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Councilor Meisner remarked that this activity would dilute both funds. He predicted that when <br />the project to turn East Broadway Street into a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood street was ready <br />for implementation, there would not be money to make the sidewalks usable and the street livable <br />because the money will have been spent on this project. He noted that there was a strong <br />potential for cost overruns in the undergrounding project. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey called for a second round of comments. <br /> <br />Councilor Bettman remarked that merely opening the ground did not make an opportunity, but <br />that a real opportunity would be when the council discovered that it had excess money. She <br />reiterated that the priority for the project did not elevate itself to qualify for this funding. She <br />questioned whether the project had an absolute funding cap. City Manager Taylor responded that <br />this was the absolute cap available to spend on the project. He stated that the issue was whether <br />the City would be able to leverage funds from other participating agencies to take advantage of an <br />opportunity. <br />Mr. Klein stressed that it would not be possible to overspend on this project without the approval <br />of the City Council. <br /> <br />Councilor Pap~ conveyed his disbelief at the price of the project. Mr. Sullivan said that the utility <br />poles were going to be moved as a result of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project and that money <br />would be spent to move them, should the undergrounding project not be funded. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey called for a third round of comments. <br /> <br />Councilor Bettman asked why the owners of adjacent property were not being assessed. Mr. <br />Sullivan said that LTD had suggested financial participation to the adjacent property-owners and <br />that none had been interested. Councilor Bettman repeated her objection to the project. <br /> <br />Councilor Nathanson voiced her support for taking the opportunity to underground while the <br />street was torn up to accomplish construction of the BRT. <br /> <br /> Role call vote; the motion passed, 6:2; Councilors Bettman and Meisner <br /> voted no. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey closed the meeting of the Urban Renewal Agency at 9:05 p.m. <br /> <br />Council members took a brief break. <br /> <br />6. ACTION: Resolution 4770 Adopting Amended Systems Development Charge <br /> Methodology for Parks System and Amending Resolution Nos. 4740 and 4748 <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council August 11, 2003 Page 12 <br /> Regular Meeting <br /> <br /> <br />