CC Minutes - 05/23/07 Work Session

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to move forward with the package in an expeditious fashion and not to tinker with it. He said the citizens should recognize the proposal as a thoughtful and considered approach. Mr. Zelenka thanked staff for the “great work.” He echoed Mr. Pryor’s sentiments with regard to moving forward with the package as proposed. He averred that the council should not waste $30 million talking about it. He reiterated that County funding was drawing to a close and the State gas tax had remained at the same level since 1993. He noted that the City of Salem had a $100 million backlog of road repairs and the City of Portland had a backlog of over $300 million. He cited an article in Time Magazine which reported that 93 percent of cities across the United States had this problem. He stressed that the proposal represented a “compromise package.” He commented that it might not be a fair package, but it was viable and doable. He urged his colleagues not to pull the package apart. He noted that money to be dedicated to the bicycle paths was included in the funding package in an effort to take a holistic approach to the transportation system. Ms. Bettman said she was the only member of the subcommittee who did not endorse the final package. She expressed surprise that it had been presented as a “total package.” Her impression had been that the subcommittee would identify the funding sources that it could support forwarding to the council or that the subcommittee opposed but was willing to forward to the council. She believed it was important to consider each component of the package separately. She opined that some were “supportable and some were not supportable” and each councilor should be able to make that choice. Ms. Bettman averred that the transportation system should be looked at in terms of how much service the City wanted to provide. She felt the subcommittee had looked at the problem from the standpoint of staff projections of how much was needed and how much was politically viable “to go after.” She opined that the total was malleable because it was based on the level of service. She thought the service should be reviewed during the budget process when all of the departments were being reviewed in order to determine what level of service the City wished to provide. Ms. Solomon said the subcommittee decided to hone in on items that had a nexus with the transportation system. She stated that the funding mechanisms were fair and equitable. She agreed with Mr. Zelenka and Mr. Pryor that the final report was not perfect but she considered it a true compromise. She echoed their support for retaining the proposal as a “package deal.” She believed that the proposal was a good start in the right direction in a process that would likely take 15 to 20 years. She hoped her colleagues would “honor the work” of the subcommittee. Mayor Piercy asked if the subcommittee had considered phasing in the strategies. She also wondered whether there had been conversations regarding adjustments to the cost to citizens based on income. Additionally she requested elaboration on the subcommittee’s deliberations that led them to recommend an eight-cent-per-gallon gas tax. With regard to phasing in the proposal, Mr. Corey explained that there was a goal of resolving the problem over a certain period of time. He said the subcommittee lit upon the idea of working on the backlog over a period of 15 or more years and in some ways this was tantamount to phasing it in. Mr. Corey said it was generally recognized that the recommended solutions would be subject to debate as they moved forward and because of this, the subcommittee had not gotten into the details such as whether people could get rebates or reduced rates. MINUTES—Eugene City Council May 23, 2007 Page 2 Work Session