CC Minutes - 06/26/00 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilor Taylor raised concern over charging for Saturday parking. She commented that it ran contrary to what had been said earlier regarding the support of public markets downtown. City Manager Johnson responded and assured Councilor Taylor that the ordinance only addressed monthly parking per units. IV. PUBLIC HEARING AND POSSIBLE ACTION: An ordinance concerning special service districts, and amending Sections 3.650 and 3.660 of the Eugene Code, 1971. Bob Hibschman pointed out two significant changes in the ordinance. The first change was that the three-year sunset provision was proposed to be changed to a petition process from the majority of the property owners representing the square footage. The second change was for the downtown services district only. Mr. Hibschman said that there was a fee increase necessary to provide essential services. Mr. Hibschman said that there was support for the ordinance among property owners representing 77 percent of the square footage for the renewal of both districts. Mayor Torrey opened the public hearing. Sue Prichard, 101 East Broadway, called for support from the council in renewing the Downtown Services District. She commented that there was overwhelming property owner support for continuing the district. Russ Brink, 132 East Broadway, speaking as the director of Downtown Eugene Incorporated, (DEl), said that the district provided a stable source of funding for his organization. He cited the downtown guides, graffiti removal, and a variety of maintenance programs as examples of what the funding accomplished. He commented that the district provided many services that the City used to provide or would have to provide if the district did not do it. He called for the help from the Council to make downtown a better place. Gerry Gaydos, 220 East Broadway, spoke as the Chairman of Downtown Eugene Incorporated. He commented that the reason for the fee increase was to make sure that employees were paid better so that there would be less turnover. He expressed a desire for DEl to play a role in the downtown visioning process. Bob Lee, 860 East 13th Avenue, spoke as a small business owner in the West University area. He commented that there had been three years of success for the West University district and called for its continuation. He thanked the City for its past cooperation. Mayor Torrey closed the public hearing and called for council comments/questions. In response to a question from Councilor Kelly regarding fees paid by the City to DEl, Mr. Hibschman said that it was more practical to have one yearly payment than a series of quarterly payments. In response to a question from Councilor Kelly regarding payments made by the property owners after a possible future dissolution of DEl, City Attorney Glenn Klein said that funding would have to MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 26, 2000 Page 3 Regular Meeting