CC Minutes - 09/30/09 Work Session

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Ms. Ortiz had attended several of the public forums in the beginning and thought they were well done. She thth said the Whiteaker Neighborhood supported the West Eugene route if it would traverse 6 and 7 Avenues and had indicated that they thought it would be an asset. She noted that the Residents for Responsible Rapid Transit (3RT) had been a very vocal group and asked if members could play a role in the outreach process. Mr. Schwetz responded that a 3RT member, Ilona Koleszar, served on the West Eugene EmX Extension Corridor Committee and that LTD staff had been to 3RT meetings. Mr. Clark thanked them for the presentation. He approved of what they had planned going forward. He noted that President Obama’s administration had put off the Federal Transportation Package for at least one more year. He asked if they would foresee a time that LTD might look for more support, should the economy not improve. Stefano Viggiano, Assistant General Manager for LTD, confirmed that the Federal Transportation Bill had expired that day. He offered his best guess for when they would see a new bill, was in approximately 18 months. He related that everything they had heard indicated that transportation was an emphasis area for the federal government, especially having to do with transit. He believed the long-term prognosis for transit funding was positive. He said without federal funding, it would be very unlikely they could move forward with the project. Mr. Eyster said when LTD representatives had participated in the United Front lobbying trip to Washington, D.C. the administration had been very interested in the EmX. He believed that what they were doing was very cutting edge in the country. He felt that in some ways it was being used as an example to illustrate to other communities a way to do transit transportation in a community of this size. Ms. Solomon also thanked LTD for the presentation. She asked if the Quick Response Project was intended to run concurrently with the preparation of the DEIS or if it was required by the DEIS. She asked for an example of what it was. Mr. Schwetz responded that the project was supplemental and not a requirement of the NEPA process. He related that he had approached the Department of Land Conservation and Develop- ment (DLCD) and asked them if there were some resources that could be made available to help them to work through issues with neighborhoods and businesses. He said the DLCD had introduced them to the Quick Response Project as a resource available to work through issues. Mayor Piercy thought the advertising space on the EmX buses could be one way to communicate to the public. She reminded everyone of the struggle the City of Portland went through when they were trying to build and establish the light rail lines. She pointed out that now the community would “fight over where the next line would be.” She stressed that light rail had brought a real economic benefit and had not taken anything away from the neighborhoods. She agreed that they needed to work both for the present and the future. She averred that Eugene was in leadership on the development of an EmX system. She also agreed that they should not overlap in the membership of the JLPAC. She shared Ms. Ortiz’s feeling that they probably could not do enough public outreach. Mr. Poling expressed concern, given that development of the line would not begin for another two years, th regarding all of the development and redevelopment that was occurring on West 11 Avenue. He said there were a lot of right-of-way concerns and strongly suggested that they work to combine the building codes with the project. Mayor Piercy concurred. She suggested that they consider instituting a “pause” in development that went into the right-of-way. Rob Inerfeld, Transportation Manager for the Public Works Department, stated that they were starting to MINUTES—City Council Work Session September 30, 2009 Page 4