a council <br />member, since two councilors already serve on the commission itself. He sugges- <br />ted the Mayor and council consider appointing a lay citizen to this position. <br />Councilor Smith said that there had been an indication that it was not absolutely <br />necessary to have the representative on the committee be an elected official. <br />Mayor Keller said that he would pursue the matter. <br /> <br />D. Announcements <br /> <br />1. River Road/Santa Clara Service Plan (memorandum distributed) <br /> <br />Mr. Gleason referred to the memorandum which had been distributed to councilors <br />regarding development of a sewer service plan for the River Road/Santa Clara <br />area. He noted that the Metropolitan Area General Plan requires that Eugene <br />and Lane County cooperate in development of such a plan. He referred to a <br />$7 million grant which could be available for construction of the main trunk <br />line and noted that the City of Eugene was the only agency which could act on <br />this grant in a timely fashion. He said that City staff was working with <br />staff from Springfield and Lane County to develop a citizen advisory group to <br />begin work on the plan. Mr. Gleason noted that these actions would not affect <br />the incorporation efforts currently being carried forward in River Road/Santa <br />Clara and that the City continued to follow a policy of leaving River Road and <br />Santa Clara alone, while still providing options for solutions to sewer problems <br />when such problems arise. <br /> <br />2. Possibility of Litigation Regarding Sewer User Rate Increase <br />(memorandum distributed) <br /> <br />Councilor Hansen asked for clarification of the possible effects of efforts <br />under way in Springfield to challenge the implementation of the adopted sewer <br />user rate increase. Mr. Gleason responded that a referendum petition had been <br />circulated in Springfield to place the rate increase issue on the ballot. He <br />said that when the voters approved the bonds accepting the Federal grant for <br />construction of the treatment plant, it had been agreed that the plant would be <br />operated through user fees. He noted that this was also a requirement of the <br />Department of Environmental Quality for the County Service District. He said <br />that the Metropolitan Wastewater Managmement Commission (MWMC) and the two <br />cities were therefore obligated to implement user fees. Regarding the petition <br />proceedings, Mr. Gleason said that in general the courts tend to let such a <br />referendum vote take place and then rule on whether the matter was administra- <br />tive or legislative and whether the referendum results should therefore be <br />overturned. He said that for this reason the MWMC and the County Service <br />District may be forced into litigation with Springfield to enjoin Springfield <br />from holding the referendum. He said that none of this would affect the City of <br />Eugene's user rate, which would remain as previously approved by the council. <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council <br /> <br />March 16, 1983 <br /> <br />Page 4 <br />