CC Minutes - 11/10/03 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

asked the council to give further thought to how the private sector could be involved in a financing package because the properties adjacent to the Millrace could benefit tremendously by the feature. Ms. Nathanson asked Mr. Hostick to further explain his comments about the development of the San Antonio Riverwalk over time and in an organic way. Mr. Hostick replied that the Riverwalk was originally developed as a creek redevelopment project. He related that in the 1930s a stormwater conveyance was redeveloped as an open space system for the community and in the 1970s impetus came from adjacent businesses to find the funds to improve the area. He said a community board was established to raise funds and, over the next 30 years, the project continued to evolve, with new development and redevelopment of existing building ongoing. Ms. Nathanson questioned whether there was potential for incremental development of the project and what the implications would be. She said that the environmental issues raised before the Planning Commission +3 created the potential for a demonstration project for environmental solutions that would show how general runoff from streets in an urban setting could be treated. She stated an interest in pursuing that possibility. Ms. Taylor concurred with previous comments from other councilors and agreed that the Millrace was a beautiful dream. She said accomplishments started with dreams and thought the project could lead to economic development opportunities and possibly eliminate the need for housing tax breaks in the downtown area because it would be a desirable location in which to live. She said there were many people in the community who were enthusiastic about the project and would be willing to work on it, and she supported the full daylighting option. Mr. Coyle provided some background on the Riverwalk as a result of his conversations with San Antonio city staff. He said the Riverwalk was initiated as a result of flooding in the area and funding was more easily obtained in a crisis situation. He said the Millrace did not present a threat to property if the improvements were not made and therefore the expectations for public funds should be tempered. He added that San Antonio staff said it was important to lead with private funds to secure other funding, and bringing private funds in behind public funds had not been fruitful. Mr. Coyle said it was important to remember that as the Courthouse District Plan was implemented, street connections would be made and designs would need to be based on whether or not the Millrace was daylighted. He said those plans would need to be made in a matter of months rather than years, which is why the council's discussion of Millrace options was scheduled. Mr. Pap~ agreed with Ms. Nathanson's comments about not going to Eugene voters in the next couple of years for a Millrace daylighting project. He asked if the project could be done incrementally as funds became available, even though that could increase the cost and cause complications with regard to streets. He remarked that streets could be designed in anticipation of a feature to be added in the future. Mr. Corey agreed that there was the issue of streets in the courthouse district, but the Millrace project's other impacts were on bridge and railroad track crossings and the implications of constructing the feature adjacent to development that may have already occurred. Mr. Corey said the $20 million full daylighting option took into account that it was essentially an open piece of ground that lent itself to doing that type of work, but as construction and redevelopment filled in the area, it constrained the ability of contractors to work. He said it would not be impossible to phase the improve- MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 10, 2003 Page 9 Work Session