CC Minutes - 02/14/07 Work Session

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polling only on the question of whether there was support for a bond measure would likely result in mostly negative responses, whereas conducting enough research to develop options and pose thoughtful questions would provide a more comprehensive assessment of public opinion and allow for adjustments accordingly. Mr. Poling agreed that it was a good idea to conduct research before polling the public. He noted that at the beginning of the process to narrow potential sites he had cautioned that it was important to contact property owners and determine that there were willing sellers. He said the last council vote only indicated a site preference and he had urged at the time that a second choice be identified as a backup plan if the first site was not available. Ms. Bettman remarked that the proposed resource needs in Phase 3A were different from the projected resource needs in the action plan. Mr. Penwell said the plan was written two years ago and based on his best estimates at the time. Ms. Bettman stated she was disillusioned with the process and cynical about the success of a bond measure, although she thought the consultants were doing a good job. She said that focus groups that contained only cheerleaders for the project were a mistake and when people were polled they should be asked their opinions about the City moving forward with a separate police facility when there had already been three failed bond measures for that same plan. She said that probable vocal opposition within the community should be taken into account and agreed with Mr. Zelenka’s suggestion to conduct polling at the beginning of the phase. Ms. Ortiz expressed concern that the process would not have the desired outcome. She agreed with separation of the police facility from City Hall and thought a police facility should be considered in an entirely separate phase. She was interested in seeing the patrol function moved from downtown out into the community. She said patrol did not need to be in downtown where property was the most expensive but did need facilities that were clean and functional and she hoped that would move forward immediately on a separate and parallel track. She was concerned that the City Hall project would not have the support of a majority of the community. Ms. Ortiz, seconded by Mr. Pryor, moved to direct the City Manager to proceed with Phase 3A of Implementation Plan Phase of the City Hall Complex Action Plan. Mayor Piercy remarked that from the beginning of the process, the council had emphasized the importance of a state-of-the-art outreach and community engagement initiative. She said it was always a challenge to ask the public to pay for a public building, but the council had decided there was a need for a new city hall and that was not the question that should be posed to the public. She said the question was what type of building the community wanted and the entire effort was to find out what type of facility the public would be willing to support. Ms. Taylor said she would not vote in favor of proceeding as long as there was property with an unwilling seller involved. She agreed partially with the need for a separate police facility, but that should include all police functions. Ms. Solomon urged the council to stay the course and even if the decision was not to pursue a bond measure, at least the process would have been completed and information gathered that could be used in the future. She said stopping now would mean that a future effort would have to start at the beginning and represent a colossal waste of money. She did not personally support the preferred site and hoped there MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 14, 2007 Page 3 Work Session