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Mr. Papé concurred with Ms. Bettman that the development should be commended for the proposed parking. <br /> <br />Mr. Papé asked about other potential projects in the district. Mr. Sullivan said there was a lot of discussion <br />about potential redevelopment on various properties but no clear indication of what would happen. The <br />financial analysis did not take into account any increment generated by those uses. City Manager Taylor <br />indicated that staff hoped the development could be a catalyst for further development of the type envisioned <br />in the Downtown Plan. <br /> <br />Responding to a question from Mr. Papé about the use of the Library Debt Service Fund, Ms. Cutsogeorge <br />said that the money was originally from the General Fund and not part of the urban renewal financing for <br />the library. Mr. Papé asked if the City could condition the use of money from the Facilities Reserve on <br />repayment from the Urban Renewal District. Ms. Cutsogeorge indicated that was staff’s intent and would <br />be included in the materials the council saw on February 22. Mr. Sullivan added that it was possible the <br />sale of City property could generate some funds for that purpose. <br /> <br />Mr. Papé asked if systems development charge revenues could be used on the project. Public Works <br />Director Kurt Corey said no. <br /> <br />Mr. Papé asked if the City considered building a pedestrian structure off the northeast corner of the parking <br />structure across Mill Street to serve the federal courthouse. Mr. Sullivan said the idea had come up. The <br />City owned the corner across the street and there would be an elevator in that garage that would obviate the <br />need for a ramp. Mr. Papé suggested that a pedestrian structure could spur federal financial participation. <br /> <br />Ms. Solomon, seconded by Ms. Ortiz, moved to direct the City Manager to negotiate a land <br />transaction between property owned by the City and property owned by The Shedd Institute <br />for the Arts, LLC for the purpose of participating in the Whole Foods Development Project, <br />and to bring back final terms for council approval. <br /> <br />Mayor Piercy called for comments on the motion. <br /> <br />Ms. Solomon said the council heard a compelling argument that there was a need for more parking <br />downtown. The council spent considerable money to create an environment that attracted this type of <br />project. She hoped the council moved forward and did not stall the process. She said the project was <br />consistent with previous council discussions and established downtown goals in terms of making downtown <br />more accessible and desirable for people to visit. <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor agreed with Ms. Solomon that the need for additional parking had been established. The question <br />was whether there would be economies of scale or value to be realized by building a public parking garage <br />in conjunction with the Whole Foods development. He thought the answer to the question was yes and that <br />considerable savings would be realized through the partnership and coordination of construction. He <br />believed the partnership would be advantageous to all parties involved and would save public money. <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor thought the financing package intriguing and creative and was persuaded to look on it favorably <br />because the City contribution represented the least amount of out-of-pocket cash. He was supportive of the <br />project and thought it would benefit downtown. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 8, 2006 Page 7 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />