CC Minutes - 07/13/98 Work Session

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MINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall July 13, 1998 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Pat Farr, Ken Tollenaar, Nancy Nathanson, Bobby Lee, Betty Taylor, Laurie Swanson Gribskov, Tim Laue. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Scott Meisner. I. CITY COUNCIL DINNER WORK SESSION A. Work Session: Final Recommendations from the Mayor's Parks and Open Space Committee Ms. Nathanson provided the report. She said that the committee had developed a balanced, reasonable proposal that would make a noticeable difference in the community. The committee "took to heart" the comments of the council and mayor regarding the final package's affordability and political acceptability. Ms. Nathanson said that the committee considered the proposal in terms of the way it balanced the community's needs for recreation, aesthetic concerns, environment, public safety, "play," open space, and developed space. The committee also spent considerable time discussing balance in terms of geographic equity. Ms. Nathanson said the committee discussed what it meant by balance at length during its last meeting: was it trying to allocate the same dollars to all categories of uses, attempting to establish a balanced program that achieved results that were fairly equal in all areas, or attempting to create a balance that did not now exist in the system. Ms. Nathanson reported that the committee learned that, of 12 Oregon communities, Eugene was next to last in the number of athletic fields and next to last in the number of neighborhood parks. The committee discussed what was needed to achieve the goals in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, and what was needed to achieve at least a median position in the ranking of what communities in Oregon provided to citizens. Ms. Nathanson said that the committee's proposal was focused on bringing some geographic equity and balance toward service delivery to move the community to the median of communities in terms of area served and in number of facilities. Ms. Nathanson said that the committee had discussed the size of the package at great length and members had felt that they were "pushing the limit" on the size of the package in terms of affordability, but felt it was needed to propose a plan with real vision for the future and that made a difference. The committee also wanted the plan to contribute to the City's realization of its goals for public safety and growth management. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 13, 1998 Page 1 5:30 p.m.