CC Minutes - 03/09/09 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilor Taylor remarked that the street assessment policy was unjust. She was not certain that postponing the project was the right choice, but felt there had to be a better way to pay for street repairs, such as assessing all residents, low interest loans, delayed payments or other options. Mayor Piercy observed that Eugene’s financial situation was shared by cities all over Oregon. She said that over 60 percent of the City’s budget was spent on public safety and the remainder on basic services that were very important to the community. 3. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes of January 7, 2009, State of the City Address; January 21, 2009, Work Session; January 26, 2009, City Council Meeting; February 9, 2009, Work Session; February 18, 2009, Work Session. B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda C. Adoption of Resolution 4967 Requesting that Jurisdiction over a Portion of County Road No. 180 (Old Coburg Road) Be Transferred to the City of Eugene within a Specified Period of Time D. Appointment to Police Commission E. Ratification of Intergovernmental Relations Committee Actions of January 28, 2009, February 4, 2009, and February 11, 2009 Councilor Zelenka, seconded by Councilor Clark, moved to approve the items on the Consent Calendar. The motion passed, 8:0. 4. PUBLIC HEARING AND ACTION: Resolution 1051 Adopting a Supplemental Budget; Making Appropriations for the Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Eugene for the Fiscal Year beginning July 1, 2008, and Ending June 30, 2009. Mayor Piercy convened the meeting of the Eugene Urban Renewal Agency. Councilor Clark recused himself to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing and explained the procedures for providing testimony. Zachary Vishanoff , Ward 3, Eugene, said that urban renewal siphoned away money for basic services; the funds could instead be used to pay for streets. He said two-way conversions of streets like Willamette Street were costly and made streets more dangerous. He said many smart growth policies helped to grow the backlog of street projects. He urged the council to take a holistic view and said some of the $440,000 in the supplemental budget could be used to assist the Tango Center downtown. He said downtown mixed- use had become vandalized and empty. He was concerned about empty commercial space and agreed with Councilor Taylor that the focus should be on housing and parks. He suggested using urban renewal dollars for micro loans. John Barofsky , Ward 3, Eugene, stated that the council should approve the urban renewal district’s supplemental budget. He described the line items within the $440,000 amount and brought the council’s attention to $50,000 in legal fees, which came to approximately 250 hours of legal work on the project. He encouraged the council to consider hiring an in-house attorney instead of contracting out with a private firm. Mayor Piercy closed the public hearing. She said the City Manager was exploring the possibility of in- house legal counsel. MINUTES—Eugene City Council March 9, 2009 Page 4