CC Minutes - 05/18/05 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mayor Piercy asked if the discussion could continue given that only two people were left in the queue to speak. Ms. Ortiz withdrew her call for the question. Mr. Pap6 indicated his opposition to the motion. He was concerned the City was not following through with the promise it made to River Road/Santa Clara residents in the bond measure of 1998 to provide a large community park for the area. He believed that only two parcels met the criteria, one by the river by Beltline Road and the property currently being considered. He said should this land swap be defeated, he intended to make a motion that the City go forth and try to acquire one of those properties either through purchasing it or through the condemnation process. Ms. Taylor commented that the City could buy 40 acres if it needed to. She advocated for using condemna- tion if necessary. She averred that the Amazon Park was %o full of stuff" that there was not a lot of park left. She suggested listening to the neighbors who have indicated they would be satisfied with several smaller parks. Ms. Ortiz said what caught her eye was that the proposal came from business interests and not from the interests of the community. She added that should Mr. Pap6 place another motion on the table to purchase land she would support it. The vote was a tie, 4:4; Mr. Kelly, Ms. Bettman, Ms. Taylor, and Ms. Or- tiz voting in favor and Mr. Poling, Mr. Pryor, Mr. Pap6, and Ms. Solomon voting in opposition. Mayor Piercy voted for the motion and it passed on a final vote of 5:4. Mayor Piercy said she felt this was in the best interest of the community. Ms. Solomon left the meeting at 12:35 p.m. Mr. Kelly remarked that it may become necessary for an eminent domain action. City Manager Taylor surmised that the council was asking staff to continue to look for viable options for a park, though the vote concluded the proposed transaction. He thought there would still be opportunities and that the council was aware of the will of the voters toward purchasing such a community park space. Mr. Pap6 reiterated that the swap had included removal of a property at the south end of the City from the UGB and buying it to preserve it for open space. City Manager Taylor said that part of the transaction was lost through the council action. Mr. Pap6 said he would strongly object should anyone suggest that money set aside for parks in the north side of town be moved elsewhere. Ms. Bettman commented that while the Laurel Hill site ;;might have been a nice site to have" it entailed $950,000 of acquisition money and the property did not fall on the list of priorities. She opined that MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 18, 2005 Page 4 Work Session