Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Councilor Solomon said she took the Web survey and thought it was fun. She asked which design emerged as the public favorite. Ms. Dodson said 55 percent of first place votes went to the through-arch bridge, which also had 25 percent of the last place votes. The deck arch bridge had 35 percent of first place votes and 70 percent of the combined first and second place votes, and only three percent of the last place votes. Councilor Poling expressed support for the through-arch as a first preference to the deck-arch, his second preference, and asked about the difference in costs between the options. Mr. Dodd said that staff was still discussing the costs of the options and he hoped to have that information available by August 5, 2008. He added that one of the most affordable bridges appeared to be the deck-arch bridge and the most expensive the through-rch bridge. He reiterated that those estimates were premature. Councilor Poling asked which bridge had the least impact on the river and riverbank. Mr. Dodson said that they all had the same pier locations and number of piers and were the same in that regard as to impact. The deck options had an additional pier south of Franklin Boulevard between the road and the river. Councilor Zelenka also liked the through-arch with the deck-arch a second choice. He raised the issue of storm water, which was of importance to his constituents. He said the issue of drainage was important to them, and he hoped ODOT addressed it. Mr. Dodson said that ODOT had storm water specialists and he would pass that information on to them. He asked Councilor Zelenka if he could share any specifics about what problems he hoped to solve. Councilor Zelenka had nothing specific to offer Mr. Dodson but thought there was a problem that ODOT should address. Mr. Dodson said he would appreciate more specific guidance about any problems that existed. Councilor Zelenka believed the project development team was working on the issue. Mr. Dodson said the engineering details in regard to drainage were being worked out by ODOT’s consultant. Councilor Zelenka promised to get back to Mr. Dodson with specifics. Councilor Bettman asked if the half-arch could be a whole-arch so it did not look so off-center and asymmetrical, and asked if ODOT had considered replacing the two large arches with one larger arch, and placing the piers farther apart. Mr. Dodson said that the only way to accomplish a single span would be through a suspension bridge. He added that the higher the span, the higher the cost per square foot. Councilor Bettman also liked the through-arch because of the element of Franklin Boulevard and hoped something could be done to beautify the view from Franklin Boulevard as well as from the river. Councilor Bettman asked how the design elements accommodated future new ramps. Mr. Dodson said ODOT did not contemplate accommodating new ramps, but accommodating any type of interchange design for the Glenwood- Franklin with a hole under Franklin Boulevard wide and high enough to accommodate up to seven extra lanes of traffic. However, it was very unlikely that one would ever have seven lanes. He noted that the AIA study of the Franklin Boulevard corridor did not contemplate seven lanes. Councilor Bettman wanted the bridge design to be adequate to accommodate the reconstruction of the existing ramps, not new ramps. Mr. Dodson pointed out the findings called for reconstruction of the existing ramps. Chris Henry of the Public Works Department clarified the scope of the project, which did not include ramps at Franklin Boulevard. He said that ODOT’s reference to ramps was to reconstruction of existing ramps to allow it to connect to a new elevation of I-5. Councilor Pryor expressed appreciation for the work done by ODOT and recalled his earlier support for the deck- arch bridge, although he thought it had safety issues. He thought the deck-arch had the same potential but believed they could be mitigated. He liked the through-arch design as well and indicated it would be his first choice now. MINUTES—Eugene City Council January 16, 2008 Page 12 Meeting