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Mr. Klein indicated that the council was not completely free to revise the 1998 decision directing <br />urban renewal money to the library. There were implications raised by State statutes as well as <br />Ballot Measure 47/50. He said that when the council discussed the downtown financing tools at a <br />future work session, staff would lay out those limitations. Mr. Kelly expressed appreciation for the <br />information, but added not having those facts made it difficult for the council to make a decision. <br /> <br />Mr. Pap~ commended City staff and the Library Foundation for the work done on the library. He <br />also thanked Mr. Meisner for his continuing focus on the library. <br /> <br />Mr. Pap~ clarified the financial details of the proposal with Ms. Cutsogeorge and Mr. Carlson. <br /> <br />Mr. Fart returned to the meeting room. <br /> <br />Mr. Pap~ questioned whether the City would actually realize the full $365,000 to reallocate as Ms. <br />Bettman desired. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner expressed appreciation for the proposal before the council, which he found fiscally <br />sound and straightforward. He did not support reallocating the savings to be realized this year. <br />He preferred to see what happened with the service prioritization effort. He supported the <br />suggested motion. <br /> <br />Speaking to Mr. Kelly's comments, Ms. Nathanson suggested that the proposal before the council <br />assumed no change in the council's 1998 decision. She noted her own vote against the decision <br />to allocate all urban renewal funding to the library because she had anticipated other needs for the <br />money in the future and did not want to preclude that possibility. However, she was prepared to <br />support the suggested motion, which she interpreted as accelerating the accumulation of reserves <br />for City downtown space. <br /> <br />Mr. Fart also supported the staff recommendation. He commended the City's stewardship of the <br />library project. He said that the project was under budget and ahead of schedule. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey asked if the City had exhausted all outside funds, such as the pledge of the Library <br />Foundation. Mr. Meisner said that the foundation was within one percent of its original $5.5 million <br />goal. He noted the lag between the time moneys were pledged and received. He said that the <br />foundation was soliciting additional contributions with the purpose of establishing an ongoing <br />library endowment. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman did not share Mr. Kelly's concerns about retaining the money for downtown <br />purposes. She said that the council would review the idea of another urban renewal district soon. <br />Her concerns regarded the use of the funds. Staff had identified $365,000 to be freed up on an <br />annual basis, and made an arbitrary decision that $275,000 would be directed toward the capital <br />reserve, and $90,000 would go into the General Fund. She said that circumvented the budget <br />process. Ms. Bettman asked if staff had determined what department would receive the $90,000. <br />In response, Ms. Cutsogeorge noted that the Budget Committee would hear an updated General <br />Fund forecast in November 2002, and she anticipated the money would be needed to maintain <br />existing service levels. <br /> <br /> MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 25, 2002 Page 3 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />