CCMinutes - 06/28/04 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

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7. ACTION: Resolution 4793 Adopting the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission Facili- ties Plan and 20-Year Project List for the Eugene-Springfield Regional Wastewater Treatment Facilities Councilor Poling, seconded by Councilor Nathanson, moved to adopt Resolution 4793 Adopting the 2004 Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission Facilities Plan and 20-Year Project List for the Eugene- Springfield Regional Wastewater Treatment Facilities. Councilor Meisner conveyed his respect for the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC) board and staff, but was not confident that the plan was the most cost-efficient means of addressing the wastewater issues. He felt the stakeholders had not had adequate opportunity to weigh in on MWMC plan. Councilor Poling supported the motion. He commented that the MWMC staff, engineers, and legal staff made their argument and those opposed had made their argument 180 degrees in opposition. He recom- mended approval so that this would move forward, adding that if it was going to go to court, it would go to court. Regarding public comment, he questioned how the right amount could be quantified. He stressed that the MWMC would need direction, should the process have to be embarked upon again, on just what amount of public input was necessary. Councilor Solomon opined that the MWMC had come to represent all that was wrong with government. She called it a ~morass" of acronyms, plans, and diagrams difficult for the average citizen to fathom. She was particularly concerned that, in addition to the higher rates, the MWMC had been unwilling to work with the community of Coburg to develop a regional facility. She felt this would have represented true regional planning. Councilor Papd commented that the MWMC had not had much input over the years because it had been primarily concerned with the management of existing facilities. He said this was the first time it had been faced with substantial improvements. He wanted the MWMC to obtain a second opinion from an engineering firm other than CH2M Hill. He added that noticing had not included any reference to the amount of money that was in question. He thought the public would have participated more had it known the price tag for the 20-year project list was $144 million. Councilor Kelly countered that there was more than a second opinion in the draft in that there were five alternatives represented there, all of which had been sorted through by the consultant and the MWMC. He noted that some of the testimony in support of the plan was from people who worked in the wastewater profession. He supported Coburg's possible involvement in the plan and did not see that the resolution before the council precluded such partnership. City Manager Taylor interjected that there had been a preliminary discussion regarding such an endeavor. He predicted that adoption of the resolution would free up staff time and allow staff to further pursue the proposed partnership. Councilor Kelly agreed that the wastewater facilities were complex, but asserted that all such facilities were complex in the eyes of someone who was without the appropriate engineering background.