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B. WORD SESSION: <br />Ordinance on Downtown Urban Renewal Plan Amendment <br />City Manager Ruiz called attention to a motion provided at the council's places and indicated it was <br />intended to provide staff with clear direction. <br />The council was joined by Planner Amanda Flannery Nobel for the item. Ms. Flannery Nobel provided a <br />PowerPoint presentation entitled Proposed Urban Renewal Amendment Review of Comments. The <br />presentation included background on the recent past, background on the plan amendment, and a summary <br />of the comments received. <br />City Manager Ruiz recommended that the proposed oversight committee be appointed by the council and <br />staff would return with a proposal for how that process would work. <br />Mr. Clark, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved to direct the City Manager to return on May <br />24 with a) the proposed ordinance, plan, and report for final approval; and b) a proposal <br />for how members would be chosen for the oversight community called for by the Urban <br />Renewal Plan. <br />Mayor Piercy solicited comments from the council. <br />Ms. Solomon commended the work done by staff in regard to outreach. She determined from Ms. <br />Flannery Nobel that the lot across Olive Street was owned by PeaceHealth and would be part of the <br />property leased to the Veterans Administration (VA) if the VA selected a downtown location for its new <br />hospital. <br />Ms. Ortiz determined from Ms. Flannery Nobel that the money now allocated to the Farmers Market <br />would not be spent on anything else if the Farmers Market chose not to move forward with the project. <br />Mr. Poling confirmed with Denny Braud of Planning and Development Department that the slide <br />depicting the Lane Community College (LCC) property was for illustrative purposes only. Mr. Braud said <br />the depiction was detailed and cost estimates were based on it. <br />Mr. Poling said citizens expressed concern that LCC would not increase its student capacity, but he <br />understood from his discussions with Lane Community College president Mary Spilde that there would be <br />new student capacity and there was a need for it. He suggested the boundary would not expand if the VA <br />did not choose a site in the district. City Attorney Glenn Klein said that subject was being discussed with <br />bond counsel. If the VA did not select the site, the City could chose not to receive tax increment dollars <br />from the expanded area that encompassed the site. Mr. Klein said that staff was exploring the question of <br />whether the plan could be structured in such a way that amending the plan would not require an extensive <br />amendment process but could be accomplished through a resolution to change the plan to remove the area <br />in question. Mr. Poling did not want to see the district expanded if the VA did not chose a downtown site. <br />Mr. Poling spoke to a letter the council had received from the Lane Board of County Commissioners <br />criticizing the council's actions in regard to the use of urban renewal dollars and suggested the board was <br />again "dangling the public safety carrot" by threatening the loss of deputies and jail beds. He asked how <br />many commission aides could be hired by $200,000. He suggested that if the commissioners could find <br />money to hire themselves assistants, they could find the money to fund jail beds. Ms. Solomon concurred. <br />MINUTES —City Council May 10, 2010 Page 4 <br />Work Session <br />