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Mr. Pap8 indicated he could not support a gasoline tax without the cooperation of Springfield. He <br />also agreed with Mr. Meisner that it was important to include the unincorporated areas inside the <br />urbanizable area as well. <br /> <br />Mr. Pap8 asked if the State was responsible for maintaining State highways that ran through the <br />community. Mr. Johnson said yes. Mr. Carlson noted the many State projects both recent and <br />ongoing. Those roads were not included in the City's maintenance backlog. <br /> <br />Mr. Pap8 asked Mr. Corey how his former employer, Billings, Montana, handled its maintenance <br />backlog. Mr. Corey responded that Billings used a street overlay district funded by a square <br />footage assessment that was levied citywide without regard to zoning or the number of vehicles. <br />He said this methodology recognized that the transportation system benefitted the community as a <br />whole regardless of the number of vehicles or drivers. There was a second street overlay district <br />focused on the central business district that provided a higher level of maintenance. In response <br />to a follow-up question from Mr. PapS, Mr. Corey said that the businesses owners requested the <br />higher level of service, which included daily street sweeping, snow plowing and removal, and <br />regular sanitation services that could not be provided for under the rates assessed to the rest of <br />the community. <br /> <br />Mr. Pap8 considered road maintenance and preservation a central City function that should be <br />funded from the existing budget if new revenues were not supported by the voters. Ms. Taylor <br />concurred. <br /> <br />In response to the comments of Mr. Meisner, Ms. Taylor did not recall ever having said that the <br />City should end the subsidy of the private automobile. She had, however, frequently said that rail <br />should also be subsidized. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey suggested that placing a measure establishing a TUF on the ballot would force the <br />educational process. He said that an obstacle facing the council was the fact residents just do not <br />see the urgency of the problem. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey anticipated that Highway 99 between Junction City and Eugene would quickly <br />become a future commercial industrial center for development following the completion of the <br />prison, and Eugene should be careful what it did in terms of assessing new taxes to ensure it did <br />not force businesses to relocate. He said that the Portland transportation utility fee had been a <br />concern to the State legislature because of its impact on businesses, particularly small ones. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman said that the council must take care that it crafts a measure that can not be <br />expanded at a later date to pay for new road projects or for the types of projects already paid for <br />by other funding sources. She thought that would make it more palatable to the voters. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor thought there should be an end date or a sunset on any TUF adopted by the council. <br />She said that this date should be tied to the "catching up" of the road system preservation work <br />backlog. Mr. Carlson said that was also a concern of the subcommittee. He said that it was the <br />council's responsibility, through the annual budget process, to make those decisions. <br /> <br />B. Action: Appointment of Broadway Reopening Proponent Committee for the Voter's <br /> Pamphlet for the September 18, 2001, Special Election <br /> <br /> MINUTE--Eugene City Council July 11, 2001 Page 7 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />