CC Minutes - 02/23/09 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilor Ortiz did not disagree that it was a lot of money but she believed that the City had done its due diligence. She asked if there would be a liability issue if the City did nothing and there was an accident that involved a bad outcome for someone that resulted from the condition of the road. City Attorney Emily Jerome responded that this was a larger question, though generally she believed that the City would not be liable unless it had been negligent in some way. Councilor Ortiz said this would be her concern; that the City could be held liable if it chose to do nothing and an accident occurred. Councilor Ortiz said though she was not certain the City had what the Tango Center needed “right here right now” she believed the City should try to provide aid to businesses that brought positive activity to the downtown area. She added, in response to the testimony about the possibility of spraying Btk, that she hoped the City could have some influence over that decision. Mayor Piercy asked the City Manager to comment on the Tango Center. Mr. Ruiz replied that it was premature to comment on it. He said they should talk through options at a later point. Councilor Poling stated that the work session on the street assessment policy was scheduled for March 9. He was aware of the problems that the assessment methods created, from experience with the Harlow Road area. He underscored that the Crest Drive area streets were not built “wrong,” they were built to the existing county standards of that time. He said the streets had been annexed into the City since then. He related that the Harlow Neighborhood Association had a subcommittee that had been meeting for two years to work on the assessment issue. He added that he hoped that the annexation that the Chad Drive project would require would be approved. He wanted to remove the obstacles to it. Councilor Poling remarked that an eviction should not come as a surprise after four years without a lease. He was a little disappointed that the Tango Center had not taken some action between four years prior and the present week to work out something. He underscored that though the City of Eugene could do “some marvelous things” it needed more than one week to do them in. He averred that the conversation should have started “a couple of years ago.” He said he would have to see what information the City Manager came back with before he considered investing any money in the building. Councilor Zelenka was also concerned about the potential spraying of Btk in the south hills. He recalled hearing a scientist say that malathion was safe when the Bay Area was being sprayed for the Med fly. He did not feel confident in the ODA’s claim that Btk was safe. Councilor Zelenka felt the road assessment policy was unfair. He reiterated that the council had a discussion on the policy scheduled for a work session in March. He asked Mr. Schoening to explain why the City’s policy was to make people on unimproved streets help pay for bringing the street up to city standards. Mr. Schoening responded that the policy had been “more by practice” dating back more than a hundred years. He explained that as the City had improved its streets, a portion of the costs had been assessed to the abutting property owners. He said once the improvements were completed, the City assumed the responsibility for maintenance of the streets into perpetuity. He acknowledged that the City had a $170 million backlog in preservation and maintenance work. He stated that the City also had 50 miles of unimproved streets that were expected to be brought up to the city standards. Councilor Zelenka commented that the Tango Center’s predicament was “not an easy issue.” He said it was not whether or not the center was “cool,” built community, or brought people to the downtown area – it was a business that was struggling financially. He questioned whether it was the City’s role to bail out businesses. He noted that a friend of his had just had to close down a long-time restaurant business in Eugene and wondered if the City should MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 23, 2009 Page 7 Regular Meeting