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B.Work Session: Initiation of Amendments to the West Eugene Wetlands Plan, Eugene- <br /> Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan (Metro Plan), and Draft TransPlan Related <br /> to the West Eugene Parkway (Oregon Department of Transportation) <br /> <br />Mr. Rayor recused himself from the item because his engineering firm had done preliminary <br />design work on the West Eugene Parkway and would probably be involved in the project in the <br />future if the amendments were initiated and adopted. He left the meeting. <br /> <br />The council was joined by City Attorney Jerome Lidz, Traffic Engineer David Reinhard, Planning <br />Director Jan Childs, and Oregon Department of Transportation (©D©T) Regional 2 Manager <br />Robert Pirrie for the item. Ms. Childs noted that Carl Wieseke and Jim Cox from ©D©T, Jay <br />McRae from CH2M Hill, and Paul Thompson of Lane Council of Governments were also present <br />to answer questions. <br /> <br />Ms. Childs introduced the item, which was a request from ©D©T on behalf of the Bureau of Land <br />Management and the Federal Highway Administration that the council initiate the proposed plan <br />amendments to facilitate the construction of the West Eugene Parkway. <br /> <br />By way of clarification, Ms. Childs said that initiating the amendments did not imply council <br />support for the amendments, but merely allowed the public process to begin. Because the <br />federal partners indicated that the council's action was required to issue a record of decision, a <br />decision not to initiate the amendments meant no part of the project could go forward. <br /> <br />Regarding the ©D©T request to amend the draft TransPlan to include the entire West Eugene <br />Parkway project in the 20-year list, Ms. Childs said staff had questions and reservations about <br />the request and wanted time to determine whether it was a firm requirement. <br /> <br />Mr. Reinhard pointed out the approved and modified parkway alignment and phases of the <br />project on a map mounted on the wall. Ms. Childs noted the State goal exceptions requested for <br />the lands to the west of Greenhill Road. She clarified that plan amendments were not required <br />for Unit l-A, only for the future phases of the parkway. <br /> <br />Mr. Pirrie noted the history of the West Eugene Parkway included in the meeting packet and <br />emphasized the goals and objectives of the parkway and the operational needs related to access <br />and safety. He said that a lot of staff time and public meetings had been spent on the issue and <br />many people had made comments about the project and taken positions on the parkway. He <br />invited council questions. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey said it was his understanding that if the council did not initiate the plan amendments <br />requested, the project would go away. Mr. Pirrie concurred. Mayor Torrey asked where the <br />money in the State Improvement Program would go if the project was eliminated. Mr. Pirrie said <br />that the money would be reallocated through the existing State Transportation Improvement <br />Program (STIP) process. The Oregon Transportation Commission would have the final say on <br />how the funding was allocated. There was no guarantee the money would remain in the region. <br /> <br />Responding to a question from Ms. Bettman, Ms. Childs said that the committee studying the <br />improvements at Beltline and I-5 had considered improvements costing both more and the same <br />as the amount estimated in TransPlan. <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 11, 2000 Page 7 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />