CC Minutes - 07/16/09 Work Session

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Mr. Zelenka thought adding to the project list and taking projects off the list were two different things. Ms. Solomon referred to North Seneca Road and asked why it was not on the list. Mr. Pryor shared that concern. Ms. Solomon was also concerned about the condition of Highway 99 from Four Corners to Sheppard Motors. She determined from Mr. Corey that Highway 99 was under the jurisdiction of ODOT from Washington-Jefferson Bridges and on to the west. Mr. Corey recalled that a section of Seneca Road had been overlaid recently and indicated he would follow-up with Ms. Solomon. Ms. Taylor believed this was the first time the council considered a bond measure for streets. She asked how the council could secure the support of those who lived on unimproved streets and could only see improvements to their streets at great cost to themselves. She asked if they could be exempted from the measure. Ms. Cutsogeorge said no, not as the law was currently structured. Ms. Taylor thought it would be difficult to secure the support of those residents, citing specifically the residents on Crest, Storey, and Friendly streets, who had been waiting for their street project for years, only to find that Bond Lane was improved before their streets. City Manager Ruiz pointed out that many people would benefit from the projects being contemplated as many involved arterial and collector streets used by many residents. Ms. Taylor did not doubt that, but thought it would be challenging to persuade people who could not get their own streets fixed. th Ms. Taylor asked why the project proposed for Harris Street stopped at 28 Avenue rather than going on to th 30 Avenue. Mr. Corey indicated he would find out. Ms. Taylor questioned the proposal for a council super-majority to remove a project. Ms. Cutsogeorge said staff was reflecting the council discussion from the last work session. Ms. Taylor thought five people sufficient. Mayor Piercy thought it important that whatever came out of the discussion had strong council support. She liked Ms. Bettman’s suggestion for a five-year horizon because the public could then see results. Ms. Cutsogeorge clarified that the cost was the same, and the number of years were halved. Mayor Piercy thought the sticker shock for voters was reduced by the lower annual amount proposed by Ms. Bettman. She also thought a shorter list for the shorter time period could look more balanced. Mayor Piercy agreed with Ms. Taylor that those who lived on unimproved streets might be a challenge to persuade to support a bond measure to improve streets because “streets were streets” to people. Ms. Bettman had no interest in supporting an unsuccessful bond measure. She thought it dangerous to take too big a bite and lose, because “that’s it,” and it would be a long time before the council could go back to the voters. She pointed out that utility and gas costs were going up and property values were going down, and the council needed to be cognizant of that. She thought that $81.5 million was too much and ten years too long for citizens to visualize results; she was only willing to support the smaller amount because people would see results and then the council would be able to go out for a second measure. Ms. Bettman said another reason for a shorter time line was greater predictability for the public. She suggested that if projects on the list came in under-budget, that funding could be reallocated by the council by adding another preservation project to the list from the master list. In regard to removing projects from the list, she would not include any provision related to that in the ordinance because she thought there were enough projects for five years. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 16, 2008 Page 4 Work Session