CC Minutes - 04/18/07 Work Session

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Ms. Taylor asked if it would be legal for the City to fund youth services. Mr. Klein replied that the problem related to a property tax issue and a different mechanism would be used. Ms. Taylor expressed concern with large class sizes and agreed that the City should help where possible, but should wait to see what the legislature would do with K-12 funding before acting. She said that meeting with school boards was a good idea and there should be a meeting with teachers as well. Ms. Bettman remarked that State funding and other support the City could provide, such as turning over a piece of valuable property or systems development charge (SDC) forgiveness went to the school general budget but did not always result in reduced class sizes. She wanted to see how the legislature’s budget would evolve in terms of class size because large classes were the biggest obstacle to learning. She said that both of the proposed revenue sources had been excluded from the transportation subcommittee’s considera- tion and were available for other needs. Ms. Bettman, seconded by Ms. Ortiz, moved to direct the City Manager to revisit this issue after the legislature had adjourned, with direction to prepare a proposal for either an income tax option or a business license fee to provide funding to re- duce classroom size for the Eugene 4J and Bethel 52 school districts and including City youth services. Mr. Clark offered a friendly amendment to add the phrase “after a workshop be- tween the City Council and 4J and Bethel school board members.” Ms. Bettman and Ms. Ortiz accepted the amendment. Mr. Zelenka offered a friendly amendment to add the phrase “and look at other funding options to achieve this objective.” Ms. Bettman and Ms. Ortiz accepted the amendment. The motion as amended passed unanimously, 8:0. C. WORK SESSION: Delta Sand and Gravel Metro Plan Amendment City Manager Taylor introduced Principal Planner Kurt Yeiter and City Attorney Emily Jerome to discuss more definitive direction regarding the City’s review and decision-making on the Delta Sand and Gravel request for a Metro Plan amendment. Mr. Yeiter said that staff was requesting affirmation from the council that its decision was being imple- mented appropriately. He reviewed the council’s previous actions, which determined by straw poll that the application was complete and the site was not a significant resource by Goal 5 standards. He said that draft findings were included with the agenda item summary, which outlined the council’s options. He noted that the Lane County Board of Commissioners had met that morning and voted to postpone the issue until its May 1 meeting. He noted that Kent Howe and Stephanie Schulz of Lane County Planning Division were available to answer questions. Ms. Bettman commented that a major issue was Delta Sand and Gravel’s claim that there would be no increase in production and therefore no increase in the number of trucks. She said that should be reflected in MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 18, 2007 Page 7 Work Session