Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 02/11/02 Work Session MINUTES Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room-Eugene City Hall, 777 Pearl Street February 11, 2002 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Betty Taylor, David Kelly, Nancy Nathanson, Pat Fart, Scott Meisner, Gary Rayor, Gary Pap~, Bonny Bettman. CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION Mayor James D. Torrey called the work session of the City Council to order. A. ITEMS FROM MAYOR, COUNCIL, AND CITY MANAGER Mr. Kelly requested information on the City of Springfield's business license program. City Manager Jim Johnson noted that Creswell and Florence also had business license programs and staff would provide information about those systems as well. Mr. Kelly asked that staff prepare information on the cost of the staffing at the Valley River fire station for background in preparation for the February 27 work session, and options on how that staffing might be covered, including such options as department reorganization or short-term serial levy to underwrite the cost. Ms. Bettman thanked Public Works Department staff for its work responding to the aftermath of the recent wind storm. Mr. Meisner and Ms. Taylor concurred. Mr. Meisner said that he received a few calls from people still without power. He said that those individuals, who all lived in the same neighborhood, had raised question as to whether the restoration of service was delayed for "inappropriate motives." He asked for staff follow-up on those allegations. Mr. Rayor noted Public Works Department staff's ongoing work in responding to the wind storm and said that staff had done a good job of opening trails and streets. He asked that his thanks be passed on to staff. Mr. Rayor expressed concern about the status of AMTRAK and asked the council to consider adoption of a resolution in support of keeping passenger rail coming to Eugene. Mayor Torrey suggested that the United Front delegation raise the issue in Washington. Mr. Meisner said that the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations could draft a resolution for consideration by the full council. He distinguished between supporting AMTRAK and supporting national passenger rail service. He said that there was considerable support for passenger rail, but perhaps in a different guise. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 2002 Page 1 State of the City Mr. Rayor indicated he would forward an e-mail regarding the opening of Arcadia Street to Public Service Officer Sue Collins. Ms. Taylor agreed with Mr. Rayor as to the importance of maintaining passenger rail service. Ms. Taylor asked for information about a situation where the City canceled an arts contract with a dead artist. Ms. Taylor asked for more information about the formulas used by staff for traffic volumes. Ms. Taylor noted complaints about wood smoke from residents and said the council should discuss that at some point. She thought the situation would get worse because of the high cost of electricity. Ms. Taylor said she had been contacted by a constituent who wanted to know why the fire station cost so much if it was only to hold vehicles. She said that the City needed to emphasize that fire fighters stayed at its fire station while they were working. She suggested that the City use some of its own land for the new fire station to keep its costs down. Ms. Taylor said that she had been contacted be people who wanted to know why, if City Hall was threatened seismically, why nothing was being done about it. Ms. Taylor asked when the City Council would know the name of the interim City Manager. Ms. Nathanson mentioned her interest in under grounding utilities and the agreements the City had reached with Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) about taking advantage of opportunities to underground utilities. She said the City should continue to look for and actively pursue such opportunities, citing the installation of Bus Rapid Transit lines as an example of an opportunity. She asked if there were budget issues at either the City or EWEB that would delay or stall those efforts. Ms. Nathanson also commended the way in which the City addressed the recent unexpected high winds. She questioned what the City had learned from the experience, and requested a review and report of what happened and what might be done differently in the future in terms of operations or needed equipment. Ms. Nathanson appreciated the reminder from City Public Works staff about the season being a good time to plant trees and for the information provided at the same time about the NeighborWoods Program. Ms. Nathanson asked if there would be a map available of where there had been damage to trees from the wind storm. Mr. Farr also commended the way in which the City addressed the recent unexpected high winds, saying it was an amazing testimonial to the City and EWEB's preparedness. He said that he had returned to Eugene after a visit to Portland and found that Eugene had been full of lights, although not at his own house. He added power was restored to his house around 3 a.m. