CC Minutes - 07/28/08 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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it said it would do. He said five years was not his first choice but he thought it was the choice that would work. Councilor Ortiz commended City Manager Ruiz for securing the consultant he had for the community survey because of the understandable information that he presented. She hoped the council could support the resolution and thought the five-year approach was fiscally conservative. Councilor Zelenka thought the council needed to be pragmatic. He said the problem facing the council was huge and there were no perfect solutions. He said supporting the bond levy was a compromise for him because of the lack of nexus between households and street use. He also commended the manager for the earlier presentation. He said the problem was not new and it was a result of inaction on the council’s part. He said if the council could pass a five-year bond it should go for it. He liked the idea of the external auditor and thought the distribution of street improvement projects gave everyone in the community something. He noted a letter to the editor regarding the current gas tax and asked the manager to confirm the entire gas tax was used to maintain the road system, which City Manager Ruiz did. Councilor Zelenka did not think there was value in waiting. Councilor Taylor supported the motion although she had previously favored the ten-year measure and heard from constituents who also supported it. However, given what she heard from the survey results, she supported the motion and liked the audit that had been included. Councilor Clark was tired of the status of City roads but thought the trust issue was based on factors the council had to address. He had hoped the council would take action over the past year to do so, but he did not think that occurred. He was concerned that that the solution to the problem included a bond, and if it failed, it would be more difficult to pass a future bond. He thought it would be easier to pass a larger measure in May 2009 and thought the larger measure would do more to fix the problem. He did not think he could support the five-year measure but indicated he would not campaign against such a measure. Councilor Poling agreed with Councilor Clark. He did not support the motion but would not actively campaign against it. He said that the consultant indicated a ten-year measure would not pass but a five-year measure would pass. He did not think a five-year measure would pass either. He asked what percentage of the projects contemplated in the bond were south of the Willamette River. Mr. Corey said that the five-year list included a balance of projects across the city with high visibility and included more street reconstruction. He did not think the list of projects heavily balanced one way or another, pointing out that the roads south of the river were older and in greater disrepair than roads north of the river. Roll call vote; the motion passed, 6:2; Councilors Poling and Clark voting no. Councilor Pryor, seconded by Councilor Bettman, moved to authorize the expenditure of $25,000 from the General Fund Contingency account to produce an information-neutral tabloid to be sent to all households in the city. Councilor Bettman asked if the City’s two ballot measures could be discussed in one tabloid to reduce expense. She believed it was past tradition to produce one such publication. City Attorney Klein did not believe there was a legal issue precluding that approach. City Manager Ruiz did not believe passage of the motion precluded the production of a single tabloid. Councilor Zelenka also wanted to combine the two issues in one tabloid to be as economical as possible. City Manager Ruiz said he would discuss the issue with staff. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 28, 2008 Page 5 Meeting