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Mr. Leiken stated that the County had given the cities an ultimatum when it cut back on available <br />road funds. He felt that the cities had been led to believe that the moneys that had been available <br />in 1997 would be available again. He called the road system in the City of Springfield a $250 <br />million asset. He said the City of Springfield had faced a difficult decision when it moved forward <br />with the repeal of the TSMF. He related that the decision had been based on good faith <br />discussions with commissioners Sorenson and Dwyer, and what could possibly happen with OTIA <br />3. The Board of County Commissioners had since decided to delay any sort of action on <br />allocation of OTIA 3 funding. He wished that Springfield could repeal the gas tax as well. He <br />called Eugene/Springfield the economic hub of Lane County. He expressed pride that the two <br />cities could work together for a common goal. <br /> <br />Tammy Fitch, 1269 Island Court, Springfield, President of the Springfield City Council, said that <br />the cities need to keep communicating. She related that she had talked with Commissioner Green <br />and that he had encouraged her to keep communicating. She stated that, in good faith, the City of <br />Springfield had repealed its TSMF, due in large part to the work one of the County <br />commissioners had done to gather enough signatures to put the TSMF on a ballot. She stressed <br />that it would not have been prudent to spend the large sum of money it would cost, approximately <br />$40,000 to $50,000, on a one-item election in tough economic times. She believed that any <br />funding mechanism that could be perceived as permanent would never quite be so, due to the <br />funding reappropriation scheduled to occur in 2006. She commended the two cities for <br />presenting a united front. She believed that money already being collected, regardless of the <br />mechanism, should be distributed accordingly to handle the needed road maintenance. <br /> <br />Bruce Miller, PO Box 50968, Eugene, expressed disappointment that students of the University <br />of Oregon were not in attendance. He noted that he had not seen students at the forums that <br />Representative Peter DeFazio had held locally in the previous week. He noted that Councilor <br />Nathanson worked at the University of Oregon library and expressed hope that she could <br />encourage greater participation on the part of the students. <br /> <br />Mr. Miller circulated copies of several articles for the council's perusal. <br /> <br />Rouald Zauuer, 85398 South Willamette Street, explained that he was the owner of a spa on the <br />corner of 27th Avenue and Willamette Street. He commented that his tenant had vacated in <br />October and that no new tenants had stepped forward to reopen a spa at this site. As a result, he <br />had pursued redevelopment of the property to entice a different sort of business as a tenant; retail <br />on the ground floor with offices above. He related that he had been completely willing to adhere <br />to City Code, but had discovered that the six parking spaces that were on the property were not <br />adequate to meet the requirements that a change of land use would bring into play. He asserted <br />that, if the true interest of the City lay in promoting small businesses in nodal development areas, <br />it should not be made more difficult to develop property for such purposes. He stressed that the <br />redevelopment he sought to complete was an improvement to the area. <br /> <br />Ms. Solomon arrived. <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council August 11, 2003 Page 3 <br /> Regular Meeting <br /> <br /> <br />