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 2002 Page 2 State of the City Mr. Fart called the council's attention to the upcoming roundtable meeting of five of six living Oregon governors on February 14, in which his son would participate. The event would be broadcast live on PBS. Mr. Pap~ thanked City Manager Jim Johnson, Public Works Director Kurt Corey, and Public Works Department staff for their work addressing the ramifications of the wind storm. He said the work the City's Urban Forester had to do in maintaining Eugene's urban forest was awesome. Mr. Pap~ suggested to Ms. Nathanson it would probably be easier to map where there was no damage to trees. He had received calls from constituents asking him if he could do something because EWEB was part of the City, and thought the council should have a discussion of the City's relationship with EWEB. Mr. Pap~ asked that his thanks be forwarded to Public Works Director Kurt Corey for his recent memorandum on Ayres Road. He recommended the memorandum to other councilors. Mr. Johnson also thanked Public Works Department staff. He said that department did a tremendous amount of work. He spoke of the time put in by City crews over the past four days, reporting that more than 40 people worked through Thursday night and the daylight hours Friday; the crews were sent home Friday night and a skeleton crew was maintained until midnight; more than 20 people worked through the daylight hours on Saturday and Sunday. All crews had been working on general cleanup that day. He anticipated staff would probably return to the council with a Contingency Fund request to address the extra expenses caused by the wind storm. Mr. Johnson reminded the council it had about $40,000 in its Contingency Fund, which would be insufficient; he anticipated staff would return with other funding options as well. Mr. Johnson noted for the benefit of the public that free wood was being stockpiled at the north end of Washington Street. Mayor Torrey also thanked City staff for its efforts following the wind storm. He expressed concern about the liability the City might bear from its failure to cut trees because of community opposition to tree removal for any reason. He cited both personal public safety and the loss of power experienced by residents because of trees that came down on electric lines because they had been retained when they should have been removed as examples of that liability. Mayor Torrey noted he recently counted 22 bicyclists safely using the bicycle path on Ayres Road. Mayor Torrey thanked the American Red Cross for its service to the community following the wind storm. Noting a recent visit to the State Legislature to testify in favor of a vehicle registration increase, Mayor Torrey expressed concern about the lack of leadership in the Oregon Legislature. He said that a portion of the increase would have directly benefitted Eugene residents, and suggested legislators needed education about the need for road maintenance funds. Mayor Torrey said that he and Mr. Johnson had been meeting with the two school districts and the City of Springfield regarding the status of education funding, and indicated that he would have more to report to the council when the scope of the education funding reduction was known. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 2002 Page 3 State of the City B. SEQUENCING OF FINANCIAL MEASURES TO BE PRESENTED TO THE VOTERS Assistant City Manager Jim Carlson was present for the item. He requested a council discussion of future bond and local option levy measures, and called attention to the background materials included in the meeting packet. He noted specifically the information provided about other potential bond measures that might be placed on future ballots by other local public agencies, including a bond measure to be offered to the voters by Eugene School District 4J. Continuing, Mr. Carlson said that staff used the Multi-Year Financial Plan to identify strategic issues and determine which required additional revenues that could only be provided by a vote. He identified the library local option levy, fire station bonds, and a potential parks, recreation, and open space bond for the near-term, and a potential measure for a police building and new City Hall in the long-term. Mr. Johnson noted the legal deadlines to place measures on the May and November 2002 ballots. Mayor Torrey called for council questions and comments. Mr. Pap~ determined from Mr. Johnson that School District 4J was contemplating a $116 million bond for the May 2002 election. The district would make that decision before the council's February 27 work session. Mr. Johnson confirmed that the May 2002 election had a double- majority requirement. Mr. Rayor determined from Mr. Carlson that there were two potential measures related to fire facilities. Mr. Rayor also asked for more information about the youth levy. Mr. Carlson responded that the levy was originally designed to be a two-year, property tax-based local option levy with the intent of finding a nonproperty tax revenue source to replace the levy. Staff was working with some of the City's partners in the metropolitan area for alternatives. He said that one nonproperty tax revenue option was an entertainment tax, but without the participation of the University of Oregon, the revenues from such a tax would not be sufficient to fund replacement of the levy. Property tax-related options included renewing the levy or forming a special district. He said that a special district would take some time to implement. Mr. Rayor indicated his questions were because of the timing of the library local option levy. Mr. Meisner said the council had also discussed a transportation funding measure, an alternative revenue to replace some of the local option levies, and a replacement for the youth levy. In addition, he noted the mayor's interest in trying to determine how to use some of the City's nonmeasure 5 compression money to help support school programs. He said the council needed to consider the issues in the packet in terms of the larger context of competing issues. Mr. Meisner suggested it was not just a matter of timing, but considering which measures would or would not help another measure to pass. Mr. Meisner observed that the Mayor's Library Improvement Committee had recommended going to the voters in the May 2002 election because of the double majority requirement and the likelihood the school district's measure would attract sufficient voter attention to ensure the double majority was reached. He concluded by saying it was difficult to have the discussion without the MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 2002 Page 4 State of the City larger context to which he previously referred, and suggested some sort of grid would be useful. Mayor Torrey was glad the fire facilities issues were segregated and hoped they continued to be so. He wanted to go to the voters in May 2002 with the downtown fire station. He did not believe the community was prepared to address the Santa Clara fire station issue at this point, and emphasized the need for community education. Mayor Torrey said the council needed to find a way to remind the public that it always intended to come back to the voters with a serial levy for the library at the end of four years. Ms. Nathanson agreed with Mr. Meisner that the context for any measure was very important. That context included what the voters were willing to pay for, and the economic climate at the time of the proposal. She said that the political climate was also a consideration. The council had also discussed placing some charter review issues on the May and November ballots, and those proposals might have both cost implications and political ramifications that create concern on the part of the voters. Ms. Nathanson questioned how much the council was willing to "throw out there," saying she did not want to present the public with a laundry list of measures and see if "something sticks." Mr. Kelly agreed with Mayor Torrey that the two fire stations should be segregated in two bond measures, but did not support placing them on two ballots. He thought staging the two measures in two elections would be confusing as people would question the measure as they had just voted for a fire facility. He suggested a single educational campaign for both measures. Mr. Kelly said that while he was also interested in a district for the purpose of providing youth services, he pointed out to Mr. Meisner that was also a property tax-based solution. Regarding the potential of City support for the schools and the measure 5 compression moneys, Mr. Kelly hoped any discussion included the potential of nonproperty tax revenues, which he could support. Mr. Kelly thought Ms. Nathanson's remarks regarding the economic climate were to the point. He suggested that the City make clear to the voters the distinction between supporting existing services and establishing new, needed services. Ms. Taylor expressed concern about the discussion of potentially increasing property taxes, which people already perceived as high. She did not favor trying to pass all the measures at once, although she favored offering all to the voters eventually, with the exception of a new City Hall. She thought the council needed to find another source of taxation to meet the community's needs. Ms. Taylor preferred to see the downtown fire station on the May 2002 ballot, and using all the reserves to build it rather than directing them to a new police facility. She thought the police could be temporarily relocated from the basement to the old fire space. Ms. Bettman believed that the council needed to discuss the downtown fire station and staffing at the Santa Clara station to decide whether it was practical to put something on the May 2002 ballot regarding Santa Clara. She thought the downtown fire station should be on the May ballot, and suggested that the council could then reevaluate what other issues should be added. She thought the library levy should be offered to the voters in May 2002. Ms. Bettman said the November 2002 ballot was somewhat full, and suggested the council look at the emergent issues and get funding measures on the May ballot. She was concerned about the size of the library MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 2002 Page 5 State of the City levy, and asked what that looked like in the context of the City's other measures for May. She wondered if that could be separated into two ballot measures well.. Mr. Carlson said that the Multi-Year Financial Plan was intended to provide a context for the discussion. It was intended to be the comprehensive issues list, and would be revised as issues were resolved, taken off the list, or added to the list. Regarding the parks, recreation, and open space issue, Mr. Carlson said that the staff of the Park and Open Space Division would go the Citizen Involvement Committee on January 21 with a proposal for an update of the Parks Master Plan. That process was expected to take 18-24 months and would result in a new plan in the winter of 2004. For that reason, staff proposed to wait to take a new levy to the voters in 2004. He added that the City still had $10 million from the previous parks and open space bond measure to expend. Mr. Rayor questioned if a double majority could be achieved in a primary election. He suggested that it would be useful if the tax bills included information about when the levies took effect and ended, and thought that should be made clear in the November election. Mr. Rayor said that bond measures should be kept to a minimum. Mayor Torrey solicited a second round of council comments. Mr. Pap~ agreed with Mayor Torrey that the Santa Clara Fire Station issue still needed work. He said that the River Road/Santa Clara ad hoc committee, of which he was a member, was studying related issues and absorbing the meaning of the information provided to it. He thought the fire station proposal premature, and indicated his disagreement with Mr. Kelly's suggestion to place the two fire-related measures on the same ballot. Mr. Pap~ said the council needed to be strategic given the May needs that existed. He said the council needed to be judicious in how it approached the citizens. He supported the library levy and concurred with Mr. Meisner's remarks about the youth levy. Regarding the youth levy, Mr. Pap~ said the City had "stuck its neck out" and invited the other jurisdictions to join it, and he did not see that happening. As beneficial as the levy was, the