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meet on March 12 and would focus on the stimulus package projects and the public comment period on the <br />Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP), which addressed area-wide and regional transportation planning. <br /> <br />Mayor Piercy thanked all the volunteers for the work they put into Project Homeless Connect. She said the <br />services provided at the event sought to improve the life situations of the homeless. She wanted to thank, in <br />particular, Urban Services Manager for Community Development Richie Weinman, and Pearl Wolfe, of the <br />Lane County Department of Human Services. <br /> <br />Mayor Piercy said the goal of the meeting held with bankers was part of the economic development <br />discussion effort. She underscored that they were very interested in protecting the businesses that were <br />already in place as well as looking to the future for the economic development of the area. She stated that an <br />intergovernmental group would also begin meeting. <br /> <br />Mr. Ruiz thanked staff for work on both the Neighborhood Summit and Project Homeless Connect. He <br />commended the City’s staff for its creativity and talent. Regarding the meeting with the bankers, he averred <br />that people would find that if the City knew about issues, the City could be responsive to those issues. He <br />encouraged people who found any obstacles to development to contact Ms. Muir. <br /> <br />Regarding the budget, Mr. Ruiz indicated that he would follow up on Ms. Solomon’s question regarding <br />PERS. He said the finance team was accounting “for everything possible.” He thought the council and <br />committee would find that he was sharing more information about the budget than had been shared in <br />previous years. He pointed to the information regarding the $12 million shortfall that had gone out earlier in <br />the month. He wanted to publicly thank the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), the American <br />Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and the International Alliance of <br />Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) for stepping up and indicating that they would be willing to negotiate <br />and talk about the budget. <br /> <br />Mr. Brown, seconded by Mr. Poling, moved to direct the City Manager to add the Eugene <br />Police Employees Association (EPEA) proposal regarding taking cars home at the end of <br />their shifts and consideration of seismic upgrading for City-owned first-responder sites that <br />were below 2.0 ratings to the list of options regarding the disposition of the Facility Reserve <br />Fund and the rehabilitation of City Hall. <br /> <br />Mr. Brown stated that the first issue had been discussed through the years. He felt they should consider it <br />again, given the economic times. He said the second part of the motion had arisen from the engineer’s <br />report. He related that the problem was not just with City Hall; it affected a lot of other buildings. He <br />pointed out that a 2.0 rating would be 60 percent destroyed and would not meet life-safety standards; City <br />Hall was rated at -.8. He remarked that a person would not have to be a genius to understand that an <br />earthquake would cause the City Hall to fall down. He provided a list of other first responder sites that <br />needed upgrading. <br /> <br />Mr. Poling said the motion tied into a discussion the council had earlier about the police patrol facility and <br />the potential refurbishing of City Hall. He noted that the Lane County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) had shifted <br />to take-home vehicles. He suggested that staff contact Chi Kennedy of the LCSO as a resource to start the <br />initial gathering of information. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council March 11, 2009 Page 4 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />