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sometimes an opportunity was not really what was within policy or in the best interest of the City. <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor indicated he was amenable to the outcome of the vote. He called the move toward acquisition of <br />park land in that area of town ;;the critical piece." He felt the decision had been difficult. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor reiterated that the deal was not a swap in the sense that the City was going to be given this <br />choice piece of land; the land in the south hills would have cost money. <br /> <br />Mayor Piercy underscored the commitment of all of the councilors toward park development in the River <br />Road/Santa Clara area. <br /> <br />B. WORK SESSION: <br /> Consideration of Intergovernmental Relations Committee Action on Two Grant Applications <br /> <br />City Manager Taylor said Mr. Pap6 had brought this forward for reconsideration after the Council <br />Committee on Intergovernmental Relations (CCIGR) vote concerning two grant applications. He stated that <br />because the grant applications were due on May 19 he and the Mayor had agreed to place this item on the <br />agenda for the current agenda. <br /> <br />Principal Planner for the Planning and Development Department (PDD) Kurt Yeiter explained that this was <br />the time of year the biennial Transportation Growth Management (TGM) grant applications were due, <br />adding that the grants for site-specific planning for mixed-use centers were due on May 23. He said three <br />TGM applications had been packaged for the CCIGR and two of them were authorized. The third <br />application had a little more lead time, as the City had to state its intentions by mid-June, and involved a <br />request for technical assistance, i.e., a team of consultants who would look at the City's land use procedures. <br /> <br />Mr. Yeiter further explained that the other grant that had been rejected was from the Environmental <br />Protection Agency (EPA). He stated that the application had to be sent by FedEx within an hour in order to <br />qualify for it. He explained that the EPA grant would provide the City of Eugene with a team of experts and <br />not direct funding. He related that Urban Services Manager for the Community Development Division of <br />PDD Richie Weinman thought Eugene stood a good chance of attaining the EPA grant, though only six <br />cities would qualify, because of the City's past commitment and activities in trying to implement mixed-use <br />centers and "smart growth" principles. He underscored that staff's position was that staff wanted to apply <br />for as many grants as could be handled over the next two years. <br /> <br />Mr. Pap~ thanked the Mayor and council for allowing this item to take precedence on the agenda. <br /> <br /> Mr. Pap~, seconded by Mr. Poling, moved that the City of Eugene apply <br /> for the Environmental Protection Agency Smart Growth award. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor ascertained from Mr. Yeiter that the timeline for the third TGM grant was not urgent as a letter <br />of intent was not due until June. Mr. Yeiter clarified that this was not the subject of the current motion. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly commented that of the four grants the CCIGR considered, this grant was the only one that offered <br />staffing and not funding. He felt some frustration that the immediacy of the deadline for the EPA grant did <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 18, 2005 Page 5 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />