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Ms. Ortiz said that life was full of inequities, and she frequently saw people that had access to much more than <br />other people, which was her reason for being on the council. She was not asking the district to lower its <br />standards; she thought there could be a middle ground in that regard. <br /> <br /> <br />Ms. Ortiz suggested a parks district for the entire community might be an appropriate solution. Mr. Weigandt <br />noted the precedent that existed in Springfield in regard to the Willamalane Parks and District. He emphasized <br />that the district was under scrutiny by its residents and that was one of the reasons its programs were so good. <br />He hoped the district was not penalized because of its quality programming. <br /> <br />Speaking to the issue of the County funding situation, Mr. Carlson pointed out that the residents of the district <br />and the City were all County residents. He recalled that the County was also in a fiscal crisis in 1983, which <br />was when it got out of the business of providing urban parks altogether. He suggested there would be no <br />equity in the County funding parks services to River Road residents but to no other County residents. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman said the City had traditionally taken responsibility for development in the urban transition area, <br />but that might not happen in the future; simply because the County was not historically involved did not mean <br />it would not be involved in the future. She pointed out that systems development charges, which were intended <br />for new infrastructure, also had a reimbursable component. The County could have availed itself of funding <br />sources but it had chosen not to, and she thought the County deserved to be pressured as much as the City. <br /> <br />Speaking to the suggestion of a parks district, Ms. Bettman said that was not as simple as it seemed. She said <br />that it resulted in redundancy of staff and operations and had the effect of raising taxes and creating <br />compression. She supported the motion. <br /> <br />Mr. Clark supported the motion and indicated he was seeking a long-term, creative solution and thought the <br />motion gave the two parties time to achieve that. He suggested the district consider expanding its boundaries <br />to account for residents who were enjoying its services but were not district residents. Until that occurred, he <br />was challenged by the concept of the City stepping in to fill the funding void on a permanent basis. <br /> <br />Responding to a question from Mr. Helikson, Mr. Pryor indicated the City could provide the district with <br />information about its rate per thousand for the cost of parks. <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor supported the motion as the beginning of the needed conversation. <br /> <br />The motion passed unanimously, 7:0. <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor adjourned the meeting at 1:25 p.m. <br /> <br />Respectfully submitted, <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Jon Ruiz <br />City Manager <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 23, 2008 Page 8 <br /> Work Session <br />