CC Minutes - 02/21/00 Work Session

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best downtown location for a new police headquarters. The process should be timed to allow for a final council decision on the site prior to mid-April, 2000. Ms. Taylor asked why the decision needed to be made so soon. Mayor Torrey said that citizens were asking where the police station would be, which was why he wanted the council to discuss the issue. Ms. Taylor preferred to wait until the council decided to put a measure on the ballot. Mr. Rayor wanted to postpone the motion until after the discussion of item B on the evening's agenda. Ms. Taylor moved to table the motion to February 28. Mr. Rayor seconded the motion. Ms. Nathanson said she would not be at the meeting on February 28 but would have voted for the motion because it began the process of opening the public dialogue. Mr. Farr agreed. He saw no need to postpone action on the motion. Ms. Taylor said the time frame for discussion was too short, and there should be a public process about whether the community should have a new police station before a public process about where it should be. Mr. Meisner also did not support the motion to postpone as the motion on the floor merely began a process. The motion failed, 2:5; Mr. Rayor and Ms. Taylor voting yes. Mr. Rayor moved to postpone action on the motion until the end of the meeting. Mr. Kelly seconded the motion, which passed unanimously, 7:0. Mr. Lee reported on the results of the annual community survey, which indicated an increase in the number of people satisfied with City services and the direction the City was going. He commended staff for the results of the survey, terming it remarkable that the organization was doing so well in a time of limited resources. He added he continued to have concerns about the direction the community was taking; for example, people were concerned about growth and crime. In addition, the downtown approval rating had fallen significantly, and he believed the council needed to have a discussion of the community's perception of downtown as unsafe and undesirable. Mr. Farr stated he looked forward to his next three years on the council and to serving the people of Bethel-Danebo. Responding to Mr. Lee's comments regarding growth, Mr. Farr said he did not think the community was aware of burgeoning growth in the small communities around Eugene. He said that sprawl occurred when smaller cities grew into larger cities. He urged the manager to schedule a work session on the rates of growth in the smaller communities, which he believed adversely affected the quality of life in Eugene as people from those communities drove to Eugene to work. He said that growth was occurring because housing was cheaper in those communities. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 21, 2000 Page 2 5:30 p.m.