CC Minutes - 06/15/09 Public Hearing

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showed recognition of $110,000 in revenues from the University of Oregon for utility work in the right-of- way that also increased appropriations by that same amount, in order to allow project teams to respond to requests from the public and other City departments for transportation capital and planning. He had not been sure what that had meant. He said in these times, if someone gave the City $110,000 it should be spent on asphalt for roads rather than going to staff to plan more projects. Councilor Zelenka closed the public hearing. Councilor Clark asked staff to address his question. Mr. Schoening responded that funding for the project teams came from capital projects and this was the only way to pay salaries. He stressed that this type of funding paid for upfront costs for projects such as the arena, which included appraisals and project review. Councilor Clark thanked him on behalf of the people of Bond Lane for the “fine effort.” 4. PUBLIC HEARING: Resolution 4984 Forming a Local Improvement District (LID) for Paving, Constructing Curbs, Sidewalks, Medians, Street Lights, Stormwater Drainage and Water Quality Facilities on Crest Drive from Blanton Road to Lincoln Street, Storey Boulevard from Crest Drive to Lorane High- th way, and Friendly Street from Lorane Highway to 28 Avenue (Job #4546) Councilor Zelenka opened the public hearing. Judith Van , 89236 Old Coburg Road, thanked the City for the subsidy she had received to help pay for the assessment she had been charged for road improvements. She wanted to reiterate that when projects happened they affected a discreet population. In her case, only three people were affected. She felt that many people were detrimentally affected by the process as the assessments were “too high.” She averred that the eight percent interest charged on City loans was also too high. She requested that the City Council direct the City Attorney and the City Manager to revise the code and to make it retroactive to the current projects. She indicated she would be happy to help if citizen help was needed. Robbin Howard , 3217 Whitten Drive, Ward 2, supported the formation of the Local Improvement District (LID). She asked that the road be made safe and that the construction begin this summer. She hoped the council would vote with an overwhelming majority to overturn the remonstrance submitted by the Crest Drive/Storey Boulevard/Friendly Street residents. She agreed that they needed to change the funding model. She hoped the City could allocate some staff time to research best practices in other communities. She believed the funding method would continue to be an issue for people. She appreciated the council’s willingness to proceed with the project though there was discomfort about the assessment policy. She suggested that the City could set up a “subscripted gift fund” in order to encourage non-assessed citizens to contribute. She also wondered if they could add language to the project that would allow the City to consider partially reimbursing the citizens should the City experience a monetary windfall at a later date. She understood that as elected officials the councilors had a great deal of fiduciary responsibility. She said the City had likely spent “well over $500,000” on the project thus far and asked that the council not “waste” that money. She declared that the longer the City waited to do the project, the more expensive it would become. MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 15, 2009 Page 3 Public Hearing