CC Minutes - 04/23/01 Work Session

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Ms. Bettman, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved to amend the work plan by adding a work plan item that read "Investigate funding opportunities and development of a downtown fixed rail street car." Mr. Kelly questioned the inclusion of the item in the work plan given the work that was already occurring through the downtown visioning project. He wanted to study the feasibility of such a system, but wanted to do so on an incremental basis that did not assume an outcome. In response to Mr. Kelly's concern, Ms. Bettman suggested the motion be modified to read "Explore the feasibility and funding of a downtown fixed rail street car." Ms. Taylor accepted the modification as a friendly amendment. Ms. Bettman said that the streetcar was not just a transit strategy, but an economic development strategy and a downtown strategy as well. She said that there was some interest in the concept among downtown businesses and she planned to meet with them to discuss it further. She wanted to explore funding possibilities. Mr. Johnson expressed concern about the level of effort required to carry out the motion, saying that if the council was seeking information about the system's feasibility, that could be addressed within the existing work load. However, he was concerned about exploring another option when Bus Rapid Transit was not yet implemented and there was a process in place to institute a downtown shuttle. He suggested that staff begin with an informational memorandum. Mr. Pap~ questioned whether the provision of such a streetcar was the role of the City. Noting his support for mass transit, Mr. Rayor believed that a fixed rail streetcar was already addressed in the downtown vision and he preferred to keep it at the planning level until the council had more information and could appropriately move the item to its goals work plan. He said that Ms. Bettman was moving forward with one implementation item out of fifty and he did not think that was the right approach. Ms. Bettman said that Planning and Development Department Director Paul Farmer had indicated the streetcar was not a transit responsibility, and that there was grant funding available that would help the City underwrite the costs. The motion passed, 6:2; Mr. Pap~ and Mr. Fart voting no. Due to a lack of time, the council deferred the remainder of the agenda to a future meeting. The meeting adjourned at 7:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, James R. Johnson City Manager (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 23, 2001 Page 15 Work Session