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Mr. Zelenka suggested the City was "semi -rich in lands" and had money for acquiring more land, but <br />lacked a plan to get funding to develop those lands. He wanted the council to recognize the magnitude of <br />the problem that existed and the danger it would worsen if nothing was done. He suggested the danger <br />was that the City would cut costs by closing facilities or letting them deteriorate. He wanted to avoid that <br />and called on the council to develop a plan to address both park funding and development. <br />Ms. Taylor did not think all parks needed to be developed parks, although she agreed the City needed to <br />maintain its developed assets. She was happy the bond had focused on land acquisition due to the scarcity <br />of land. She hoped the remainder of the bond proceeds were used to acquire crucial lands, especially <br />those that affected the water supply. <br />Ms. Taylor asked if the O &M backlog was divided into things that should be done now and things that <br />could be put off. Mr. Medlin said staff had looked at different reduction scenarios and different <br />approaches to keeping service levels as high as possible while still cutting costs. He cited mowing as an <br />example, saying that the City cut the mowing of sports fields in half. There were limits to what the City <br />could do in regard to reduced maintenance without seeing consequences. Mr. Medlin said staff discussed <br />how to change maintenance frequencies while maintaining customer satisfaction, and he suggested that <br />determining the appropriate and acceptable level of maintenance would be an iterative process. <br />Ms. Taylor thought the City needed new sources of revenue and called for a work session on additional <br />taxing mechanisms. She suggested a levy might be possible given residents' value for parks, and thought <br />the "adopt -a- park" concept mentioned by Mr. Clark might appeal to many people. <br />Mayor Piercy did not believe the City could provide basic services using only charitable contributions or <br />volunteer labor. She suggested the council needed to talk to the community about concepts such as <br />"adopt -a- park." <br />Mayor Piercy invited suggestions to share with the new dean of the University of Oregon's School of <br />Business, Dennis Howard, who wished to do a big annual signature event with students that left a lasting <br />mark on the community. <br />Mr. Zelenka agreed with Ms. Taylor that not all parks needed to be developed parks. <br />Mr. Zelenka believed the staff - suggested motion was adequate for the discussion, but it only addressed <br />half the problem. He called for the development of a plan that included funding options to meet the City's <br />capital and recreation facilities renovation backlog, which was approximately $23 million. <br />Mr. Clark suggested that the issue was not just how to get more money, but how the City could do <br />business differently. He suggested that new and innovative ideas were needed. He said the staff - <br />suggested motion did not cover that concern. Mr. Clark thought the City could look to examples of how <br />services had been delivered differently and innovatively, and cited the Neighborhood Matching Grants <br />Program as an example. <br />Ms. Ortiz could not support putting out a bond measure this year or next year. She suggested the council <br />consider turning over responsibility for facilities such as the Kaufmann Center to a private party and sell <br />the back nine at Laurelwood Golf Course to cover the costs of fixing the buildings. She pointed out that <br />the council had yet to fulfill its promises of a community center to residents of Santa Clara. <br />MINUTES— Eugene City Council October 11, 2010 Page 6 <br />Work Session <br />