CC Minutes - 04/08/02 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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The remaining items on the Consent Calendar, including Item B, passed unanimously. Regarding Item C, Councilor Bettman said the resolution was being forwarded in order to pay for extra capacity in the water system and added that it would be an obligation of EWEB's rate payers. She opined that the groundwater backup system added capacity to the overall system and was therefore an SDC- eligible expenditure. She said the capital outlay should be paid for by systems development charge revenue and not by EWEB ratepayers. In response to a request for a legal opinion on the issue from Councilor Bettman, City Attorney Glenn Klein said he was not familiar enough with the well field issue to give an opinion that evening. He said he could come back with information. He noted that even if the groundwater project was SDC-eligible, that did not mean that EWEB had to use SDCs. Councilor Bettman said she would not vote in favor of the issuance of the bonds unless she had unequivocal legal advice that stated that the groundwater project was not a capacity-increasing project and therefore not eligible for SDC funds. Councilor Bettman, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved to postpone the vote on Item C until more information could be gathered. Roll call vote' the vote resulted in a tie. Mayor Torrey cast a vote in opposition, and the final vote on the motion was 5:4 against the motion, with councilors Pap~, Taylor, Bettman, and Meisner voting in favor. Ms. Bettman raised concern over letting ratepayers shoulder a cost that could be borne by development. She stressed the importance of determining whether systems development charges could be used for the project. Councilor Rayor said the main purpose of the project was to provide a second water supply system to the City of Eugene. He said it was not a capacity enhancement project, and added that the well field was a back-up system that any prudent utility would want to provide in case something happened to the primary source. He said it was up to the EWEB commissioners to decide whether SDCs were to be used, and further noted that the water SDC was not under the jurisdiction of the City of Eugene. Jim ©rigliosso, Director of Financial Services for EWEB, said nothing in the ordinance precluded EWEB from using systems development charges. He noted that SDCs were included in the definition of revenues of the water system. He said EWEB had not made the decision to use SDCs yet for the reason cited by Councilor Rayor. He said there was extensive public record that characterized the groundwater project as a back-up water supply and not an extension or an increase to the capacity of the water system as a whole. In response to a question from Councilor Kelly regarding whether the City Charter gave the City jurisdiction over how EWEB should repay its bonds, Mr. Klein said the one piece of leverage that the council had was that if it found EWEB's method of repayment unacceptable, the council could vote against the issuance of the bonds. Other than that, he said it was up to the EWEB commissioners to run the utility, and it would not be appropriate for the council to pass the resolution and then try to direct the way EWEB repaid its bonds. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 8, 2002 Page 5 Regular Session