Item C: Ridgeline Acquisition Proposal from Arlie and Company

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1 This appraisal was completed in 2008, and Arlie has indicated it does not have an updated appraisal available at this time. 2 This was calculated by dividing the total donation amount by the appraised value per acre for land south of the existing ridgeline park. If a portion of the total donation amount was applied to the land north of the existing park, the percentage would be lower. In the May 2008 sale agreement, Arlie proposed a trail connection easement running north to Lane Community College, which would comprise about six acres. If this easement area was treated as a 100- percent donation and included in the calculation above, the revised total of 215 donated acres out of 521 total acres would constitute just over 41% of the total proposed park area. Since the donated acreage within the area proposed to be named does not comprise more than 51% of the total area, this proposal would not meet the threshold for naming the park after a donor, as stated in Section 5, Appendix A, of the council’s naming policy. However, the policy does have other provisions that could be applied in this case, including a provision that allows that: “Park land and features may be named to honor a living person whose gift or service to the community is of a most extraordinary nature.” As shown in the table above, Arlie and Company is proposing a total donation of more than $2 million to the City for the creation of this park, which could be viewed as a gift of an extraordinary nature. Timing and Negotiable Items Arlie and Company has provided information to the City indicating that, due to the decisions of the bankruptcy court, the acquisition transaction would have to be completed no later than December 31, 2010. With this required timeframe, and the requirement that any changes to the price per acre or any substantial change to the number of acres would have to be approved by the bankruptcy court, there will not be sufficient time further to negotiate either of these items (i.e., the purchase price or significant changes in acreage) and still get court approval. Arlie and Company has indicated (see attached memo dated October 19, 2010) that only a very minor change in the number or location of the acres acquired would be negotiable under the terms approved by the bankruptcy court. The general provisions of the council’s naming policy require that the process for assigning a legal name to a City-owned facility include an opportunity for public comment. The policy does not specify the length of the comment period. If the council were to direct the City Manager to proceed with the acquisition, it would need to either waive the public comment period, or initiate the public comment period such that the comments could be gathered and reviewed by the council, and the final naming decision made with sufficient time for the acquisition to close on or before December 31, 2010. RELATED CITY POLICIES As discussed in the section above, the City Council has adopted a naming policy for facilities owned by the City, including parks. The Parks, Recreation and Open Space Project and Priority Plan, adopted by the council in 2006, does not directly address this proposed acquisition. The most closely-related direction is a Priority 3 Project to “Acquire natural areas to connect Ridgeline system east to Pisgah and Willamette River system.” Although this proposed sale would add land to the south of existing City ridgeline park land, creating a wider connection to the east, it would not extend it any further to the east. There is no existing policy direction that calls for establishment of a community or metropolitan park in the subject area. Z:\CMO\2010 Council Agendas\M101108\S101108C.doc