CCMinutes - 02/25/04 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Papd said he had seen several joint county/city facilities in other cities and thought a partnership would be beneficial for both parties. Mr. Pap6 asked if the Sears Building site had been considered. Mr. Svendsen said the site had been looked into, but there were concerns that this would displace the possibility of the Oregon Research Institute's redevelopment of the site, which was projected to bring good jobs to the downtown area. He added that the west side of the downtown area was felt to be more of a commercial area. In response to a question from Mr. Pap~, Mr. Gunderson said a building shared between City services and the Police Department would have to be four stories tall. Ms. Taylor asked who appointed the ad hoc committee members and who they were. Mr. Svendsen replied that the Mayor appointed the 15 committee members. Mayor Torrey said all of the committee participants were people who applied to be on committees in the City, many of whom had applied to the Police Commission and some who had applied to the Planning Commission. Mr. Svendsen added that half were public agency members such as George Russell, superintendent of the School District 4J, and a representa- tive of the Lane County Sheriff's Office (LCSO). Ms. Taylor asserted that the recommendation of the committee should not supercede the recommendation of the charette. Ms. Taylor agreed that it was premature to discuss financing scenarios. Ms. Taylor also felt that the City should not build commercial space that could compete against other downtown businesses. Mayor Torrey called the visioning process the ~right thing to be doing." He felt, given that the courthouse was going to be built, the timing was right. He noted that the United States Forest Service was rumored to be moving to the City of Springfield and would be vacating office space in the Federal Building. Regarding the membership of the ad hoc committee, Mayor Torrey related that he had thought the membership was a representative selection. He asked councilors with concerns about the membership to discuss them with him. Mr. Kelly said he would have preferred that the City Council appoint the committee. He emphasized that the committee should represent the diversity of the community. Mr. Kelly recommended surveying the public in order to get a sense of their awareness of any issues around downtown City facilities and whether there was support for a possible future bond measure. Mr. Kelly asked staff to look into the feasibility of a privatized lease-to-own facility, wherein a private developer would build the facility and the City would lease it and eventually pay for it. Ms. Taylor urged staff to refrain from placing a bond on the ballot in the fall. Ms. Taylor noted that there had been a strong interest in saving the City Hall building and upgrading it. She MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 25, 2004 Page 4 Work Session