CC Minutes - 09/25/00 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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In response to a question from Councilor Pap~ regarding the length of the lease with WISTEC, City Manager Johnson said that it was a one-year lease with an option to renew until March 1, 2003. In response to a question from Councilor Pap~ regarding whether the City leased other facilities to nonprofit organizations, City Manager Johnson said that the City did offer similar lease agreements to a number of organizations. In response to a question from Councilor Pap~ regarding who would be getting the parking revenues if WISTEC was not collecting them, City Manager Johnson said that the City Attorney's opinion was that the 1997 intergovernmental agreement granted the University of Oregon the right to use the parking lot. He noted that the agreement was silent as to whether the University could collect money for parking, but noted that it did not say that it could not. In response to a question from Councilor Pap~ regarding how much square footage WISTEC used, City Manager Johnson said that they used 6,200 square feet out of a 10,000 square-foot facility. Councilor Bettman said that the City of Eugene should be negotiating with the University of Oregon on behalf of WISTEC and the East Alton Baker Park Citizen Planning Committee. She noted that the City and the University were the two land owners involved. In response to a question from Councilor Bettman, City Attorney Glenn Klein said that paragraph 20 of the agreement between the University and the City provided that if WISTEC ceased to exist then the benefits that were going to WISTEC would go to the City until such time as the IGA that expired in 2007 expired. He noted that the terms could then be renegotiated. In terms of which agreement took precedence, Mr. Klein said that the administrative order of 1995 would take precedence. He said that the University of Oregon IGA adopted in 1997 was next. He said that the current WISTEC lease was adopted in 1999 and was subject to the administrative order and any provisions in the University of Oregon IGA. City Manager Johnson said that there was no disagreement between any of the parties concerned that the University, the City, and WISTEC could have done a better job of explaining their agreements over the last four to five years. Mayor Torrey said that he would be silent in the hope that he could act as a facilitator between WISTEC and the University. He stressed the value of both organizations to the community and expressed a hope that things could be settled in an amicable manner. In response to a comment from Councilor Taylor regarding how the City should be able to decide what to do with its own land, City Manager Johnson said that the right to do that had been given away by the intergovernmental agreement and the lease agreement. Councilor Rayor expressed a desire to see a comprehensive replacement for all the IGAs for that area. He stressed the importance of performance measures for the traffic demand management study put in place. He said that the University's offer of compensation was reasonable. Lastly, he remarked WISTEC had no right to sell parking on the grass lot. Councilor Nathanson remarked that from the public testimony it seemed like a case of "David versus Goliath." She did not want to take support away from WISTEC and expressed a desire to see it thrive in the future. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 25, 2000 Page 9 Regular Meeting