Item 3A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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determine the refinement planning process. He said that it was his charge to take an objective technical look at the plan. Mr. Kelly agreed that a full range of alternatives needed to be analyzed; however, he opined, it was a full range of alternatives based on ODOT’s purpose and need. He noted that the council, after review and discussion, from a City policy standpoint, could deem it prudent to condition the purpose and need in some way. Mr. Suskind stated that the goal of ODOT was to enable the council to ascertain whether the project was worthy of being included in the City’s plan but not to prejudge the design or the characteristics of the project. He added that input on the purpose and need was most appropriate and therefore a statement would be drafted to identify the issues which need further focus in the development of alternatives. Mr. Kelly agreed that it would be premature at this stage in the process for the council to approve certain alternatives. In response to a question from Mr. Kelly, Mr. Boyatt confirmed that a public comment report would be provided to the City Council for its review. Ms. Ortiz stated that she was not in favor of moving forward with this project. She explained that safety issues elsewhere needed to be addressed; specifically, the Beltline, which was unsafe to travel during peak times. Mr. Pryor stated he supported the project. He concurred with Ms. Ortiz that the Beltline was unsafe but he considered the project under discussion to be a high priority. Mr. Pryor explained that if Eugene was to become a metropolitan area of greater scope, it cannot have a major interstate highway that did not have a functional interchange. Mr. Papé stated it was his understanding that the federal government was responsible for the freeways, the State of Oregon was responsible for connectivity around the state, and it was the responsibility of the City and the County to resolve local transportation issues. Mr. Boyatt concurred; however, he pointed out while the federal government had delegated ownership and maintenance responsibilities for the federal interstate systems to the states, it had retained approval authority through its regulations. He continued, saying that ODOT was responsible for I-5 under the umbrella of the federal approval authority. Mr. Papé said that the council needed to discuss the project in the context of how it improved the system on a local level and with the State system. Mr. Boyatt remarked that the project should not have detrimental impact to Beltline, Franklin Boulevard, I-5, or Hwy 99. Mr. Papé concurred with Ms. Ortiz’s comments that focus must be targeted to the Beltline. He added that when debating this project, consideration should be given to the area’s needs over the next 50 years. In response to a question from Ms. Bettman, Mr. Suskind replied that 24” x 36” diagrams designed around different themes–which would be of interest to the community and based upon the facts to be presented by Mr. Boyatt–would be made available to the community at the scheduled public meetings. Ms. Bettman then spoke of the historical process around the interchange and asserted that ODOT originally agreed to receive approval from local jurisdictions prior to developing a project that may not enjoy community support later on. Mr. Boyatt clarified that the approval being sought at this time from local jurisdictions was to move forward solely with the facility planning process. He added that following that process, it was hoped that ODOT would adopt the plan for the State system and then have the local jurisdiction adopt a facility plan into the transportation system plan which would provide an opportunity for the council to review the project once again. Mr. Boyatt stressed that it was the intent of ODOT to provide as much MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 14, 2005 Page 5 Work Session