04/09/1979 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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. Ms. Smith requested information regarding private contributions in the community, and wondered if the contributions would be used for construction under the present situation, or would be for added costs. Mr. Smith said there would be a list of the types of things for which the contributions could be used: furniture, sound equip- ment, art work, furnishing dressing rooms, sponsoring cultural/ education programs. He said the money might even be used for com- pleting some of the areas into better quality than is provided for in the budget; thus, he said, there were a variety of uses for this money. There is an organized group, the Eugene Community Foundation, which is specifically working on getting donations for the project. Mr. Delay wondered if the Council adopted Recommendation 1 (4), whether that would lock the City into that blocking with site plan. Mr. Smith said he did not think so. He said it would not be a public thoroughfare, but still would be used as a public space. He said there ware continued circulation studies that have to be completed in conjunction with the hotel development in the area. However, he noted that space would be a joint public open space between the east and west blocks. e Answering a question from Mr. Obie, Mr. Pfeiffer said, under the present design, there would be a minimum of 2,200 seats in the large room. He said every attempt would be made to achieve as many seats as possible. In other projects, there have been as many as 400 more seats made available. The small hall will contain 500 seats. However, he said there would be no fewer than 2,200 seats, and it was hoped there would be more. Mayor Keller said Mr. Hurd had suggested five ingredients as to why he had high support for the project. Council has read and discussed in great detail the hard costs of the project. The result of the planning done to date suggests that the City has reached the stage where it cannot erect the facility it wants for $18.5 million. Regarding the time delays, the City made a strong commitment that citizens in the community would have an opportunity to participate in the planning. The public process resulted in the Civic Center Commission allowing for that input from the community, and perhaps that is a reason why the project is behind schedule, as well as part of the reason for the escalated cost. He was not pleased with the high cost for the project, but it has been agreed that that is what the project will cost as of today. He is convinced that, if a facility were built with 800 seats in one performing hall and 350 seats in ~ theater, ~uch a facility would incur a great debt for City of Eugene, from the operational standpoint. The City promised its citizens a quality facility, and he felt the architects had worked very hard to make sure of that quality. Further delays at this point would be ironic in view of inflation and escalating costs. He said parking is a necessity. He noted the shortage of 1,000 . 4/9/79--9 ~o