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amendment. She said though the urban renewal district might not take money from the local school district, it did <br />take money from the revenue stream for schools statewide. <br />Councilor Brown concurred with Councilor Taylor. He thought referring the amendment to the voters was the best <br />way to establish whether there was public support for it. He averred that most projects were passed by the voters. <br />He opined that the majority of the council did not want to put the amendment on the ballot because they thought it <br />would fail. <br />Councilor Clark understood the desire to place the amendment on the ballot. He was not a big fan of tax increment <br />financing, but he was willing to vote in favor of the plan because it was the pragmatic approach to accomplish the <br />ends they were trying to achieve downtown. He ascertained from the City Manager that the first opportunity to <br />place the item on a ballot would be in November and asked what this would do to the timeline for the projects. <br />City Manager Ruiz stated that the LCC project would have to be postponed. He said LCC was hoping to start the <br />project in the fall. <br />Councilor Clark understood that the cost of the project was already greater than LCC had anticipated and stressed <br />that postponing it would only drive the costs up. He was concerned that postponement would kill the project. <br />Councilor Taylor asserted that they were ignoring the "fact" that they could do something for LCC; they could <br />fund the LCC proposal with "current funds." <br />Mayor Piercy observed that there was a difference of opinion on the council. She underscored that the amendment <br />had been thoroughly debated and talked about in the community. She felt they had undertaken a thoroughly <br />democratic process. She believed that the opportunities presented by the urban renewal amendment outweighed <br />the issues: construction would bring jobs, the project would bring students downtown, and there were many <br />benefits. <br />Roll call vote; the amendment failed, 6:2; councilors Taylor and Brown voting in support. <br />Councilor Zelenka favored enactment of the plan. He thought they could do it without raising taxes or negatively <br />impacting schools. He declared it to be the cheapest option in front of the council and that it would add much <br />needed jobs to the downtown area. He could not agree that a different financing mechanism would bring about a <br />vibrant downtown. <br />Councilor Taylor reiterated her opposition and her belief that they could do the work without the mechanism. <br />Roll call vote; the motion passed, 6:2; councilors Taylor and Brown voting in opposition. <br />4. ACTION: <br />Adoption of Revised Lane Area Commission on Transportation Bylaws <br />Intergovernmental Relations Manager, Brenda Wilson, recalled that the council had acted on proposed bylaws on <br />April 26. She explained that since then, four minor concerns had arisen regarding the bylaws, explained in the <br />Agenda Item Summary (AIS), primarily clarifying changes. <br />Councilor Brown was bothered by the last of the four provisions, which directed that the Oregon Transportation <br />Commission (OTC) needed to approve, or at least see, any major changes in the bylaws. He pointed out that the <br />MINUTES— Eugene City Council May 24, 2010 Page 11 <br />Regular Meeting <br />