council needed the support of its partners to support those services. Responding to a question from Mr. Fart about the likelihood of achieving a 50 percent voter turnout in May, Mr. Carlson noted that there was 50 percent turnout in May 2000, and because the May 2002 election was also a gubernatorial primary election, staff anticipated a similar turnout. Mr. Farr expressed concern there would be no voter support for an increase in property taxes. He recollected the defeat of the council's measure to support Iow-income housing, which would have cost tax payers $12 about annually, and said people were not interested in new forms of taxation. Mr. Meisner expressed satisfaction about the issues as a projection of the future but not as a schedule. He said that the other issues also needed to put into context as time progressed. With respect to the proposed Santa Clara fire station, Mr. Meisner agreed with Mayor Torrey and Mr. Pap~ that it was somewhat premature. He said that the council needed to be up-front with the voters that while the proposed library levy will replace the existing levy, the proposed parks bond would be in addition to the bond now in place. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 2002 Page 6 State of the City Mr. Meisner shared others' concerns about the City's constant reliance on property taxes, which most of the proposals represented. He looked forward to a council discussion of other sources of revenues that encompassed transportation funding. Mr. Kelly said that development pressures were eliminating available land that could be used for parks, in effect making the council's decisions for it. He indicated his intent to place a motion on the table that addressed his concern. Mayor Torrey agreed with Mr. Meisner about the status of the issues list. It could serve as a general roadmap but the council was not committed to it. Mr. Kelly, seconded by Mr. Fart, moved that the mayor constitute a new mayor's committee on parks and open space similar to the one created about five years ago. The committee's charge should include consideration of gaps in the parks and open space system, consideration of what projects should be included in a future parks and open space bond measure, advice to the council and staff regarding funding the maintenance and programming of new facilities, advice to the council regarding the timing of a future parks and open space bond measure. Mr. Kelly said the word "recreation" was implied throughout the motion. Mayor Torrey called for discussion of the motion. Ms. Nathanson said that when she had worked on the current bond, it had been to address equities in the system. Her ward still contained the least amount of recreation and parks space in the entire community, and the situation frustrated her. She had been very patient and understood the timing issue, but thought it appalling given the inequity that existed in her ward would persist for some time. Ms. Nathanson was skeptical about forming a committee now if there was an expectation a measure would go on the ballot right away. She asked staff how that effort would dovetail with the other work efforts in progress. She pointed out that unless the City increased staff for acquisition, planning, design, and construction, it would still not be able to implement a bond measure if approved. Ms. Nathanson also pointed out that there was still money to spend from the existing bond. She wished the acquisition work associated with the bond had happened faster and there was more staff available for that effort, but the City could only do so much with existing resources. She questioned how a new committee would speed things up if City was already working as fast as it can. Mr. Farr supported the motion because of the pressure on developable land. He wanted the committee to determine how critical the problem was, and what the City had to lose by not moving forward. He suggested that the money left from the existing bond would be spent by the time the committee completed its work. He hoped the motion would encompass other things outside park land acquisition, such as a pool at Churchill High School or other more significant regional projects. He agreed with Ms. Nathanson that southwest Eugene was not well-served, and did not think the remaining bond money would address the problem. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 2002 Page 7 State of the City Mr. Meisner shared the timing concerns expressed by Ms. Nathanson. He noted the next agenda item related to the recommendation of the Mayor's Library Improvement Committee on a new library levy to replace the existing levy, which took the committee six months' time. He questioned whether a new committee would be prepared to place something on the November ballot, as it would have less than five months to form and complete its work. He said he supported the formation of a committee, but not the direction regarding the timing of its task. Mr. Rayor had mixed feelings about the motion given that he did not think the City had the same persuasive argument to make about the need for new funding for parks and open space as it had previously. Mr. Pap~ supported the motion. He did question the suggested timing, and said that once the committee was constituted it might have a better feel for the timing of a possible measure. He recommended that the committee include spots for Ms. Nathanson and former City Councilor Barbara Keller. Ms. Taylor supported the motion as she wanted more money for parks acquisition. She noted the recreation center in her part of the community no longer served that function. Ms. Bettman supported the motion. However, she questioned placing a measure on the November 2002 ballot given the other emerging issues the council must address and the fact money still existed from the last measure. She looked to the proposed committee to develop a list of gaps and a targeted recommendation the council could forward to the voters at an opportune time. She suggested that the committee be charged first to determine what properties could be acquired with the funds remaining from the existing bond. Mayor Torrey called for another round of council comments on the motion. Mr. Kelly said the motion was not presupposing that the committee would recommend a ballot measure or the timing of a measure. In response to Mr. Rayor's comments, Mr. Kelly said that "success begets success" and he thought there was momentum for such a measure that should be taken advantage of. Ms. Nathanson expressed concern that the fact the neighborhood park element of the parks and open space bond measure was not fully implemented could work against the success of a future bond measure. She was also concerned about the charge to the committee and its nature. A committee that consisted of advocates for a parks and open space bond measure would do a good job in advocating for such a measure, but she questioned whether the council wanted the committee's advice on timing, suggesting that the council should use its political judgment to make that decision. She did not want to raise expectations on the part of the committee that would do the work about the nature of its recommendations. Ms. Nathanson asked how the motion would actually work given the master planning effort that was occurring. Mr. Johnson said it was important for the staff and committee to know the committee's charge. If the council did not want to preclude a November 2002 election, it should be clear about that. He anticipated the committee's work would take approximately a year, and suggested the council was acting a bit prematurely in deciding now. He thought it would be helpful if the committee had the opportunity to review the early work accomplished in the master planning effort. Mr. Johnson suggested the council pass the motion with the understanding the effort would not commence in six months. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 2002 Page 8 State of the City Mr. Meisner did not think the motion as stated gave staff enough time to do the needed work. Mr. Meisner, seconded by Ms. Nathanson, moved to extend the time for the item by five minutes. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Mr. Pap~ recalled that the first Parks and Open Space Committee took a year to complete its work, and said the effort contemplated would be a very accelerated process. Mr. Kelly spoke in defense of the motion, saying he did not want to foreclose options available to the committee. H e preferred that the committee was formed promptly, met with staff to get a backgrounding and a briefing from staff on the master planning process. After that, the committee would be in better position to make a recommendation to the council. Nothing in his motion precluded the committee from moving quickly with a November 2002 ballot measure, or required it do so. Ms. Bettman supported the motion. She did not necessarily support a November 2002 parks and open space measure, questioning whether it was possible in terms of timing, but agreed with Mr. Kelly that the motion did not constrain the committee. Mayor Torrey indicated he would vote to support the formation of the committee if there was a tie vote. He questioned whether a November 2002 ballot measure was necessary. Mayor Torrey believed that the council needed time to generate the support needed for a new bond. However, he saw value to having the committee. The committee could hear from staff about the master planning effort and share its concerns with staff. Ms. Taylor did not think the work of the new committee would take as long as the work of the former committee, given that much of the information needed had been gathered already in other efforts. Mr. Rayor thought the council needed to offer the voters money measures in a logical and sensible order. He did not support the motion because he did not think that all the needs that existed could be met at the same time. He said that his vote against the motion was not because he was against "these nice things," but rather because he believed there was not enough money and issues needed to be prioritized. Ms. Nathanson said she would support the motion but thought the council should consider the signals it was giving to the committee and staff in terms of when the recommendation was wanted. She believed that the council needed to give staff more specific direction. Ms. Bettman determined from Mr. Johnson that the work of the committee would not offset the cost of doing the master plan update. The motion passed, 6:2; Mr. Meisner and Mr. Rayor voting no. Mayor Torrey asked how many councilors believed that the motion directed the staff to prepare for a November 2002 election. Mr. Kelly recommended that the staff discuss the issue with the committee and poll it on its recommended date. Mr. Carlson determined that the council understood that there was a possibility that there would be two different committees supported by the Parks Division staff, one of which was a department advisory committee appointed by the department. He said that staff may choose not to have the department advisory committee. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 2002 Page 9 State of the City Mayor Torrey suggested that the issue was a good process discussion for the mayor, council officers, and City Manager. