Item 4A: Approval of City Council Minutes

Home Browse Search

ATTACHMENT C M I N U T E S Eugene City Council and Eugene Water & Electric Board of Commissioners Joint Meeting th Eugene Water & Electric Board—500 East 4 Avenue—Eugene, Oregon November 15, 2006 12:15 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Jennifer Solomon, Andrea Ortiz, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Gary Papé, Bonny Bettman, George Poling, Chris Pryor. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: President Sandra Bishop; Vice President Mel Menegat; Ron Farmer, John Simpson. A. TOUR AND WORK SESSION: Tour of Eugene Water & Electric Board Riverfront Site and Discussion of Relocation Project Prior to assembling in the Training Center in the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) Community Center, councilors, commissioners, EWEB staff, City staff, representatives of the press, and members of the public were taken on a tour of the EWEB building housing the electric and water utility operations, EWEB yards, and steam plant by EWEB project manager Ken Beeson. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. President Sandra Bishop called the meeting of the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) of Commission- ers to order. She introduced members of the board present, noting the absence of Commissioner Patrick Lanning. Mr. Berggren introduced the topic of discussion. He said the board worked through a deliberative process to reach the conclusion that EWEB needed to move and upgrade its operational facilities from the current site. The board also believed that the current site could be used for higher and better uses than it currently supported. Mr. Berggren said the issues remaining to be addressed by the board were largely related to the economic feasibility of making the move, and the future of the current site was an issue because EWEB would need the revenues from the sale of the site to accomplish the move. The board would have to decide if the revenues realized from the property were sufficient in the February-March 2007 time period. Mr. Berggren said that EWEB was also facing the issue of cost escalation, and that staff was working with its contractors to bring costs in line with the original estimates, but there were no assurances. Mr. Beeson provided an overview of the Roosevelt Project using an aerial photograph of the site and a site plan. He emphasized the principles of performance, sustainability, and economy, and anticipated that the building designed for the site would be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified. He summarized the tentative project schedule, suggesting that the two-year construction period could begin in 2007. Mr. Beeson said staff was working to finalize the project design and in March-April 2007 would have final project estimates to include in a bond measure for consideration by the board and ultimately, the MINUTES—Eugene City Council/ November 15, 2006 Page 1 Eugene Water & Electric Board of Commissioners