CC Minutes - 04/14/10 Work Session

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City Manager Ruiz commended the work done by Mr. Corey and his staff and called the bond a good example of promises made and kept. He termed the bond the big success story from the last 12 -18 months and suggested the community would be pleased with the results. Mayor Piercy thanked the Street Repair Review Panel members present and asked them if they wished to comment. Member Paul Holbo noted the long time he and other community members had been working on the issue of street maintenance funding and spoke to past committee efforts and his pleasure at finally seeing some results, citing in particular the work planned for 18 Avenue. He believed that would produce many positive reactions. He recommended the City do outreach to residents living along Harlow Road and solicit their input into street improvements planned for that road. Member Janet Calvert spoke of the need to educate citizens about the topic, as they were frequently unaware they lived on an unimproved street and why unimproved streets had not been improved. Mayor Piercy agreed with Ms. Calvert about the importance of community education. She noted the many constituent contacts she received about conditions on 18 Avenue and agreed with Mr. Holbo the project would make a difference. Mr. Pryor was encouraged by the process the City made in street maintenance and acknowledged the long time the problem had existed. He thought the City was about to "turn the corner" and might be able to get its operations and maintenance issues under control. However, that did not address the backlog in maintenance, which still existed and needed to be addressed. He also received many calls about 18 Avenue. He was proud the council had made as much progress as it had. Mr. Poling thanked the review panel and also thanked the voters for approving the bond measure and reminded the voters it was coming due in three years with the potential of renewal. He hoped that reports such as the one the council was hearing would help to encourage support. He also agreed about the need to educate residents about the difference between improved and unimproved streets. Mr. Poling was glad to see Harlow Road on the project list and said he received a number of contacts about the change in road conditions when residents left Springfield and entered Eugene. Mr. Zelenka also thanked the committee and the voters. He was happy about the work the council had done in regard to the bond. He considered it a good start but agreed the City still had a problem in the form of its gigantic backlog of work. Mr. Corey estimated the cost of that backlog at $150 million. He noted that the City had recently received favorable bids and was also able to determine some streets did not need a complete reconstruct. Mr. Zelenka asked for a status update on what he considered to be the most equitable funding option, a street utility fee. Mr. Corey indicated that staff had no specific timeframe for bringing that fee back to the council. He said that a critical element of such a fee was the billing system, which would require cooperation from the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EVVEB). Mr. Zelenka asked about the status of the conversations with EWEB. City Manager Ruiz said that outgoing General Manager Randy Berggren was deferring those conversations to his successor. Mr. Zelenka agreed resident education was very important as he frequently received questions about why some roads were fixed while others were not. He was pleased to see the projects planned for 18 Avenue and Patterson Street and thanked Mr. Corey for his good work. Mr. Clark recalled the council's past discussion about the difference between improved and unimproved roads. Many were roads without curbs and gutters that were formerly under County jurisdiction. He requested staff MINUTES —City Council April 14, 2010 Page 4 Work Session