CC Minutes - 07/22/02 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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property tax. He said a property tax, for purposes of Measure 5, was defined as one that was imposed directly on the property itself or one that was imposed on the property owner as a direct consequence of ownership. He said the fee in question would not be imposed either on the property or on the property owner. He said it would only be imposed when use of the property generated use of the transportation system. Mayor Torrey opened the public hearing. Mike Broadsword, 3450 Strathmore Place, said the need for a transportation system maintenance fee had been established by City staff. He said staff had reached the determination of ramping up to $8 million per year to keep up with road maintenance. He said the majority of the roads in Eugene were reaching the end of their economic life as well as facing traffic increases and population growth. He stressed the importance of being proactive in maintaining roads since it would cost more to do it later. Terry Connolly, Eugene Chamber of Commerce, said it was difficult to support the fee until there had been a public hearing on the proposed fuel tax. He noted that there was a serious problem facing the community and stressed the importance of facing that problem in the most fiscally responsive way. Jennifer Solomon, 2005 Lemuria Street, expressed her support for the ordinance. She said providing a safe and efficient transportation system was an essential role of city government. She said the transportation system maintenance fee was a fair and equitable means to address the situation of the City's deteriorating streets. She urged the council to move forward on the issue. She noted that the cost of the preservation backlog had already increased substantially. Russell Styles, 2015 Eastwood Lane, raised concern that non-local traffic passed through his local community street. He noted that 2,400 vehicles used his street daily, resulting in severe road damage to a street that, until recently, had not been maintained by the City. He commented that he would be very angry if the City demanded that he share in the cost of maintaining his street since it had done nothing to enforce the "local traffic only" rule that had been in effect. He said the City should use discretionary funds to pay for street preservation. Gary Heldt, 3477 Onyx Street, supported the proposed plan but asked that no action be taken until public hearings were held for both the current proposal and the proposed fuel tax. He added his opinion that the fee included too much administrative overhead. David Monk, 3720 Emerald Street, submitted a written statement from the Southeast Neighbors neighborhood association. He said that delayed and deferred road maintenance cost twice as much as preventative maintenance. He said the association was opposed to the street maintenance fee since the citizens of the city had not been given enough background information regarding the proposed fee. He said the fee, in part, was due to over-commitment of funds to new road and highway projects outlined in the TransPlan. There being no other requests to speak, Mayor Torrey closed the public hearing. Councilor Kelly stressed the importance of keeping Eugene's gas tax similar to Springfield's. He expressed concern that a gas tax as a sole funding source was not politically viable since it would mean a 12-13 cent per gallon tax, which would create an uneven playing field for Eugene businesses that would have to charge more for gas than businesses outside the city limits. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 22, 2002 Page 7 Regular Meeting