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Mr. Clark commended the presentation. He confirmed with Mr. Wold that after three years the City <br />would have no funding for operations and maintenance for its most recent acquisition and expressed <br />concern about that. He was happy the City was able to leverage the purchase to such a degree, but was <br />concerned that the addition of the asset would be used as justification for a new revenue stream. He <br />preferred to make what he characterized as "hard decisions" instead. <br />Mr. Clark recalled that $10.5 million was identified in the parks bond both for a community park in Santa <br />Clara and for several neighborhood parks. He determined from Mr. Wold that those funds were still set <br />aside. Mr. Medlin reported that one of the thirteen neighborhood parks identified in the bond measure <br />had been completed. The acquisition of Suzanne Arlie Park reduced the amount of funding available. <br />He said it was difficult to find flat in the areas identified for new parks. The City was considering the <br />acquisition of developed properties with the intent of holding them to redevelop as parks. <br />Mr. Clark asked if the City's parks systems development charge was based on those planned <br />neighborhood park acquisitions. Mr. Medlin said yes. <br />Mr. Clark suggested that as the vision in Envision Eugene was implemented and the community grew <br />denser, the need for neighborhood parks would be more pronounced and their acquisition would be harder <br />and more expensive. He suggested the City consider how it might incentivize the acquisition process. He <br />hoped the acquisition of neighborhood parks was the division's next area of focus. Mr. Medlin said it <br />was the division's priority but the City's requirement that the property sellers be willing made the task <br />more challenging. He said the division continued to look at opportunities for grants to leverage other <br />dollars. <br />Mr. Zelenka asked when residents would be able to walk on the Ridgeline Trail from Lane Community <br />College to Fern Ridge Reservoir. Mr. Wold said it was hard to predict given existing economic <br />conditions but he believed the City had a framework in place to realize that vision. <br />At the request of Mr. Zelenka, Mr. Medlin provided an update on the City's attempt to acquire the <br />Beverly property, reporting the acquisition was on hold because the City could not reach an agreement ou <br />price with the property owner. Because of other acquisitions and projects, the City lacked the money to <br />buy the site and would have to develop a funding package to move forward. Mr. Zelenka suggested a <br />funding approach similar to that used for the City's newest acquisition in the system. <br />Mr. Zelenka believed the council needed to act on the shortfall in funding for operations and maintenance <br />before it became a crisis as well as capital for park development. He suggested the potential of a bond or <br />a levy to address those issues. <br />Mr. Pryor expressed appreciation for the mayor's mention of the economic aspect of parks because he <br />believed quality of life and quality of livelihood were connected concepts and mutually supportive. He <br />agreed it was necessary to consider the operations and maintenance needs of City assets and <br />acknowledged that the City felt less pressure to maintain its open spaces than it felt pressure for road <br />maintenance. He did not want to turn away a potential asset because the City could not take care of it <br />right now, but felt the City needed to cognizant of those obligations, particularly for neighborhood parks. <br />Such facilities required more maintenance than some other types of parks. He believed the City was <br />trying to strike the right balance, but that was not easy. <br />Mayor Piercy observed that every additional City asset also had a public safety cost related to it. <br />MINUTES— Eugene City Council May 11, 2011 Page 4 <br />Work Session <br />