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MINUTES – Eugene City Council Work Session February 10, 2020 Page 1 MINUTES Eugene City Council Harris Hall, 125 East 8th Avenue Eugene, Oregon 97401 February 10, 2020 5:30 p.m. Councilors Present: Betty Taylor, Emily Semple, Alan Zelenka, Jennifer Yeh, Mike Clark, Greg Evans, Claire Syrett, Chris Pryor Mayor Vinis opened the February 10, 2020, work session of the Eugene City Council. 1.Executive Session: Pursuant to ORS 192.660(2)(e)City Council met in Executive Session pursuant to ORS 192.660(2)(e). 2.Work Session: Town Square Project UpdateUrban Development Manager Will Dowdy gave an update about the Town Square Project and askedfor decision points about City Hall from City Council.Discussion Councilor Clark – asked about the continued increase of construction costs and the impacts ofstate legislation on those costs; said he was hoping the City would set a budget and decide whatit can get for that, instead of making decisions before a budget is put in place; said he has askedabout how long the Downtown Urban Renewal District would have to be extended in order tofund a $22 million dollar city hall and that the voters will not support an extension; said askingfor money on the ballot to fund city hall will fail; said he would vote no on each decision todaybecause this is the wrong approach for moving forward. Councilor Taylor – said she thinks the City should build for the future and not pursue a buildingthat will be torn down in 50 years; said she’d like a third choice on the first motion, includingbringing City offices that are currently renting space to city hall so that they are all in onelocation; said she thinks the underground parking is worth doing and much needed downtown,especially after the butterfly lot is removed; said she wants to first ask what is needed in a cityhall and what is good for the future of the city and then figure out where to get the money; saidenvironmental sustainability of the building is important, but not the LEED certification, andthat she supported the hybrid seismic standards. Councilor Syrett – said she’s not in favor of building additional office space to lease or to houseother city offices; said she’s not in favor of the underground parking because it’s too expensiveand conflicts with goals to discourage people from driving; thanked staff for bringing the costsand options for environmental standards forward; said she supports city policy and workingtowards LEED silver certification; asked for an example of monitoring that creates the $40,000cost for administering the certification; said she’s in favor of the “safety plus” as an alternativefor seismic standards because it protects the investment in the building without needingimmediate occupancy; confirmed that the building would be insured up to $75 million dollars. Councilor Zelenka – said he’s not sure cap and trade would contribute to the cost increase of abuilding and that energy efficiency would bring costs down over the long run; said adding morefloors would increase the cost and that there was an analysis done that showed the City’s leasesare cheaper than adding new building space and he’s in favor of a modest building that meetsbasic needs; said it’s important that the public meeting space be multi-purpose and overlookingthe market and plaza; asked how many underground parking spaces would be possible and saidhe was not in favor of adding it; asked how maintaining certification standards adds value to the April 13, 2020, Meeting – Item 2A ATTACHMENT A CC Agenda - Page 2