Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Mr. Brown appreciated that Mr. Ruiz had postponed the action regarding the facility reserves and noted that further council work sessions might be necessary to reach a consensus on the matter. Jennifer Solomon joined the meeting at 12:37 p.m. Mr. Brown could not offer strong support for any of the options presented by Mr. Ruiz and noted that retrofitting the current City Hall facility to meet seismic life safety standards was the only strategy he could support. He suggested that staff compile a comprehensive engineering report on all City-owned sites so that the safety standards and potential future uses of those sites might be adequately considered. Mr. Poling maintained that there were no available facilities in the downtown area that would be as cost- effective for a new EPD facility as the Country Club Road building. He shared Ms. Piercy’s concerns regarding not having a dedicated city hall facility for an extended period of time and expressed that he was very glad that Mr. Ruiz’s presentation had addressed various business and cultural concerns in the downtown area. He noted that any retrofitting of the current city hall facility to life safety standards might not be wise as facilities for divisions such as the EPD would need to be placed in facilities that were up to essential service standards. Mr. Pryor appreciated the wide variety of options presented by Mr. Ruiz and noted that some combination of those options might be the most efficient and cost-effective manner in which to proceed. He agreed with Mr. Poling’s previous statement that the EPD would need to be based in a facility that was up to essential service standards and not just life safety standards. Mr. Zelenka noted that he did not support the utilization of a dedicated EPD facility without there also being some provision made for a new or improved city hall facility. He further noted that, alternative to using the facility reserves to fund a new EPD facility, he had suggested that the reserves instead be used to hire more EPD officers. He averred that staff should continue its investigation into cost-effective ways to make the current City Hall facility safer and also into the potential use of the federal building at 211 East th 7 Avenue. Ms. Piercy appreciated the variety of options that had been presented by staff and hoped that whatever strategy was adopted would help enhance the arts and cultural footprint of the community. She stated that she continued to have the highest level of concern for the safety and welfare of all City employees and that she was not averse to the idea of having a downtown police substation. She hoped that there might also be further opportunities for the public to weigh in on the various options being considered by staff. Mr. Clark noted that the current City Hall facility, beyond the previous determinations that the building was seismically unsound, was also very inefficient with respect to its power and utility needs. He further noted that to improve the efficiencies of the building and make it more environmentally sustainable would be highly expensive and that the costs associated with such improvements would only continue to rise. Mr. Penwell, responding to a question from Mr. Clark, commented that it was currently unknown what it would take to purchase an option on the Country Club Road building or what strategies might be involved in that regard. Mr. Ruiz noted that staff would be willing to investigate the purchase of such an option if that was the general direction from the council. Ms. Taylor agreed with Mr. Ruiz’s suggestion for a downtown streetcar system and agreed with his comments in support of arts and cultural initiatives in the downtown area. MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 22, 2009 Page 4 Work Session