CCMinutes - 02/25/04 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Svendsen reported on the first ad hoc committee meeting. He provided copies of the work program for the committee. He noted the timeline was tight, as the committee was to present its work to the council by the first of June and that the work was to represent an integrated approach among the agencies to future Civic Center development downtown. He stated that staff would come before the council in late April with recommendations for initial financing options for the facilities. Mayor Torrey thanked Mr. Gunderson and staff members for their efforts. He related that he attended the charette and there had been %xcitement and enthusiasm in the room." Mr. Kelly commented that he was impressed with the number of ideas that were presented at the charette and the work that had been done. He opined that the key element missing from the bulleted list in the Agenda Item Summary (ALS) was meeting rooms for both the staff and public. In response to a question from Mr. Kelly, Mr. Svendsen said the Civic Center, as envisioned, would consolidate City services to the greatest extent possible. He specifically noted that the Planning and Development Department (PDD) was planned to be moved out of the Atrium Building and into such a center. Mr. Kelly felt the block bordered by 8th Avenue, Broadway Street, and High Street (the ~IHOP block") had potential. He liked both the suggestions that another City building be built across 8th Avenue from the current City Hall or that it be placed on the %utterfly" lot site, located on the northwest comer of 8th Avenue and Oak Street. Mr. Kelly expressed disappointment that the idea of combining the Police Department structure and the City Hall structure had been ~dismissed" by the design charette. In response to a question from Mr. Kelly, Mr. Svendsen said the key reason such a combination had not been considered was the changes in seismic codes. He stated that the Police Department had different seismic code requirements from other structures. Ms. Nathanson thought it out of order to consider financing options prior to receiving final recommendations on the Civic Center. Mr. Svendsen responded that the initial motivation for doing so was to attain a level of understanding of the potential financing prior to undertaking the project. Ms. Nathanson advocated for keeping the discussion of financing to a general level. She reiterated that specific and detailed financing would be premature at that point. Mr. Taylor stated that the next meeting of the committee would focus specifically on opportunities for cooperation with the State, the school districts, and County, federal, and City governments. He related that the committee had been asked to talk about the range of financial options or tools that were available in the hope that there would be a convergence between what is possible and different ways the tools would be used in different scenarios. He said it was hoped that the committee would be able to come back with more refined information. Ms. Solomon asked what the Government Service Administration was going to do with the old courthouse. Mayor Torrey related that the government had said it would continue to use the entire building with the possible exception of some of the courtrooms. Mr. Poling said he was impressed with the horseshoe design and that the Great Streets idea looked good to him. He supported combining City functions in the Civic Center. He felt having one central area would MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 25, 2004 Page 2 Work Session