Laserfiche WebLink
larger context to which he previously referred, and suggested some sort of grid would be useful. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey was glad the fire facilities issues were segregated and hoped they continued to be <br />so. He wanted to go to the voters in May 2002 with the downtown fire station. He did not believe <br />the community was prepared to address the Santa Clara fire station issue at this point, and <br />emphasized the need for community education. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey said the council needed to find a way to remind the public that it always intended to <br />come back to the voters with a serial levy for the library at the end of four years. <br /> <br />Ms. Nathanson agreed with Mr. Meisner that the context for any measure was very important. <br />That context included what the voters were willing to pay for, and the economic climate at the time <br />of the proposal. She said that the political climate was also a consideration. The council had also <br />discussed placing some charter review issues on the May and November ballots, and those <br />proposals might have both cost implications and political ramifications that create concern on the <br />part of the voters. Ms. Nathanson questioned how much the council was willing to "throw out <br />there," saying she did not want to present the public with a laundry list of measures and see if <br />"something sticks." <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly agreed with Mayor Torrey that the two fire stations should be segregated in two bond <br />measures, but did not support placing them on two ballots. He thought staging the two measures <br />in two elections would be confusing as people would question the measure as they had just voted <br />for a fire facility. He suggested a single educational campaign for both measures. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly said that while he was also interested in a district for the purpose of providing youth <br />services, he pointed out to Mr. Meisner that was also a property tax-based solution. Regarding <br />the potential of City support for the schools and the measure 5 compression moneys, Mr. Kelly <br />hoped any discussion included the potential of nonproperty tax revenues, which he could support. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly thought Ms. Nathanson's remarks regarding the economic climate were to the point. He <br />suggested that the City make clear to the voters the distinction between supporting existing <br />services and establishing new, needed services. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor expressed concern about the discussion of potentially increasing property taxes, which <br />people already perceived as high. She did not favor trying to pass all the measures at once, <br />although she favored offering all to the voters eventually, with the exception of a new City Hall. <br />She thought the council needed to find another source of taxation to meet the community's needs. <br />Ms. Taylor preferred to see the downtown fire station on the May 2002 ballot, and using all the <br />reserves to build it rather than directing them to a new police facility. She thought the police could <br />be temporarily relocated from the basement to the old fire space. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman believed that the council needed to discuss the downtown fire station and staffing at <br />the Santa Clara station to decide whether it was practical to put something on the May 2002 ballot <br />regarding Santa Clara. She thought the downtown fire station should be on the May ballot, and <br />suggested that the council could then reevaluate what other issues should be added. She <br />thought the library levy should be offered to the voters in May 2002. Ms. Bettman said the <br />November 2002 ballot was somewhat full, and suggested the council look at the emergent issues <br />and get funding measures on the May ballot. She was concerned about the size of the library <br /> <br /> MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 2002 Page 5 <br /> State of the City <br /> <br /> <br />