Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

Home Browse Search

throughout the United States. The fellows had told her they loved being in Eugene and had expressed their appreciation for the welcome they had received from the community. City Manager Jon Ruiz reported he had met with the new School District 4J Superintendent of Schools Shelley Berman the previous day and welcomed Mr. Berman to Eugene. He also reported that the City held an open house regarding 20-minute neighborhoods earlier in the week and it went very well. City Manager Ruiz reminded the council of the “Summer in the City” event scheduled that night. He thanked Health and Fitness Director Steve Auferoth for coordinating the City Manager’s Activity Challenge, occurring during the month of July. Mayor Piercy commended the City’s Web site, in particular the Eugene Counts Dashboard. B. WORK SESSION: Kaufman Center Design/Construction Section Manager Mike Penwell and Acting Recreation Services Director Craig Smith joined the council for the item. Library, Recreation, and Cultural Services Director Renee Grube, Acting Facilities Director Myrnie Daut, and Senior Real Property Officer Russ Royer were also present. Mr. Smith provided the council with a short history of the Trude Kaufman Center and an update on the center’s current condition and status. He explained that in January 2011 Cascade Solutions had vacated the lease and moved its services to another location. The center had been mothballed since that time. It cost the City $20,000 annually to maintain it in that status; that cost was paid out of the Kaufman Trust Fund. Continuing the presentation, Mr. Penwell provided information on the cost of renovating the structure, which he estimated at $150,000 to $200,000 if the building was in residential use; renovating the structure for institutional use would be significantly higher. He noted that the structure was the subject of the S- HK Historic Kaufman House Special Area Zone, which prohibited partition or subdivision of the property and required any landscaping or building alterations to comply with the approval criteria found in Eugene Code 9.817. The City could sell the house or use it for another purpose. Mr. Smith indicated the Recreation Division could not find a use for the center and would seek input from other departments and the relevant neighborhood associations on the future use of the property. Councilors asked questions clarifying the details of the presentation but had no objection to the staff recommendation to seek input from other departments and the neighborhood associations on the use of the property. Mayor Piercy adjourned the meeting at 1:11 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Beth Forrest City Recorder (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 13, 2011 Page 3 Work Session