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 2002 Page 10 State of the City C.RENEWAL OF LIBRARY LOCAL OPTION LEVY The council was joined by Julie AspinwalI-Lamberts, co-chair of the Mayor's Library Improvement Committee, Library, Recreation, and Cultural Services Department Director Angel Jones, and Connie Bennett, Library Services Director. Ms. Jones introduced the item, and asked the committee members present stand so the council could recognize them. Committee members Eleanor Mulder, Anne Carter, Christine Donahue, and Susan Hirata introduced themselves. Ms. Jones thanked them for attending and for their commitment. Ms. Bennett briefly provided background on the committee process, noting that ten of the original twelve members who served on the 1997 committee had agreed to participate on the reconstituted committee. Ms. AspinwalI-Lamberts, co-chair of the committee, presented the recommendations of the Mayor's Library Improvement Committee for the renewal of the library local option levy. She reported on the public forums conducted by the committee, which indicated considerable support for the library branches, concern about the economy, and a desire for more hours and more books. She said that the committee was very concerned about the economy and people's ability to take on an additional tax burden. The committee had discussed a third branch and agreed that one was implemented, it should occur in the southwest; however, the committee agreed now was not the time because of the economy. Ms. AspinwalI-Lamberts said the committee discussed anticipated increased usage at the main library and the need for it to be a strong core of the service in support of the branches, and the recommendations focused on strengthening that core. Ms. AspinwalI-Lamberts reviewed the committee's recommendations for funding: 1) enhance the collection budget for the library system to bring the library up to the Oregon Library Association's "adequate" standard of at least 2.5 books per capita; 2) add evening hours to the Downtown Library schedule, bringing the total to 64 hours per week and meeting the Oregon Library Association's "adequate" standard of at least 60 hours per week; 3) add six weekday hours per week to the branch library schedule to provide for consistency in hours; 4) add additional staff for telephone reference service for the library system and full service desk coverage at the Downtown Library; and 5) add Sunday hours at the branches. Ms. AspinwalI-Lamberts said that the committee recommended that the cost be held at 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation. Mayor Torrey solicited a first round of council questions/comments. Mr. Meisner, co-chair of the committee, thanked gave thanks to what he termed an incredible committee. He said that the committee was always prepared and its analysis was deep and efficient. He said that the committee had done a good job of recognizing the tension between wanting it all and what the City could afford. Mr. Meisner said committee members recognized that the use of serial levies was not the best way to run a library system, but acknowledged that Ballot Measure 47/50 had left the City in the position it was in. Mr. Meisner thought the committee had done a good job of addressing both needed services and the costs engendered by the new main library in its recommendation. He thought the committee's recommendations all made sense and were defensible. Mr. Farr thanked Mr. Meisner for serving as co-chair of the committee. He said he toured the library earlier that day and it was awesome even in its unfinished state. He expressed appreciation for the committee's pared-down recommendation. Mr. Farr said the community was MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 2002 Page 11 State of the City frustrated about the lack of evening hours at the library, and people asked him why it was not open in the evenings when families could visit it. Ms. AspinwalI-Lamberts noted that many families with preschool aged children visited the library in the early morning hours for such events as stow time. Ms. Bennett added that the library frequently received requests for more evening hours. Mr. Meisner noted the recommendation for more evening hours and for Sunday hours at the branches. Mr. Pap8 also thanked the committee and commended the work of the Eugene Library Foundation. Ms. Nathanson supported renewal of the library levy. However, she continued to be concerned about the lack of branch library service in the southwest part of the community and noted that there were new services proposed to start in the 2004 equaled the cost of a new southwest branch library. She said that the committee made a clear choice as to what the priorities were, and the committee chose to prioritize increased hours at existing branches and enhancing some service at the downtown library above a southwest branch. The decision to support the committee's recommendations was a difficult one for her; if she had heard more from her constituents about their dissatisfaction, she would be making more of an issue of the decision. However, she had not heard from her constituents, and she thought they understood the area was "next in line." Ms. AspinwalI-Lamberts acknowledged Ms. Nathanson's concerns and noted the complete lack of public comment on the topic. The decision came down to making sure there was a strong downtown library that could support the branches, and that the existing branches were on firm financial footing. She said the tradeoff was difficult, and expressed her thanks to Ms. Nathanson for her support. In response to Ms. Nathanson's comments, Mr. Meisner said that the committee had discussed the timing of the southwest branch as it related to the next levy, and agreed rather than open the branch for one year without thorough analysis, the City should do more work in the neighborhood to determine what was needed and where the branch should be located, and build the branch through the next levy. Mr. Kelly advocated for renewal of the library levy, noting the heavy use the library enjoyed and the many functions it served. He expressed appreciation to the committee for its work and said he would trust its judgment as to the priorities it had set. Regarding the status of the economy, Mr. Kelly noted that the first collection of the levy would not occur until fall 2003, by which