CC Minutes - 02/11/02 Work Session

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frustrated about the lack of evening hours at the library, and people asked him why it was not open in the evenings when families could visit it. Ms. AspinwalI-Lamberts noted that many families with preschool aged children visited the library in the early morning hours for such events as stow time. Ms. Bennett added that the library frequently received requests for more evening hours. Mr. Meisner noted the recommendation for more evening hours and for Sunday hours at the branches. Mr. Pap8 also thanked the committee and commended the work of the Eugene Library Foundation. Ms. Nathanson supported renewal of the library levy. However, she continued to be concerned about the lack of branch library service in the southwest part of the community and noted that there were new services proposed to start in the 2004 equaled the cost of a new southwest branch library. She said that the committee made a clear choice as to what the priorities were, and the committee chose to prioritize increased hours at existing branches and enhancing some service at the downtown library above a southwest branch. The decision to support the committee's recommendations was a difficult one for her; if she had heard more from her constituents about their dissatisfaction, she would be making more of an issue of the decision. However, she had not heard from her constituents, and she thought they understood the area was "next in line." Ms. AspinwalI-Lamberts acknowledged Ms. Nathanson's concerns and noted the complete lack of public comment on the topic. The decision came down to making sure there was a strong downtown library that could support the branches, and that the existing branches were on firm financial footing. She said the tradeoff was difficult, and expressed her thanks to Ms. Nathanson for her support. In response to Ms. Nathanson's comments, Mr. Meisner said that the committee had discussed the timing of the southwest branch as it related to the next levy, and agreed rather than open the branch for one year without thorough analysis, the City should do more work in the neighborhood to determine what was needed and where the branch should be located, and build the branch through the next levy. Mr. Kelly advocated for renewal of the library levy, noting the heavy use the library enjoyed and the many functions it served. He expressed appreciation to the committee for its work and said he would trust its judgment as to the priorities it had set. Regarding the status of the economy, Mr. Kelly noted that the first collection of the levy would not occur until fall 2003, by which time most economists think the state would be in better condition. Responding to a question from Mr. Rayor regarding what the current levy covered, Ms. Bennett said that it supported the operations of the two existing branches, the downtown library's Sunday hours, additional internet access at the downtown library, and the expanded staff needs required for eight months of operations at the new downtown library. Mr. Rayor supported the library levy renewal and wanted it to pass. He suggested that toward that end, the council split the recommendation into two levies, one representing the current level of service and one representing the services being added. Ms. Bettman expressed concern about the size of the levy given the other things that she anticipated would be on the May ballot. However, she thought the committee had made good choices in reaching its recommendation and thought there would be synergy with the other measures on the ballot. She expressed appreciation to the committee for its commitment to making the measure succeed. She was optimistic the levy would pass. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 2002 Page 12 State of the City