CC Minutes - 11/08/99 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MINUTES Eugene City Council Council Chambers--City Hall November 8, 1999 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Scott Meisner, Nancy Nathanson, David Kelly, Bobby Lee, Betty Taylor, Gary PapS, Gary Rayor. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Pat Farr. DINNER WORK SESSION OF THE EUGENE CITY COUNCIL Mayor James D. Torrey called the work session of the City Council to order. A. Tour and Work Session: Federal Courthouse/City Hall Alternatives Ms. Nathanson, co-chair of the Council Committee on City Hall Alternatives, introduced the agenda item. She identified the two issues facing the council: 1) the federal government's selection of the 6th Avenue site as the site for the new federal courthouse; and 2) the need for a seismic upgrade of City Hall. She said that the seismic situation put the City's emergency services functions in the downtown at risk. Ms. Nathanson suggested that the council first needed to determine if it was willing to entertain an offer for the current City Hall site from the General Services Administration (GSA). Mr. Kelly, the other co-chair of the committee, introduced the two citizen advisors to the Council Committee on City Hall Alternatives, John Lawless and Carolyn McGuigan. He provided an overview of the work done by the committee regarding the identification of potential sites for a new City Hall and financing mechanisms. He said that the committee would meet again the following day and the council would discuss the issue with the Budget Committee at its meeting November 15. Mr. Kelly noted that the GSA will make a decision on the site by December 15. Ms. Nathanson urged the council to focus on the broad policy issues addressed by the committee rather than debating the advantages and disadvantages of each site that had been discussed. Lew Bowers, Planning and Development Department, reviewed a chart mounted on the wall entitled "Building Blocks" for Police, Fire, Municipal Court, and City Haft. The chart illustrated the amount of square footage required for each function and the estimated cost per square foot for each use and site. Mr. Rayor said that the federal government's actions had triggered what he essentially considered a needs assessment. He said that timing was a critical issue, and he did not think the timing in this instance would work out for a new city hall because of the anticipated date of the GSA's MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 8, 1999 Page 1 5:30 p.m.