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HomeMy WebLinkAbout200224 WS MINUTES – Eugene City Council Work Session February 24, 2020 Page 1 MINUTES Eugene City Council Harris Hall, 125 East 8th Avenue Eugene, Oregon 97401 February 24, 2020 5: 30 p.m. Councilors Present: Betty Taylor, Emily Semple, Alan Zelenka, Jennifer Yeh, Mike Clark, Greg Evans, Chris Pryor Councilors Absent: Claire Syrett Mayor Vinis opened the February 24, 2020, work session of the Eugene City Council. 1. Work Session: Town Square Project Funding Strategies City Manager Pro Tem Sarah Medary, Finance Director Twylla Miller, and Urban Development Manager Will Dowdy spoke about the concept design, schematic design, design development, construction drawings, bidding, and construction steps of the Town Square project. Additionally, they discussed the potential scope/phasing and funding options for the project. Planning and Development Director Denny Braud spoke about possible parking solutions. Council Discussion • Councilor Clark – inquired about additional assets the City owns, the zoning of the land above Laurelwood Golf Course and its value as an asset, talked about the urban downtown renewal project and how much more money is still needed for the park blocks portion of the project, said the use of funds for city hall would not be well received by the community and asked about downtown parking considerations and solutions. • Councilor Evans – asked about the number of surplus asset properties and related exceptions of what could be sold; inquired about the possibility of altering the park blocks and the location of the farmer’s market. • Councilor Pryor – asked about the current facility reserve fund and additional assets; spoke about the combination of different funding options; expressed a desire to scale and phase the project. • Councilor Zelenka – stated that he was not interested in selling park land; asked about the swap fund and amount; inquired about the farmer’s market funding agreement with Lane County; talked about the complication of finances and pulling together funding options; expressed support for scaling and using a combination of funding options for the project. • Councilor Taylor – asked about transferring funds for park blocks improvements to the city hall plan; supported addressing one project at a time and looking at transferring funds from the quiet zone, raising the transient room tax, and other private donation options; supported addressing the city hall project before the park blocks portion of the plan; spoke about the history of the butterfly lot as the former site of the farmer’s market; reported that people were expressing negative views of the drawing of the market published in the newspaper; asked if the funds from the quiet zone could be transferred to the city hall project • Councilor Yeh – supported being mindful of other important projects going on at the same time as the town square project; stated that parks and the quiet zone are very important; desired a phasing of the project; asked about the projected cost of the farmer’s market structure; asked about Lane County’s role in discussion of the funds; asked for an email highlighting the numbers.