CC Minutes - 01/11/10 Work Session

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$11 million in equity, accrued cash, and investments. Page 8 indicated the funding was available to be spent at the URA's discretion, which indicated to him that the money could already be spent on Lane Community College. Ms. Cutsogeorge clarified the figure Mr. Brown referred to was for both districts; funds from the Riverfront Research District could not be spent on downtown projects. In addition, the URA plan currently included a maximum indebtedness amount that allowed the City to spend no more than. $500,000. The actual amount available had been reduced by the payment of the library debt. Mr. Clark referred to page 38 of Attachment H and clarified with Ms. Nobel Flannery the amounts associated with the costs of the proposed parking equipment and further determined from Parking Manager Jeff Petry that the number of metered spaces in the core was 427 meters, or about half the total in the Downtown Plan area, and cost estimate for free parking was based on that number. Mr. Clark emphasized the importance of attracting the VA hospital to downtown and asked City Manager Ruiz what the City could do to address the negative perceptions that might exist in regard to Eugene. Ms. Muir said the council's discussions had helped, and Peace Health had also assisted a great deal. The City had put out the message that staff was here to help, and was working with Peace Health on its submittal package. Staff was following up on the comments recently published in the newspaper that suggested Eugene was considered challenging to work with. Speaking to the meters mentioned by Ms. Taylor, Ms. Muir agreed they were too tall, and were being removed as a result. Mr. Pryor suggested the General Fund option, even if constrained, should be retained because it sent a message that the council was interested in change. He said the council should retain the option with the understanding it represented a tradeoff of some kind. Mr. Pryor thought the days of "unrestricted urban renewal growth" were gone and the debt limit could not be increased for unknown reasons or possible future development. However, he wanted to retain the urban renewal financing mechanism for a focused, specific opportunity. Ms. Solomon supported shifting costs to the URA to pay the Parking Fund debt, which would allow the Parking Fund to contribute to the General Fund to pay for police. She wanted, more understanding of the impact on community services. Mr. Zelenka also supported the VA hospital in downtown. It was a high priority for him and he thought it would be good for both downtown and local veterans. He hoped the City was doing all it could to bring it downtown. Mr. Zelenka wanted to eliminate the General Fund option and indicated there were no tradeoffs he could envision supporting in that regard. Responding to a question from Mr. Zelenka, City Attorney Glenn Klein clarified the points in the memorandum he prepared for the council regarding urban renewal, and agreed to follow up with the Oregon Department of Revenue on a question regarding the implications of expanding the district or increasing its indebtedness level for a new VA hospital downtown after June 30, 2010. Mr. Zelenka asked under what circumstances the tax base would be calculated to the current assessment level. Mr. Klein believed the City could adopt a new plan and reset the base but would have to wait for increases in assessed value to receive the incremental increase. He agreed to follow up on that question as well. Speaking to the funding mechanisms under consideration, Mr. Zelenka did not want another divisive community fight about the use of urban renewal in downtown. He preferred the path of least resistance that gained the most community support. He thought several mechanisms could achieve the same or MINUTES -- --City Council January 11, 2010 Page 5 Work Session