Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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City Manager Ruiz recalled that a revenue bond was included in the existing resources option. Mayor Piercy pointed out that the council had the ability to select any option. Mr. Brown agreed that the letter from the Board of County Commissioners was full of misconceptions about urban renewal, but he believed the City could hold the County harmless given how distressed the County organization was. The City diverted $200,000 in revenues from the County every year because of urban renewal and while that did not seem like much in the City budget, it was a lot of money for the County. He said the County could use the money for whatever it wanted. He believed it was the County’s money. Mr. Brown was opposed to the plan in any form but suggested it would be more popular with the voting public if the City held the County harmless. He suggested that could be accomplished by eliminating the element of the plan related to the VA site, which he termed an aspirational fantasy. City Manager Ruiz clarified that in the absence of urban renewal, the County would have received $150,000 in fiscal year 2010. Mr. Brown said he saw different figures every meeting. The amount of the amendment had fluctuated since last summer. He had asked how much was left in the downtown district and he heard $3.5 million once and $4.5 million another time. Mr. Zelenka reviewed the letter from the Board of County Commissioners, which estimated the County’s loss at $150,000, and said he would take the County’s word. He suggested that the question was one of who the City held harmless. Holding the County harmless would harm the schools. He preferred to hold the schools harmless. He was surprised at the notion of turning the Eugene Facilities Reserve into the LCC Facilities Reserve, as suggested by Ms. Taylor. That seemed inappropriate to him. Mr. Zelenka said the opponents of the proposal were suggesting that the Lake Oswego schools get better funding rather than Eugene having the four projects. The proposal did not raise taxes, did not hurt the schools, and achieved the four projects. He believed that the proposal gave the City a vision for downtown with a funding mechanism that made sense. Ms. Ortiz left the meeting. Ms. Taylor wanted to know the objection to placing the item on the ballot. City Manager Ruiz suggested that was a council policy decision. He said that it was not up to him to decide. Ms. Taylor pointed out that City Manager Ruiz made the recommendation that the issue not go on the ballot. Mr. Clark suggested that framing the discussion as pitting the interest of the County against the interest of the City was unfortunate. He believed that if one was to look at the issue from a broader point of view, having a revitalized downtown LCC campus served all County residents, as did a safer downtown. If the City was able to secure the VA Clinic downtown, it would serve veterans on a regional basis, and he believed the community owed veterans that service. He pointed out the Farmers’ Market drew people from around Lane County. He suggested the council keep a broader perspective in mind. Mayor Piercy added that the council was acutely aware of the County’s financial state because it affected everyone profoundly. She believed the City had tried to be a good partner to the County in dozens of ways, and the City had cooperated with creative solutions. She believed that all understood that they lived together in the County and each jurisdiction’s problems affected the other. MINUTES—City Council May 10, 2010 Page 8 Work Session