Laserfiche WebLink
reviewed that information. He said that Peter Roberts of RCS Associates provided a letter to the <br />council that included a private sector review to the costs and approach to providing the facility. <br /> <br />Mr. Carlson recommended that the council take action on the item and adopt the staff proposal for <br />a two-story facility at the Roosevelt site. He anticipated that the facility could be done concurrently <br />with the new fire station. <br /> <br />Mr. Rayor liked the proposal. He thought every point of contention raised by the council had been <br />taken into account by staff. He was pleased with the alternative delivery method as it would move <br />staff out of the basement more quickly. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly supported the primary goal of getting staff out of the basement. He appreciated the <br />changes made to the build proposal, in particularly the two-story structure and the use of existing <br />property. However, he found the lease proposal more attractive. He said if the use contemplated <br />was to be permanent, he would support the build proposal, but the use was proposed for only five <br />years, and the cost over that time period for the lease proposal was $2.8 million; he contrasted <br />that to the build proposal, which cost $4.4 million. He did not think that was an efficient use of <br />taxpayer money. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly questioned whether the cost of the tenant improvements for the lease proposal would be <br />considered differently if it was known the building would be used for only five years. That might <br />bring the costs down. He also liked the greater flexibility of a lease approach. He asked about the <br />space needs for Special Operations, which was to occupy the new space after five years. He <br />recalled that the alternatives identified for City Hall indicated the service was occupying 6,500 <br />square feet now. He acknowledged that could be cramped, but questioned why the amount <br />needed was more than double that. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner asked Chief Thad Buchanan to discuss the ultimate use of the building. Chief <br />Buchanan responded that the building would be used for Special Operations when the FEU/PCU <br />was relocated to a new police facility, when and if constructed. He said that the reason for the <br />additional space for the Special Operations function was due to the need for storage of vehicles, <br />such as the Command Bus. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner said his questions and concerns about the lease versus buy approach had been <br />answered. While he acknowledged the amount of money involved, he supported the staff <br />recommendation and expressed pleasure that the structure was to be two stories. He wanted to <br />move forward immediately. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner asked if the council needed to have a public hearing on the issue. Mr. Carlson said <br />the issue was governed by State law, which required a public hearing on the exemption from <br />public bidding. Mr. Meisner asked that such information be included in future Agenda Item <br />Summaries. He also asked that the public hearing be scheduled soon. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman wanted to achieve both the immediate objective of getting staff out of the basement <br />of City Hall and the long-term objective of getting a new police station downtown. She objected to <br />the staff proposal because it would expend the entire facilities reserve on a building not on the <br />council's capital priority list. She believed the lease costs prepared by staff to be inflated because <br />she thought the City could purchase an office building. <br /> <br /> MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 22, 2002 Page 6 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />