CC Minutes - 09/25/06 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilor Bettman indicated she had submitted a minutes correction electronically. She also wished to pull Item C. Mayor Piercy deemed the correction, without objection, approved. Councilor Papé also wanted to pull Item C. Roll call vote; the motion to approve the Consent Calendar with the exception of Item C passed unanimously, 8:0. Councilor Bettman asked if the City had formally applied for an easement from the Oregon Department of Transportation and whether the application easement had been rejected or denied. City Engineer for the Public Works Department, Mark Schoening, replied that the City had not formally applied for an easement, but had consulted ODOT regarding its access policies. In response to a question from Councilor Bettman, Mr. Schoening affirmed that the Tedron properties were the only properties adjacent to the existing City-owned property. Councilor Bettman asked if that property surrounded the City-owned parcel. Mr. Schoening replied that the ODOT right-of-way lay on one boundary and the Tedron properties bounded the other sides of the property. Councilor Bettman asked how wide the long and narrow parcel was. Mr. Schoening surmised from the aerial photo that it was approximately 10 feet wide on one end and 20 feet wide on the other. In response to a follow-up question, Mr. Schoening explained that the Millrace lay between the back of the building and the railroad. Councilor Bettman recalled that when looking at a property exchange with the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC) she had been told that “property in the water does not count.” City Manager Taylor asked if she was talking about property lines within the Willamette River. Councilor Bettman affirmed that she was. City Manager Taylor explained that those principles did not apply in this instance. Councilor Bettman felt the Tedron property was a useless strip of land and the City was trading a prime piece of property for it. She opined that the City had not made a formal application for a right-of-way and then had used hearsay as a justification for trading a prime piece of property for a substandard piece of property. This did not make sense to her. In response to a question from Councilor Papé, Mr. Schoening said while he did not know the exact terms of the easement, it was for protection of the Millrace and having control of the property adjacent to the city- owned park property. Councilor Papé asked if there was any way to purchase enough property or to get enough of an easement to further develop the bicycle path. Mr. Schoening replied that this was part of the intent. He assured Councilor Papé that there would be enough “dry ground” between the railroad and the Millrace to build onto the bicycle path. Councilor Papé asked if anyone had looked at the property to ascertain whether there was enough property to give a level of flexibility in planning for future uses. Mr. Schoening did not know the answer to that question. MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 25, 2006 Page 9 Regular Meeting