02/17/1992 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e rooms in the library would meet the need perceived by the commission. Ms. Aspinwall-lamberts pointed out that the City had indicated its intention to replace the rest rooms removed on West Broadway. Ms. Ehrman suggested that rest rooms in the library might not be sufficient to serve downtown users. Mr. Boles indicated his support for an acquisition component for the commission's public art program, saying that the City had missed an opportunity the previous year to purchase and site art on the mall. Ms. Bascom maintained that there was support for underground parking at the library on the part of voters. She questioned the need for public rest rooms as a top priority in the work program due to the complaints made in past years regarding the condition of the rest rooms and those who used them. In response, Ms. Hopkins said that shoppers downtown complain about a lack of rest rooms. Ms. Aspinwall-lamberts recalled the commitment made by the City when changes were made to West Broadway to replace the rest rooms. Mr. Bartel indicated his opposition to the council's decision to keep the proposed library within the scope of the Eugene Decisions process.... He said that those he had spoken to had believed that they had voted for a new library, and those individuals had indicated their dissatisfaction with a lack of action on the part of the City Council. Mr. Bartel pointed out that the public had supported the library with a vote and maintained that the project should go forward. He said delaying the project affected the City's credi bil ity. Mr. Bartel continued, saying that the erosion in downtown had occurred over 20 years, and he believed it would take as long to repair. He said that in spite of policies to support the core, those policies had not resulted in a strong downtown. If the vacancies that exist on the mall continue, the vacuum created by those vacancies would be filled by less desirable tenants. Mr. Bartel said that the library must be brought out of the Eugene Decisions process and real attention paid to downtown. There are opportunities available to the council for improving downtown, and Mr. Bartel suggested that one opportunity would be to give the Downtown Commission more responsibility for the core. In response to Mr. Bartel's comments, Mr. Brown said that while he supported the library, he was opposed to moving it out of the Eugene Decisions process. He pointed out that his neighborhood had asked the council without success to reopen its fire station. Mr. Brown said there were many such "sacred cows." Observing that the Eugene Decisions process will lead to a change in the manner in which the City does business and that the greater downtown area is doing well, Mr. McDonald asked the commission for its reaction to the return of mall management to the private sector. Responding to Mr. Bartel's suggestion regarding the library, Mr. Boles suggested that, since Olive Street would probably be opened with a vote, the commission submit questions to the community regarding alternative revenue sources for library funding in conjunction with that vote. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 17, 1992 Page 2