Item B: Next Steps on Police Facility/City Hall

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As directed by the council at the May 11 work session, a limited public involvement process was conducted to seek community input on the options for City Hall and police facilities. This included a presentation to a combined meeting of the Government Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Eugene, Inc. (DEI) board on June 19, discussions and Q&A at the Downtown Neighborhood Association (DNA) meetings in May and July, and two public forums held on June 23 and 25. The Chamber of Commerce subsequently issued a “statement of support” for moving Police to Country Club Road provided the City “makes a long-term commitment to maintain a visible, accessible police sub-station in Eugene’s downtown core.” A show of hands at the July 16 DNA meeting resulted in near unanimous support for the same. About 40-45 people attended each of the two public forums, both of which produced good, spirited discussions about the issues with most of the comments focused on the potential Police move to Country Club Road. The June 23 forum at the Atrium Building ended with an estimated 60 percent of participants generally opposed to the idea and approximately 40 percent in favor. The June 25 forum at Sheldon Community Center produced a strong majority in favor of the move. A summary of the public forums is included as Attachment C. Also, the citizen members of the Budget Committee will meet on July 27 to hear information about, and discuss the proposed use of, Facility Reserve funds to move Police to Country Club Road and implement the Civic Campus concept to address the remaining functions in City Hall. The Mayor and council are invited to attend and themes that emerge from the meeting will be summarized for the July 29 work session. RELATED CITY POLICIES Addressing the deficiencies of the existing City Hall and providing safe, adequate space for the Police Department relates to the council values of effective, accountable municipal government, a safe community, and sustainable development. The council has maintained a continuing goal to adopt an implementation plan for resolving the issues related to City Hall and a police facility. The City Hall Complex Action Plan identified key issues that must be addressed as work toward the goal progresses. COUNCIL OPTIONS 1.The council can choose to move forward with all three elements of the City Manager’s recommended plan. 2.The council can choose to move forward with any single element of the plan and request additional information on the other plan elements before deciding whether to move forward with those elements. 3.The council can choose to request additional information on the entire plan before moving forward with any elements. Z:\CMO\2009 Council Agendas\M090729\S090729B.doc