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Ms. Taylor liked the idea of a business tax, such as the one levied by Portland, and said she <br />would like more information about such a tax. She thought it was logical for after-school <br />programs to be connected to the school districts, as everyone was in a district and it would help <br />address the problem of transportation. She said that there was a great need for after-school <br />programs and the schools were available after-school and on weekends. Ms. Taylor wanted the <br />council to consider a youth center for teenagers as it considered after-school programs for <br />younger children. She did not favor placing a measure on the November ballot, adding that <br />property taxes were stretched as far as they could be. <br /> <br />Mr. Lee asked for staff input about the ballot time line. Ms. Jones said that if the council directed <br />staff to proceed, it could do so. She said that the issue was significant, and there was not <br />funding for it now. She said she would like to see the City identify the resources to ensure that <br />the needed programs were put in place. Mr. Johnson observed that it would be difficult to identify <br />alternative revenues before November. Mr. Lee acknowledged the service gaps that existed and <br />said he was ready to proceed with the financial element of the issue. He was ready to try an <br />admittance tax. <br /> <br />Responding to a question from Mr. Pap~ about the time line for forming a special services district, <br />Mr. Johnson estimated that it would take about two years because it would require an <br />amendment to the Eugene Springfield Metropolitan General Area Plan, which discourages the <br />formation of special taxing districts. <br /> <br />Mr. Rayor expressed interest in a work session on what other Oregon cities were doing in terms <br />of developing alternative revenues. <br /> <br />C.Work Session: Information From Lane County Related to Referring the West Eugene <br /> Wetlands Plan Back to the Planning Commission <br /> <br />The council was joined by County Commissioner Bill Dwyer and Lane County Land Management <br />Planning Division Director Kent Howe. Mr. Dwyer said that the Board of County Commissioners <br />asked him to attend the meeting to present an option for referring the West Eugene Wetlands <br />Plan amendments back to the Eugene and Lane County planning commissions for further review. <br />He said that the board had discussed how to act on a planning commission recommendation <br />when the commission had not reviewed the most recent evidence. He suggested it was not fair <br />to the public that it had no opportunity to comment on Hyundai's proposals. Mr. Dwyer believed <br />there was a process problem. <br /> <br />Mr. Dwyer distributed a document entitled Options for Elected Official Referral to Planning <br />Commissions. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey asked for staff comment. Planning Director Jan Childs said that it was not unusual <br />for the elected officials to hear testimony that was not provided to the planning commissions. In <br />most cases, that happened to a lesser or greater degree. Typically, that information was not <br />referred to the Planning Commission. The council had the option of referring the new evidence <br />submitted back to the planning commissions. Ms. Childs said she heard that the board thought it <br />unfortunate that review had not occurred, and wished to seek the commissions' advice. She <br />noted the staff's concern about the December 31, 2000, deadline the City was under from the <br />Division of State Lands and Army Corps of Engineers to complete work on the amendments <br />package. Failure to meet the deadline will mean the revocation of the West Eugene Wetlands <br />Plan as a State-approved conservation plan, which had consequences for the property owners in <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 12, 2000 Page 5 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />