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Ms. Ortiz agreed with Mr. Poling that a patrol facility had been under discussion for many years and was <br />not a new subject. She supported taking a comprehensive look at City Hall and the functions that should be <br />nd <br />located there, but felt it was time to take action on a patrol facility. She was in favor of the 2 Avenue and <br />Chambers Street site, but realized it would have to be purchased. She said the council should lead by <br />example by investing in downtown. This was a good time for construction projects that would generate jobs <br />as there were many people looking for work. She said a patrol facility was a matter of equity for the police <br />department as the City had already provided new facilities for fire and library services, as well as new <br />offices for councilors. <br /> <br />Mr. Brown requested a copy of the most recent engineer’s report and asked if it included cost estimates for <br />retrofitting the building. He expressed concern that the public would perceive building a new patrol facility <br />as paying too much attention to the police and neglecting the other functions housed in City Hall. He <br />thought the issue was too complex to act without more consultation and perhaps a public vote. Mr. Penwell <br />said he would provide the report. He explained that cost estimates for renovating the City Hall building to <br />address all of the issues, including a seismic retrofit, had been developed as part of the master planning <br />process. He said that cost was approximately $50 million in 2008 dollars. He reminded the council that it <br />had spent two and a half years and $2 million on a master planning process that included extensive public <br />involvement. The overriding public sentiment was that something needed to be done and a patrol facility <br />was the logical next step; that information was available on the project website at www.eugenecityhall.com. <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor questioned whether it was reasonable to delay when there had been so much discussion and public <br />input. He asked if the $6 million remaining after a patrol facility was constructed would be adequate to <br />significantly improve the existing City Hall building. Mr. Penwell said a central factor was the elimination <br />of EWEB’s steam facility, which would require installation of boilers in the building that could not be <br />connected to old equipment, necessitating an upgrade of the entire heating and ventilating system. He said <br />that would not be feasible with an exterior envelope that needed a full upgrade and if that was done then a <br />seismic retrofit should also be done. He estimated the cost of those improvements at $30 million. He <br />advocated for moving patrol officers into a safe facility as a first step, regardless of what decision was made <br />about reinvesting in the current building. He said all employees in City Hall were important, but relocating <br />patrol functions preserved the ability to respond to the community in a crisis. <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor said the discussion was about City Hall components and relocating patrol functions to a new <br />facility was a critical component for the welfare of the community. He was willing to support the <br />recommendation as the most logical approach. <br /> <br />Ms. Solomon agreed with Ms. Ortiz that it was time to make a decision following the extensive master <br />planning process of the past two years. She thought the council would be liable if the police were unable to <br />respond to the community in an emergency situation and it would be a dereliction of duty to fail to make a <br />decision to move forward. <br /> <br />Ms. Piercy said her intent was to avoid a tie vote and obtain the support of a majority of the council for a <br />decision. She did not want to slow down the process but favored having additional discussion and <br />information to achieve that level of support from councilors. She preferred a downtown location for patrol <br />functions and noted that there was a vacant lot currently available to which patrol vehicles could be moved. <br />She said the possibility of staggering retrofitting and renovation work should be explored. <br /> <br />Mr. Ruiz asked if the council was willing to explore a full police facility instead of a patrol facility or <br />preferred to keep police administration in City Hall. He asked for direction on whether to explore the <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 9, 2009 Page 7 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />