09/11/1991 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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-------- e At Councilor Boles' request for an informal vote, the council reached consen- sus that it did not want CCI to review further the option of a rolled curb and gutter street standard. Mr. Lyle presented the council with an overview of the low-income assessment subsidy program. Staff considered two possible options for the program: 1) a deferral program similar to that provided for sanitary sewer assessments in the River Road area; or 2) a subsidy program modeled after the City of Springfield's. Staff recommends the subsidy program because they believe it will provide companion support for the street improvement matrix. Mr. Lyle said that under the proposed subsidy program, staff would model an approach followed by the City of Springfield whereby staff establishes a priority ranking system for street improvements (concentrating first on grav- el streets). The Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) stan- dard would be used as a basis for evaluating income. If the council approves the approach, staff would prepare the ordinance and allocate $200,000 to help with start-up costs in the first year. (This figure would revert to $100,00 in succeeding years). Mr. Lyle said that the City also hopes to receive some program assistance from urban transition and Community Development Block Grant funds. Mr. MacDonald noted that starting the program with $200,000 in the first year would likely create this expectation in the future and questioned the sensi- bility behind decreasing the allocation by half after the first year. Ms. tit Ehrman concurred. Mr. Gleason noted that the City of Springfield has been successful in lever- aging Lane County Road Fund moneys for its subsidy program and suggested that the City pursue that option as well. There is presently $83 million in the Lane County Road Fund; this money provides approximately $9 million in inter- est payments annually. The County spends approximately $12 million to main- tain County streets outside the city but does not help maintain roads inside the city. Because the city is part of the County, it would not be wrong for the City to ask for some County assistance with street maintenance inside the city limits. Ms. Ehrman supported targeting gravel streets for improvement first. Howev- er, she said that the focus should be on gravel streets in residential areas. Mr. Boles noted that council has been looking at a more assertive policy with respect to the initiation of alleys for improvements. It is often unlikely to get property owner initiation on gravel alleys that serve apartment build- ings. Mr. Boles also said that given the other priorities for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money in the next several years, it is unlike- ly that this money would be available for a low-income street program. How- ever, there may be some way to leverage CDBG funds for the program. Mr. Boles suggested that the council might want to send a letter to thf Coun- ty urging that it accept a greater financial responsibility for roads within e -- MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 11, 1991 Page 6 --