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addressed the seismic viability of the building itself. <br /> <br />Mr. Ruiz maintained that spending $6 million to bring the current City Hall facility up to life safety <br />standards without further improvements would not measurably increase the value of the building as an <br />asset of the City. <br /> <br />Mr. Ruiz stated that should the EPD eventually be moved into its own dedicated facility, other City offices <br />such as the Municipal Court, the Human Resources office, the Mayor’s office and the City Manager’s <br />office might be moved into the Beam Development building on Broadway Avenue as part of the City’s <br />agreement with Beam to lease approximately 50,000 square feet of office space at that location. <br /> <br />Mr. Ruiz noted that recent property acquisitions/renovations by the Lord Leebrick Theatre Company and <br />Lane Community College, in conjunction with improved city hall facilities, might serve as focal elements of <br />a new downtown civic center area. <br /> <br />Mr. Ruiz commented that staff expected the downtown urban renewal district to reach full capacity <br />sometime in the summer of 2009 and that subsequently the council and staff would need to hold discussions <br />regarding whether to expand the capacity of the urban renewal district or to dismantle the district itself. <br /> <br />Mr. Ruiz briefly discussed the manner in which the City might support the arts and cultural footprint of the <br />downtown area and maintained that with the development of recent sites by Wally Graff and the Beam <br />Corporation, and the expansions of the aforementioned Lord Leebrick and LCC facilities, the City should <br />focus its efforts and discussions on supporting the existing momentum of such development initiatives <br />rather than attempting to initiate completely new cultural initiatives. <br /> <br />Mr. Ruiz noted that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was currently investigating the <br />possibility of opening a clinic near 13th Avenue and Willamette Street and asked how the City might <br />provide assistance and support for such a project. <br /> <br />Mr. Ruiz supported the notion that staff’s investigation into the use of the current EWEB facility as a new <br />city hall should continue, particularly in light of the fact that using the building would allow the building to <br />control development of the 20-30 acres of the riverfront property on which the facility stood. <br /> <br />Mr. Ruiz noted that while it might be feasible to use the current EWEB facility as a new city hall, staff <br />investigations had revealed that it would be at least 5-7 years before the building would become available <br />and that the cost of purchasing and renovating the building to the City’s specifications might be as much as <br />$50 million. <br /> <br />Mr. Ruiz noted that staff would need direction from the council on whether or not to continue its <br />investigations into the financial and logistical feasibility of the EWEB facility. <br /> <br />Mr. Ruiz expressed that he would eventually like to see some sort of streetcar public transportation element <br />in the downtown area similar to such systems in the downtown Portland area. <br /> <br />Ms. Piercy observed that the staff recommendations regarding the city hall and EPD facilities were a <br />change from the previous “great streets” concept of having the City’s government buildings located <br />primarily along 8th Avenue, but felt that those recommendations might serve as a better direction for the <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 22, 2009 Page 2 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />