CC Minutes - 06/19/00 Work Session

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Ms. Taylor stressed that the need for a new fire facility was urgent and said that, if the need were explained clearly to the public, a bond measure would pass easily. She commented that the council and staff needed more time to plan and to allow more time for public involvement. She added that the Police Department could be expanded into the fire space temporarily. Mayor Torrey stressed the importance of identifying the sites for the planned facilities. He also said that a decision needed to be made by the first of September in terms of where the new facility would be located. In response to a question from Mayor Torrey regarding whether the new capacity levels from the Hobson report were figured into expansion plans for the new facility, Mr. Carlson said that the task force only projected an increase of officers in relation to a population increase in the City. He said that if the City added staff due to the Hobson findings, it would use up expansion space more quickly. In response to a question from Mayor Torrey regarding whether a fire facility could be designed that could be expanded later, City Manager Johnson said that adding a bay to an existing facility would be an easy thing to do. Mr. Rayor favored Option 2 with full build-out, but called for a leaner program that included retrofitting the City Hall fire facility to seismic standards. In response to a question from Mr. Farr regarding the possibility of a divided police facility, Chief Jim Hill said there were some parts of the department that could operate in a separate facility. In response to a question from Mr. Farr regarding expanding the police into the space currently occupied by the fire department at City Hall, City Manager Johnson suggested not putting offices in the basement of the building. In response to a question from Mr. Pap8 regarding whether City Hall could be retrofitted with female dorms for fire personnel, City Manager Johnson said that it would be a topic for another work session to discuss such retrofitting and which level of seismic protection the council wanted to be built in to City Hall. In response to a question from Ms. Taylor regarding moving evidence storage to a different location, City Manager Johnson said that it would be better to move archive storage into City Hall to avoid the rents being paid in other locations. Police Chief Jim Hill added that there would be a loss of efficiency since trips would have to be made to access evidence. Mr. Lee, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved to approve Option 2 with full build- out as an option to be explored by staff. In response to a comment from Mr. Rayor, City Manager Johnson said that staff would look at variations of Option 2. Mr. Kelly, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved to amend the motion by adding language to direct staff to develop an option related to building a downtown fire station and converting the vacant space in City Hall for police use. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 19, 2000 Page 3 Work Session