Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Ms. Ortiz agreed with Mr. Poling’s remarks about the past votes. She agreed with Mr. Zelenka that the council needed to look beyond downtown. She suggested that providing the police with decent space was a matter of equity. Ms. Ortiz said she used her office at City Hall but would also be willing to give it up. While she appreciated the space, she regretted the cost of the project. Mr. Pryor said constructing a new city hall building would cost $120 million, and the City would not have that kind of money anytime soon. The council had to do something in the interim. Mr. Pryor thought that the council would have to spend far more than the amount it had in the Facility Reserve to renovate City Hall. He said the council would have to seek voter approval for a bond to make that happen. Mr. Pryor was intrigued with the idea of a temporary park. Mr. Pryor believed the recommendation might not be the entire solution, but it would move the organization toward a more permanent solution. He said it was not viable for the organization to stay in City Hall. He liked the options presented to the council and supported the public input proposed. He said the council had the responsibility for making the decision, but he wanted its decision to represent an informed choice. ? Mayor Piercy reminded the council that it had been working on the issue for the last few years and the coun- cil majority had not changed its vote; for several years, the council majority had said the organization should vacate City Hall over time, and would build a new city hall. Nothing had changed; the issue was how the council would reach that goal. Given the current economy, Mayor Piercy believed that the public expected the council to go about solving the problem in the most practical and cost-effective way possible. Mayor Piercy reminded the council that it needed the organization’s first responders in a place where they could provide services in case of an emergency. That was a basic service, not the “bow on a cake.” She thought the council owed that to the public, and reiterated the question was which avenue it would try. She suggested that the council needed to move on and try to get together on this, and councilors needed to decide what they could live with. Mr. Brown thought there was general agreement with the Mayor. He clarified for Mr. Poling that he was speaking about the airport terminal and the two active fire stations that were considered seismically vulnerable. Responding to a question from Mr. Brown, Mr. Penwell said that the building at 858 Pearl was about 16,000 to 17,000 square feet and had no basement. Mr. Brown said he was not interested in more public process about the future of City Hall, although he was interested in more public input related to a new police facility because someone might have a good idea that led to the best use of the $22 million in the Facility Reserve. He suggested the potential of using urban renewal dollars for a new police facility. Mr. Clark expressed appreciation for Mr. Brown’s remarks about the need for new officers and said he would offer the Budget Committee a motion to fund new officers again this year. He believed that the public deserved the most effective public safety system at the least possible cost, and for that reason found the recommendation intriguing. Mr. Clark asked about City Manager Ruiz’ communication with EWEB regarding the City’s interest in the utility’s administrative building. City Manager Ruiz said he had not written a formal letter but had discussed the issue with General Manager Randy Berggren. He anticipated further discussion. Mr. Clark advocated for contact with the board as he had heard from a couple of board members expressing confusion about the status of the situation. City MINUTES—City Council May 11, 2009 Page 10 Work Session