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Mr. Brown agreed with the mayor and other councilors about the West 7 Place option, and suggested that <br />the area might further develop if LTD ran an EmX route through the area. He acknowledged that the <br />businesses and jobs that people were trying to reach now, existed on West I 1 t " Avenue. <br />Mr. Brown noted the e-mail sent to the council by Ilona Kolezar of the West Eugene EmX Extension <br />Steering Committee proposing that Pearl and Oak streets be added back to the options under <br />consideration, and he supported the suggestion because of the potential loss of parking spaces on Lincoln <br />and Charnelton streets. <br />Ms. Solomon determined from Mr. Schwetz that the option costs included the costs of property <br />acquisition. She further determined from Mr. Schwetz that even though it did not have an elected board of <br />directors, LTD was allowed to condemn property. Ms. Solomon expressed concern that a non - elected <br />board could initiate condemnation of private property. <br />Mayor Piercy said while she wanted to retain the West 7 h Place option, she thought that West 11 <br />Avenue, was the option that reached the most businesses and jobs, and was closest to the existing <br />neighborhoods. She said the farther a resident was from the route, the less easy it was to use the system. <br />She reminded the council of the MAX system in Portland, which the community had initially resisted, but <br />which she asserted had been "proven to be good to businesses and good for mobility." <br />Mayor Piercy hoped that at some future point the community had the capacity to consider the connection <br />between the rail and bus systems. She said that the community needed to prepare for the needs of both <br />today and tomorrow. <br />Mr. Pryor wanted to avoid an artificial conflict between the benefit to business and the benefit to the <br />public. He urged a balanced approach as LTD moved forward. He encouraged LTD to consider a West <br />I I Avenue alternative that did not require a lot of infrastructure. That possibility was creating <br />considerable concern among West 11 th Avenue business owners. He wanted to believe that LTD could <br />provide the service along West I 1 h Avenue, without the need to construct infrastructure that disrupted <br />business, and asked LTD to keep that in mind as it explored that corridor. <br />Mr. Clark was also interested in hearing more about the no -build option in terms of its impact on people. <br />Mr. Clark was not convinced that it was wise for LTD to make such a heavy capital investment when the <br />organization was facing operational funding shortfalls. He acknowledged the funding streams involved <br />were different. He welcomed more information about the concept that EmX would lead to smaller <br />operational budgets, as Mr. Pryor's remarks seemed to suggest. <br />Mr. Clark asked if LTD had secured funding for the West Eugene EmX extension. Mr. Schwetz said that <br />LTD had yet to begin the actual grant application process. It had to go through the locally preferred <br />alternative process before the Federal Transit Administration would consider a grant application. Mr. <br />Clark asked if LTD would expect the region to fund the system if that funding was not forthcoming. Mr. <br />Eyster assured Mr. Clark that would not happen. <br />Mr. Zelenka said LTD's goal was that the system would be completely funded by the State and federal <br />governments. He asserted that such transit projects were good for businesses; they enhanced businesses <br />along the route. He further asserted that Portland's experience was a great example of that. Mayor Piercy <br />agreed. <br />MINUTES --City Council April 14, 201 0 Page 4 <br />