CC Minutes - 03/15/06 Work Session

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M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room—Eugene City Hall March 15, 2006 Noon COUNCILORS PRESENT: Jennifer Solomon, Andrea Ortiz, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Gary Papé, Bonny Bettman, George Poling, Chris Pryor. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. A. WORK SESSION: Downtown Update—East Broadway Development Projects Assistant City Manager Jim Carlson, Planner Nan Laurence, and Glenn Klein of the City Attorney’s Office were present for the item. Planning Director Susan Muir and Sue Cutsogeorge of Financial Services were also available to answer questions. Ms. Solomon, seconded by Ms. Ortiz, moved to adopt Resolution 4862 granting an exemp- tion from competitive selection requirements for a personal services contract relating to de- veloper services and developer’s selection of a general contractor for construction of a pub- lic parking facility; and approving findings related thereto. Mr. Papé declared a conflict of interest due to his son’s employment with Gerding/Edlen, the developer for the proposed project. Mayor Piercy called on the council for questions and comments. Ms. Taylor noted that she viewed a DVD of the public hearing of March 13, which she was unable to attend. She expressed regret that she missed the hearing and that it had been scheduled at a time when she was unable to attend. She protested the haste with which the hearing was set, which she said occurred to meet to the needs of the developer rather than the citizens. She objected to taking action so soon after the hearing, which did not give councilors time for reflection or to receive additional comments. Ms. Taylor believed the council was proceeding on false or unproven assumptions related to the need, location, and timing of the parking garage. She believed the proposal precluded other alternatives, such as providing support for the Farmers Market, for which the council voiced support in the past and which had come up in testimony at the public hearing. Ms. Laurence responded to questions asked by Ms. Bettman following the hearing. Regarding the question of how much parking the new federal courthouse required, Ms. Laurence said that 240 people would be work at the courthouse but only 70 spaces would be provided, most of them secured and not available to the general public. It was anticipated that most of the courthouse employees would park in the garage. MINUTES—Eugene City Council March 15, 2006 Page 1 Work Session