CC Minutes - 08/12/01 Work Session

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MINUTES Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room--City Hall August 12, 2001 5 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Betty Taylor, David Kelly, Pat Farr, Scott Meisner, Nancy Nathanson Gary Rayor, Gary Papd, Bonny Bettman. CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION Mayor James D. Torrey called the council work session to order. A. Work Session and Action: Resolution 4687, Resolution of the City of Eugene, Lane County, Oregon, Calling a Special Election to Submit a Measure to the Voters of the City Concerning the Construction and Route of the West Eugene Parkway (WEP) City Attorney Glenn Klein provided a description of the resolutions from which the council could choose. 1. Follow the City Charter process for approval of a throughway or freeway. 2. Call an election on two separate measures that would go before the voters: A. Ask the voters whether the City should take actions to facilitate construction of the WEP; and B. Ask whether the City should address transportation problems in west Eugene with projects other than the WEP. Mayor Torrey called for a roundtable discussion from the council. Ms. Taylor stressed the importance of repeating that citizens had not yet taken a vote on whether to have a parkway. She said that the previous vote had been on a possible route. She added that the City did not know the extent or comprehend the value of the wetlands in the area chosen for the proposed parkway. Ms. Taylor noted that alternative measures to address traffic in west Eugene had already begun. She added that the majority of councilors had already agreed that a parkway through the wetlands was not a solution. She opined that calling for a special election was unwise and a decision made in haste without due consideration of the consequences and financial costs. Mr. Rayor commented that he had worked very hard to find a compromise in the proposed project. He MINUTES--Eugene City Council Work Session