time most economists think the state would be in better condition. Responding to a question from Mr. Rayor regarding what the current levy covered, Ms. Bennett said that it supported the operations of the two existing branches, the downtown library's Sunday hours, additional internet access at the downtown library, and the expanded staff needs required for eight months of operations at the new downtown library. Mr. Rayor supported the library levy renewal and wanted it to pass. He suggested that toward that end, the council split the recommendation into two levies, one representing the current level of service and one representing the services being added. Ms. Bettman expressed concern about the size of the levy given the other things that she anticipated would be on the May ballot. However, she thought the committee had made good choices in reaching its recommendation and thought there would be synergy with the other measures on the ballot. She expressed appreciation to the committee for its commitment to making the measure succeed. She was optimistic the levy would pass. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 2002 Page 12 State of the City Ms. Taylor asked why the committee was not discussing a southeast branch. Ms. Bennett reminded the council that the original report adopted by the council recommended a southwest branch in 2002, followed by a southeast branch. Ms. Taylor wanted more branch hours and more evening hours, including evening hours on weekends. She would support a May 2002 election but thought a November 2002 election was preferable because people would see the new library approaching completion and would be excited about that. Mayor Torrey said he wanted the levy on the May ballot. He had previously been concerned about the cost, but he believed the library was a good value for the citizens and the council should give the voters a chance to say yes for the sake of the community's children. Mayor Torrey asked the committee members to work to convince the citizens of the value of its recommendations. Mayor Torrey solicited a second round of council questions/comments. Mr. Meisner said the committee discussed the timing of the election and agreed that there was a nexus between the school bond measure and the library levy. November was a fallback, depending on what happened in May. Mr. Meisner commended the mayor on his comments. He emphasized that the campaign would not be the purview of only the committee, although some would be active in the campaign and some had been working already. He said that the library levy renewal had a deeply committed constituency, and the campaign would not lack adherents. Mr. Pap~ favored a lower cost levy with fewer priority elements. He wanted the levy to pass, and feared that the cost would be an issue for voters. He suggested that the voters be given time to absorb the new library, and in the meantime the foundation could maintain its momentum for another levy. Mr. Fart wanted more hours at the library but really wanted to ensure the baseline amount needed to support existing operations passed. He suggested the City could not afford some of the extras recommended at this time. Ms. Nathanson said that the council should be very clear with the public that the existing levy would end and there would be a levy to replace it. She asked if the library collection was lacking in specific areas that could be highlighted as part of a marketing campaign for citizens, or did the library need more books in every category. Ms. Bennett said that the biggest reason the library failed to meet collection standards was because the downtown library was undersized and could not hold the books needed to serve a community the size of Eugene. Whenever the library put something new on the shelves, it had to take something off. A new library would resolve that problem. Mr. Kelly, seconded by Ms. Bettman, moved to accept the report of the Mayor's Library Improvement Committee. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Mr. Kelly, seconded by Ms. Bettman, moved to direct the City Manager to prepare a measure for the May 2002 ballot consisting of a renewal of the library local option levy in the amount of $4,900,000 per year, and bring the ballot measure to the council for consideration on February 25, 2002. Mr. Kelly reviewed the elements of the levy proposal. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 2002 Page 13 State of the City Mr. Meisner supported the motion. He said the committee worked hard to pare the costs of the levy renewal while still having a main library that was open consistent hours and branches that were open according to the standards their users demanded. He shared Ms. Bettman's optimism the levy would pass. Mr. Fart said he would support the motion even though he was worried about the amount above the baseline because of his concern about limited library hours. He said that if the voters did not support the levy at the higher amount, the council could return to them in November 2002 with the baseline amount. Ms. Bettman said she had examined the numbers very carefully because of her concern about the cost, but had realized that the only fungible numbers amounted to slightly over $1 million. She said that in terms of the big picture, it did not seem significant. She thought the committee made good choices and the larger amount over the baseline would not affect the voters' choices. Mr. Pap~ indicated support for the motion but thought the council "was stretching it" in the amount. He hoped the levy would pass in May but if it did not believed the council would have to cut the cost before returning to the voters with another measure. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. The meeting adjourned at 7:46 p.m. Respectfully submitted, James R. Johnson City Manager (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 2002 Page 14 State of the City