06/13/1983 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilor Wooten noted that staff had met with those supporting some of the e alternative proposals and asked whether staff felt the proposals would be eligible under the program guidelines. Mr. Byrne responded that projects to maintain existing facilities, such as parks, would be ineligible. He said that projects which provided a public service, such as outreach or referral could be eligible if it can be demonstrated that those who would benefit are residents of the City and are 10w- and moderate-income people. He noted that the administra- tive costs of monitoring and reporting on such programs were traditionally very high. Councilor Lindberg said he believed that a large portion of the residents of the Roosevelt Boulevard area were renters who would therefore not directly benefit from the subsidy. Mayor Keller asked about the Portland Jobs Bill program. Mr. Byrne said he was not familiar with the Portland program. Mr. Keller asked how the costs of administration estimated by Eugene compared with those of Springfield. Mr. Byrne said he had spoken with Springfield staff and believed the Springfield funds would be used for storm sewer work and rehabilitation projects to be accomplished through the Lane County Housing Authority. He said that use of the Housing Authority's services would lower administrative costs. Councilor Smith asked if the Switchboard, Lane Unemployment Program, and Crossroads proposals had been reviewed by the CDC. Mr. Byrne responded affirmatively and said staff had met with representatives of those groups to discuss ways in which their proposals could be modified to comply with HUD regulations. Responding to further questions, Mr. Byrne said he believed that the Switchboard proposal had e been reviewed by the Joint Social Services Committee, but he did not believe that the other proposals had. Responding to a question from Councilor Wooten, Mr. Teitzel said that if the traffic signal on Roosevelt was deleted from the proposal and if assessment subsidies were removed, approximately $230,000 to $280,000 could be cut from the original $600,000 proposal. The council took a brief recess. Councilor Lindberg said that the Federal Jobs Bill legislation had produced great expectations but that the HUD bureaucracy made it almost impossible for jurisdictions to meet those expectations. He believed that the Roosevelt project was a good one but noted that it would take a large portion of funds allocated to the City and would only generate jobs over the long term. He suggested that $250,000 be cut back from the funds proposed for Roosevelt and that a portion of this be allocated to the Joint Social Services Committee fUr projects the committee had already evaluated and prioritized. He suggested that a review be made of the requests for proposals received last year for job creation through use of economic development funds and that the remaining portion of the Jobs Bill funds be used to fund some of these proposals. Mr. Lindberg said he believed this suggestion would meet both the moral obligation of the City and the legislative intent for use of the Jobs Bill funds. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 13, 1983 Page 8