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allowing unimproved streets to receive slurry seals. The Trainsong neighborhood in her ward lacked <br />sidewalks, curbs, and gutters but its residents deserved good streets and were very happy about the work <br />that had been done in that neighborhood. <br />Mr. Clark agreed with the remarks of Ms. Ortiz. He also appreciated the good job being done by Public <br />Works. He said he frequently heard compliments about that work as well as complaints from those <br />awaiting their own maintenance overlay. He acknowledged the department was working as hard as the <br />budget allowed. He hoped the City was developing a plan to address the backlog of unimproved streets <br />and encouraged staff to get such a plan before the council as quickly as possible. <br />Mr. Brown said he had not received any constituent comments about the gas tax. He did hear comments <br />expressing appreciation for the street improvements that had been completed. He suggested the benefit of <br />the gas tax was demonstrated by those improvements. Mr. Brown supported retention of the two -cent <br />increase, suggesting it would become increasingly insignificant as gas prices increased. <br />Mayor Piercy recalled that council discussion about the removal of the sunset included agreement that the <br />action depended on whether progress was being made on the maintenance backlog. She believed there <br />was considerably more work to be done. She also concurred with Ms. Ortiz about the City's efforts to <br />build the best and most appropriate road improvement and be responsive to what the public wanted, even <br />if that did not include complete urban -scale improvements. <br />Mr. Zelenka had also heard nothing from his constituents about the gas tax, although he heard constant <br />complaints about the condition of the roads. He recalled he had agreed to eliminate the two -cent increase <br />if the State legislature had provided sufficient transportation funding, but it did not do so. He supported <br />retaining the two -cent increase. He did not think it drove any gas stations out of business and doubted <br />many people drove very far away from the community to avoid the tax. <br />Mr. Zelenka did not think the current rate of progress on the preservation backlog was sufficient and <br />wanted to see more progress. He reiterated his support for a transportation utility fee to accomplish that <br />goal. Mr. Corey reminded the council of the need for a billing system to collect the fee, and suggested it <br />would require council advocacy to persuade the Eugene Water & Electric Board to administer it. <br />Mr. Zelenka indicated interest in a council work session poll on a transportation utility fee. <br />Mr. Farr agreed with much of what had been said, particularly Ms. Ortiz's remarks about the size of the <br />tax relative to the cost of gas. He said he heard less about the actual increase than he did about the <br />erosion of trust created by the council's action to eliminate the sunset, which was a concern to him and <br />which he thought the council should be aware o£ He acknowledged he also heard complaints about <br />potholes, and commended the department's responsiveness to those complaints. <br />Mr. Poling believed the council had heard few complaints about the tax increase because it was using the <br />revenues from the tax as promised. The City was making some gains on the backlog. He suggested that <br />widely varying gas prices throughout the community also made it challenging for people to detect the <br />impact of the local gas tax. <br />Mayor Piercy believed the council had used the term "sunset" in the case of the added two cents to <br />indicate it would reexamine its action in the future, and suggested that it might consider being more <br />precise about what it meant when it used the term in the future. <br />MINUTES— Eugene City Council June 15, 2011 Page 3 <br />Work Session <br />