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Mr. Clark reiterated that he felt urban renewal was the most intelligent and pragmatic approach to <br />accomplishing the goals the community desired. He said the elected officials on the council would make <br />the decision and then, if the issue was referred to the ballot, it was up to the general public to decide if <br />they wanted those four projects to move forward downtown. He said putting the urban renewal plan <br />amendment on the ballot and voting it down was killing the opportunity to make downtown more vibrant. <br />He hoped the community would trust the council's decision. <br />Mr. Brown said he supported the projects, but not the financing option. He hoped the council would refer <br />the plan amendment to the ballot and not require that to be done through a petition. <br />Ms. Piercy said the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile were a reminder of the possibility of a seismic <br />event in the Pacific Northwest and the need to be mindful of the safety and well -being of people in the <br />community. She said the urban renewal option presented the opportunity for a winning result for <br />everyone: the four priority projects could be funded and the urban renewal district would be terminated <br />when they were completed. <br />The main motion passed, 5:2; Mr. Brown and Ms. Taylor voting no. <br />Mr. Zelenka, seconded by Mr. Poling, moved to request the City Manager to <br />complete the analysis of the financial impact on Eugene School District 4J and <br />should there be a financial impact, present to the council options for keeping 4J <br />whole either through an exchange of services or financial assistance. <br />Ms. Ortiz cautioned that school districts were allocated a certain amount of funding per student and in the <br />case of the Bethel School District additional funds had to be returned to the State. <br />Mr. Clark cautioned that the County was also in need of funds and the City could eliminate its proposed <br />savings if it attempted to assist other taxing districts. <br />The motion passed, 6:2; Mr. Brown and Ms. Taylor voting no. <br />Ms. Solomon asked how a plan amendment would address the issue of the VA clinic if the federal <br />government was not scheduled to make a decision until the end of the year. She was concerned about the <br />potential impacts on funding for the other three projects in the plan amendment. City Attorney Glenn <br />Klein said the plan amendment language would indicate that the urban renewal agency could spend up to a <br />specific amount for each project; if the VA clinic did not materialize, those funds could not be spent for <br />another purpose and the termination of the urban renewal district could conceivably occur earlier. <br />In response to a question from Mr. Poling, Mr. Klein said if the boundary of the district was expanded to <br />include the potential clinic site, that territory could be relinquished if the VA selected another site. <br />B. BRIEFING: <br />Office of the Police Auditor <br />Police Auditor Mark Gissner remarked that he met biweekly with council officers and also received <br />feedback from other council members. He said the purpose of his briefing was to describe the subject of <br />the upcoming Civilian Review Board (CRB) meeting. Agenda items included the following: <br />MINUTES Eugene City Council March S, 2010 Page 5 <br />Work Session <br />