Laserfiche WebLink
Mr. Fart believed that if the voters saw the condition of the Police Department they would support <br />the measure. He supported including both facilities in one measure. He believed the council <br />should be able to articulate the need, and the community would make an informed decision. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey said that the council should not assume that the basement levels of City Hall were <br />usable for office space. He requested a table summarizing all City leases, the square footage <br />lease costs, and the termination dates for the leases. Regarding the issue of the timing of the <br />measure, Mayor Torrey said that May was a great time to have the discussion. He thanked the <br />federal government for impelling the discussion. Mayor Torrey believed that the council had <br />made the correct decisions. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey encouraged the voters to attend the public hearings and let the council know how <br />they felt about the proposals. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey complimented Mr. Meisner for focusing the task force on a downtown location. He <br />said that he frequently heard people discuss how unsafe the City streets were at night, and said <br />the City must find a way to overcome that problem. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey thanked Mr. Laue for his excellent work as chair of the task force. He said that the <br />process showed it did not take two years to do a good analysis, and he believed the public would <br />support a measure to construct the police and fire headquarters. <br /> <br />Mr. Rayor thanked the task force for its work and a good report. He said that the lots do not need <br />to be contiguous; if they were not contiguous, the City would have more options. Mr. Laue <br />concurred. Mr. Rayor asked the council whether excess funds remaining at the end of the project <br />would be directed back to the taxpayers. He would like to be able to say to the public that any <br />excess funds would go back to the public. He believed that was good government. It was bad <br />government to add in contingency costs that may never be needed and not return the money. <br />Mr. Johnson said that the council could choose to under-levy to accomplish the same goal. He <br />indicated he would prepare a motion to that effect for Mr. Rayor. Mr. Rayor said that he would <br />like to see the City adopt such a policy as a pact with the voters. <br /> <br />Ms. Nathanson noted that she had mentioned the concept of under-levying the previous week <br />and she believed the council had received information and suggestions from staff about that <br />option. Mr. Johnson indicated that staff would prepare the requested motion, pros and cons of <br />the approach, and information about under levying. <br /> <br />Ms. Nathanson did not support two measures. She said that both services faced the same <br />serious space issues and she did not see how they could be separated; to do so would be to <br />suggest that one was in less serious condition than the other. Ms. Taylor pointed out that one <br />proposal cost considerably more than the other, and argued that the citizens should always be <br />allowed to choose. <br /> <br />Responding to a question from Ms. Taylor, Mr. Johnson said that a seismic upgrade was planned <br />for City Hall, but the scope of the upgrade depended on whether the facility housed emergency <br />services. Ms. Taylor said that the building should be made safe for everyone who worked in and <br />visited it. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly noted two public information sessions scheduled on February 22 and February 24, and <br />a council public hearing on February 28. <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 21, 2000 Page 7 <br /> 5:30 p.m. <br /> <br /> <br />