07/08/1991 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e Mr. MacDonald said he felt setting priorities was the heart of the Eugene Decisions process. He asked how community leaders could ask the public to reach agreement about priorities for Eugene when Eugene Decisions could not. He noted that community groups have not been able to reach agreement on Eu- gene's priorities either. Mr. Boles suggested the council attempt to list the three or four most impor- tant issues for leadership in terms of the Eugene Decisions process at this meeting. Mayor Miller questioned whether the council could set physical limitations on the size of the city. Mr. Nicholson said the carrying capacity of the city was at issue. He said a trade-off existed between the quality of life in Eugene and the population, degree of development, etc. Mr. MacDonald said the City had reached and exceeded its fiscal resource level and personnel was therefore being stretched. He said the city also had physical limitations. Mr. Boles added that the scenarios created for the Eugene Decisions process would be affected by council consensus on the exter- nal constraints placed on the City. Mr. Nicholson said that although the council could not directly limit popula- tion, it could change technological processes which affect population, such as transportation. Mr. Gleason said many forms of technology affect the quality of life in a e city, including water quality, sewer services, and fire services. He said the quality of these services depends on increased collective behavior, but that most of the public is not aware of the potential trade-offs in terms of services. He said the City has difficulty conveying this information to the public because of inadequate software. Mr. Boles suggested the City let the public know the multiple solutions to service problems. Mr. Nicholson said Mr. Gleason had listed institutional processes which af- fected the carrying capacity of the City. He said roads are paid for by the public and pointed out that most people choose to use their automobiles rath- er than trains, even though the actual costs of using a train are less. He suggested the City charge actual costs rather than subsidized costs. He said the issue of true costs should be discussed. Mr. Gleason said externalities were mostly funded by user fees. He pointed out that the City has never considered investing one to three percent of the total cost of a project in communications so that a public discussion of the trade-offs involved in the issue can take place. Ms. Bascom said the City is not fully utilizing the carrying capacity of its parks. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 8, 1991 Page 4 ..........