CC Minutes - 07/23/03 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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FY04 budget. Ms. Hamm responded that they were, but that the AIRS contribution was not in the baseline budget for Fire Services. Mr. Kelly, noting that the recent budget process had been harrowing, asked why the Budget Committee had not been aware of this possible source of working revenue. Chief Tallon responded that the funding was certainly being utilized. It was noted that the temporary station was costing $50,000 per year and that approximately $200,000 was currently being spent on architectural design. Mr. Kelly expressed concern that it would not look good to the media for the Budget Committee to be unaware of a substantial sum of money. Ms. Hamm pointed out that the negotiation with AIRS had only been completed in June. She added that the remainder had been utilized in the expenses of preparing and maintaining the site. Ms. Bettman agreed with Mr. Kelly regarding the design of the facility. She noted that Police Commission had tried to work at the State level to remove the prohibition on systems development charges (SDCs) for City facilities but it had not been successful in that effort. She felt that, had the City been collecting these, it could fund this project. She questioned the merit of building this station for existing needs and not the future. She noted that the area to be served was only comprised of 6,000 to 7,000 citizens. Chief Tallon stated that a station located in a neighborhood of 7,000 would also serve a much larger population as staff do not only respond to calls. He clarified that the population of the area was approximately 17,000, but that only 7,000 were actual residents of the City of Eugene. He said that he would bring a risk analysis study to the council in the fall to determine how best to address the future needs of the area. Ms. Bettman objected to using money for infrastructure at a time when there was a funding shortage to staff the station once it was built. Ms. Taylor asked if the Valley River station was still under-staffed. Chief Tallon responded that the substation in question was staffed only by firefighter cross-trained medics and housed no fire vehicles. Ms. Taylor echoed Ms. Bettman's concern that construction of another facility without staffing existing facilities to their fullest extent might not be the best use of municipal funds. Chief Tallon responded that a decision to cover the Santa Clara area had been made with City Council support. He said that he brought before the council the proposal to follow through on this plan. He stressed that he was aware that there was still a risk factor in the Valley River area and reiterated that a complete assessment of fire and emergency services needs would be presented to the council in two months. Mr. Penwell clarified, at Ms. Taylor's request, that the existing houses did not represent much value. He said that, should the houses go out to bid, the likelihood that bids of more than $2,000 or $3,000 would be submitted was slim and the process was costly to the City. He felt that the houses would be better used as part of the city's pool of affordable housing. He further noted that it cost approximately $30,000 to move such a house. Mayor Torrey was pleased that the City had this option to finance the fire substation. He recognized Mr. Kelly's concern regarding the existing moneys that had not been brought forth MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 23, 2003 Page 3 Work Session