CC Minutes - 04/13/09 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mayor Piercy observed that the bids would not likely be lower than they currently were. She asked if the City would consider any other extenuating circumstances aside from income level. Mr. Schoening replied that there was nothing specific in the code, aside from income level. Councilor Ortiz complimented Mr. Schoening and his staff for doing “an amazing job” of working with the community. She also did not want anyone to lose their home. She understood that it could be difficult to keep one’s “head above water.” She said it was time for the projects to move ahead. She wanted to support the motion. She recalled the River Avenue process, in which the River Avenue property owners had protested the planned level of development and had been sent “to the drawing board.” She said they had returned with less of a project, but by the time they had completed the work, the cost had escalated and the project cost more money. She stressed that the street improvements were not going to get cheaper with time. In response to a question from Councilor Ortiz, Mr. Klein stated that because of the charter, it was not possible to change the code retroactively. He said it would be possible to add more money to the City’s share of the road project. He noted that the proposed motion would form the Local Improvement District (LID) and would not impose the assessment. He explained that the assessment ordinance would not likely be adopted before January, 2010, and if the council could come up with more money, it could be applied to the project and reduce the assessments to the residents. Councilor Clark averred that it would never be less expensive to do the project. He wanted to state “loudly and clearly” that no one would be losing a house to fix the road. He said he would be more comfortable if the council could send the project back to a work session to discuss some of the principles the decision would be based upon. He did not want to endanger the deadline either and asked if there was room for the council to work on the assessments further. Mr. Schoening responded that the options, according to City code, were to move forward, to substantially modify it, to delay approval for 15 days, or to abandon the improvements. Councilor Solomon requested that a work session be scheduled as soon as possible to “take another run” at the assessment policy. She wanted to do this before the assessments for the project were to be finalized. She was particularly concerned about the people who could only access their cul-de-sacs via Elmira Road, but were not being asked to participate in the paving project. Mr. Schoening noted that the mobile home park was being assessed for the project. Councilor Pryor said he could support the LID because he could make the “leap of faith” that the City could find a way to have an impact on the level of assessments. He agreed that the council should have a conversation regarding the assessments, going forward. In response to a question from Councilor Ortiz, Mr. Klein clarified that the council had the authority to make the changes in the code regarding assessments. Councilor Clark understood that the formula for assessments was in the code regarding which costs were assessable to the adjacent properties. He thought one way to change it would be to change what costs could be assessed, rather than the whole policy. Mayor Piercy ascertained from Mr. Schoening that the project was past the point of being potentially modified in terms of sidewalks and other amenities. MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 13, 2009 Page 18 Regular Meeting