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similar results without divisiveness, and encouraged the council to focus on them. He acknowledged they <br />might not be the most cost - effective, but could be the most politically acceptable. <br />Mr. Brown opposed the use of urban renewal for the identified projects, except for what was left in the <br />fund. He found all the projects mentioned to be interesting and important but did not think they could be <br />accomplished at the same time. He advocated for a focus on the Beam project and the LCC downtown <br />campus project as a way to address the major eyesore areas of downtown. He questioned spending money <br />on a federal project and suggested that the VA hospital should be in the purview of Peace Health and the <br />General Services Administration (GSA). He questioned why the City would be involved given that Peace <br />Health would continue to own the property. <br />Mr. Clark suggested to Mr. Brown the value of the VA hospital would be the number of people it would <br />draw downtown, and a synergy could be created by the close proximity of an LCC campus with a nursing <br />program. He was less excited about the Beam project because the City had already contributed a great <br />deal of money without getting the pit filled. He hoped Beam could find tenants because he did not want to <br />see the City end up in the role of tenanting the building. Mr. Clark was more focused on ensuring the City <br />did what it could to encourage LCC and the GSA. He was willing to consider urban renewal to pay for <br />that effort. <br />Mr. Clark suggested the City consider an idea of turning the existing meters into arts opportunities for <br />local artists that could be contributed to voluntarily. <br />Ms. Solomon determined from staff that the Parking Fund could realize $700,000 to $500,000 annually <br />until the fund debt was paid off in 2018. Mr. Zelenka asked that the number actually available be double - <br />checked given the other existing demands on the fund. <br />Mr. Zelenka suggested that each funding mechanism had an economy of scale that required it to be <br />matched to a package of projects that would be appealing to the public. He proposed the council <br />anticipate that any proposal it developed would be referred to a public vote, which would mean that the <br />proposal must attract some yes votes to be successful. Ms. Muir indicated it was staff s intent to return <br />with such a proposal. <br />Mayor Piercy recalled the success of the City's last Parks and Open Space bond measure, which included <br />elements that were attractive to a wide variety of people. <br />Ms. Taylor concurred with the remarks of Mr. Brown about the need to focus on the eyesores that existed <br />in downtown. She believed that the issue of the VA hospital was between the GSA and Peace Health, and <br />the City's role was in removing barriers rather than contributing money. <br />Mr. Brown noted his general opposition to urban renewal because it did not benefit the General Fund. He <br />criticized the downtown urban renewal plan as overly vague and nonspecific about the projects to be <br />funded. He suggested it be eliminated and that the City start over again. <br />Ms. Solomon said it would be useful to know what other measures might be on future ballots to help guide <br />the council in its decision - making. She also suggested the potential of reducing or eliminating the systems <br />development charge assessed to the VA hospital as a means of assisting the GSA, rather than providing <br />urban renewal funds. Ms. Muir indicated she did not yet have sufficient information to offer input about <br />the systems development charge as a potential tool. <br />MINUTES —City Council January 11, 2010 Page 6 <br />Work Session <br />