CC Minutes - 04/09/01 Work Session

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also gave the community the opportunity to remake the entrance to the University of Oregon as well. Ms. Hocken thanked the council for its time and thoughtful consideration of BRT over many months, and acknowledged the efforts of the Planning Commission and City staff. She noted the presence of LTD board member Robert Melnick, Dean of the University of Oregon's School of Architecture and Allied Arts. Ms. Hocken quoted from Voltaire: 'The best is the enemy of the good., Failing to undertake a project because the outcome may not be perfect could result in the loss of a positive outcome. Ms. Hocken acknowledged that the proposal before the council was not the complete system, but the first steps toward the complete system. She said the LTD board and staff were committed to moving forward with engineering and construction with the council's approval. The board was also committed to working with the City on planning and design for the next phase, and funding had been allocated for that purpose. She asked for council approval of Phase 1 for the pilot corridor so the district could take advantage of federal funding. Ms. Hocken called the council's attention to a letter from Hillary Wylie of the LTD board answering some questions previously submitted by councilors. Ms. Bettman asked for clarification about the funding for Phase 2. Ms. Hocken said LTD wanted the council to be aware that funding had been set aside for the next two years for planning for the next phases of the system. Ms. Bettman said that the commitment of Eugene staff time to the project appeared to be considerable, and wondered how much of the $11 million for Phase 1 could be directed to Eugene to underwrite staff costs. Mr. Viggiano said that approach was not currently reflected in the budget. The contingency fund established by LTD was intended to address the cost of design issues that might arise during the final design phase. He said that the future reimbursement of City staff could be discussed in conjunction with the development of the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA). Mr. Farmer added that City staff understood that the City would be reimbursed for its costs related to engineering design work. Mr. Hamm confirmed that statement, saying that the costs would be worked out through the IGA. He clarified that reimbursement for City planning costs had not been negotiated. Ms. Bettman indicated she would offer a condition for approval that involved the reimbursement of City costs by LTD. Ms. Nathanson recollected the development of the Entrance Beautification Plan, regretting that the plan had never been fully funded or implemented. She thought BRT would be a major vehicle, in conjunction with the visioning plan, in getting the goals of the beautification plan accomplished. She requested copies of the Entrance Beautification Plan be distributed to councilors and LTD Board members. Responding to a question from Ms. Nathanson regarding the involvement of the State Community Solutions Team (CST) in facilitating the review and approval of the Oregon Department of Transportation for system routing, Mr. Viggiano confirmed that the CST has been working with LTD and was interested in assisting with the project. Ms. Nathanson said that continued government investments in improvements to the corridor were warranted because it would continue to be important to public transit whether the system was a BRT system or a typical bus system. Mr. Kelly emphasized his support for the BRT system and his support for funding for future phases. He agreed with Ms. Nathanson that the corridor was important, but to him it was only important in the context of a larger system. He said that he had been looking for the type of specificity outlined in the Planning