CC Minutes - 02/20/07 Public Hearing

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Ron Tyree , 4000 Spring Boulevard, Tyree Oil, indicated his opposition to an increase due to the competi- tive disadvantage it would give Eugene stations . Gas stations at the edge of the community would be able to charge eight cents less than Eugene stations. Dealers in Eugene would not be able to pass the costs on to the consumers, which would hurt the companies and their employees. It costs money to maintain and operate stations, and if profit margins go down, companies’ investments will go elsewhere, he said. Mr. Tyree indicated that it did not make sense to put money in a gas station where projects would be less. Alternative fuel projects would also be affected. Jim Welsh , Eugene Association of Realtors, 2139 Centennial Plaza, concurred with the remarks made by Mr. Connelly and Mr. Tyree. He suggested that if gas stations were driven out of the community, Eugene residents would drive to Springfield for gas. He suggested that the council consider other alternatives, such as bonding, to improve existing streets, many of which were an “embarrassment” to the community. John Barofsky , 2010 Hubbard Lane, suggested the increase was the start to an overall funding system. It needed to be one piece of a broad plan to address system sustainability. He noted the council subcommittee charged with working on the issue and suggested it be open to consideration of the entire transportation system. Bonding, he said could help with the backlog and fix potholes, but it was not an ongoing funding source, necessitating the need for consideration of such things as gas taxes. He encouraged the council to forward unpopular measures to the public to ensure that the system was sustainable. Paul Romaine , 707 SW Washington Street, Suite 927, Portland, represented the Oregon Petroleum Association, said his organization was opposed to a local gas tax but not to an increase in the state gas tax of 14 cents per gallon to be distributed to the cities. He said that local gas taxes resulted in balkanization because people were aware of where gas was the cheapest. He asked that the City work with the legislature to ensure a State gas tax increase. He said his association agreed it would attempt to refer each local gas tax increase until the State began to pay attention to the issue. If the council went forward, he asked it to refer the ordinance. th Howard Bonnett , 1835 East 28 Avenue, submitted testimony pertaining to the work of the council subcommittee working on transportation issues. Mr. Bonnett supported an increase in the gas tax to address the growing backlog of road maintenance. He believed that an increase of 15 cents per gallon would be needed to completely address the backlog, and suggested more work was needed. He thought the subcom- mittee would have to develop alternative funding sources because the City would not accomplish what was needed through the gas tax alone. He suggested that timing was important because additional funds now would fund needed overlays that would make future road repairs less onerous. Mayor Piercy closed the public hearing and in light of the time remaining, asked the council to e-mail their questions to staff. 8. PUBLIC HEARING: An Ordinance Creating a Sustainability Commission; Amending 2.013 of the Eugene Code, 1971; and Adding a New Section 2.380 to that Code Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing. Krisna Khalsa , 70 Lawrence Street, strongly encouraged the council to create a Sustainability Commission. He believed the proposal would result in a citizen organization similar to the Lane County Food Policy MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 20, 2007 Page 12 Public Hearing