HomeMy WebLinkAbout220216 WSMINUTES
Eugene City Council
Virtual Work Session
Eugene, Oregon 97401
February 16, 2022
12:00 p.m.
Councilors Present: Claire Syrett, Matt Keating, Jennifer Yeh, Emily Semple, Alan Zelenka, Randy
Groves, Greg Evans, Mike Clark
Mayor Vinis opened the February 16, 2022, work session of the Eugene City Council in virtual format.
1. WORK SESSION -Public Art Update
Public Art Manager Kate Ali presented Council with an overview of the Public Art Program, along with a
synopsis of several recent projects.
Council Discussion:
■ Mayor Vinis -thanked staff for the inspiring presentation; expressed hope that people traveling
through the city will be surprised and intrigued by art installations; expressed appreciation for
the efforts to keep vibrant art in public spaces.
■ Councilor Keating -thanked staff for the presentation; found it pleasant and inspiring to see the
multitude of projects across the city; asked about the open call for artists and how that list is
compiled, if it is made public and how community members can contribute to the public art
program outside of the website; asked if artists are local to the city, region and/ or state.
■ Councilor Groves -expressed appreciation for finding new public art and what it adds to the
vibrance of the community; expressed concerns around vandalism and defacing of public art;
asked if anti-graffiti coats can be applied to public installations; asked what can be done to
restore and protect public art; asked to consider the overpass support columns in Washington-
Jefferson as possible future site for public art and other non-conventional canvases; expressed
concern about fire hydrants being covered with artwork and the unintentional effect of making
them more difficult for first responders to locate.
■ Councilor Syrett -thanked staff for the presentation; asked to confirm that artists working with
City programs are commissioned and paid for their work; noted that having a blank wall
painted with a mural is quite effective at reducing graffiti; encouraged business having issues
with chronic tagging to look into the urban canvas program; suggested adding a link with
program information in the economic development section of the City's website; noted the
Whiteaker Community Council has received grant money from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention to create public art which addresses vaccine hesitancy; noted Washington-
Jefferson Park has multiple murals on the overpass infrastructure.
■ Councilor Zelenka -stated a complete city involves many things and the role of Council and
local government extends beyond providing basic services to increasing overall quality of life
for its residents, which includes public art.
■ Councilor Yeh -thanked staff for the presentation; noted many larger statues are seemingly
more culturally mainstream, whereas murals have a higher diversity of representation; asked
about the consideration surrounding the selection of various art pieces.
■ Councilor Semple -stated her support for highway columns being painted; expressed a desire
to see more free walls in the city; noted the downtown window exhibits have been quite
successful; stated the 20x21 murals have turned out to be a great use of public funding; asked if
art can be moved on occasion in order to increase visibility.
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Councilor Keating -stated he abhors offensive graffiti, yet street art extends beyond the
offensive, with many celebrated artists around the globe for whom it is their primary medium;
asked if there has been any outreach to local street artists when seeking new public art.
Councilor Clark -thanked staff for presentation; asked who will decide on the goals and themes
for Riverfront Park public art, noting its central location in the community and need for broad
community appeal; asked if those responsible for vandalizing the pioneer mother and father
statues on the University of Oregon campus were ever caught; asked if the City has access to
these statues to reinstall elsewhere.
Councilor Evans -noted there are marginalized street artists across the city, and it would be
beneficial to reach out and consider their art in the existing scheme; discussed the defacing of
public art and working with communities on prevention.
Councilor Zelenka -asked staff to clarify the nature of free walls and their open use for
community artists.
Councilor Semple -discussed illegal tagging and its ongoing impact on public infrastructure;
shared her hope that free walls can mitigate some of those occurrences.
Mayor Vinis -applauded the work of the public art program and staff efforts.
2. WORK SESSION -Peterson Pacific Corp. Enterprise Zone Extension Request
Business Development Analyst Amanda D'Souza provided information on Peterson Pacific Corp.
(Peterson), who submitted an Enterprise Zone Authorization Application seeking a tax exemption on a
proposed investment of $8,225,000 for building renovations, machinery, and equipment to
accommodate the relocation of a Washington state manufacturing facility to the existing Eugene
location. Peterson requested a two-year extension of the standard three-year exemption (for a total of
five years). Council was asked to consider approval of Peterson's two-year extension request consistent
with the conditions included in the resolution in Attachment A of the AIS.
Council Discussion:
■ Councilor Clark -thanked staff for the clear and succinct presentation; asked about clawbacks if
criteria are not met; stated facilitating the creation of manufacturing jobs is a win for the City;
noted this could provide young people not attending college more career opportunities.
■ Councilor Zelenka -expressed appreciation for the clawback option; clarified that this will be a
new investment with additional jobs added; noted the creation of jobs will be of significant
public benefit; asked why the lot in question is not in the city and about the Planning
Department's process for annexation of commercial properties.
■ Councilor Syrett -thanked staff for the presentation; clarified the investment and exemption
amounts; asked for clarification on the chances of this property being annexed into the city
limits at the end of the exemption period; noted the additional jobs created will be a significant
increase in employment opportunities; stated the partnership with Lane Community College is
also an excellent increase in skill-building capacity for the city; suggested adding a provision
related to employing the previously incarcerated as an additional public benefit criterion.
■ Councilor Groves -stated the creation ofliving wage jobs is a public benefit; asked for further
input on annexation from Executive Director of Planning and Development Denny Braud.
■ Councilor Semple -thanked Councilor Syrett for suggesting the addition to public benefit
criteria focusing on recidivism.
■ Councilor Keating -stated he welcomes job creation for the community, especially when it
provides a living wage; stated his reservations about providing exemptions to corporations that
should be paying their fair share in taxes; noted that Peterson Corp. has a broad corporate
footprint; noted the company website has very outdated information on its COVID response and
planning.
■ Councilor Zelenka -asked staff to clarify what triggers annexation for commercial properties.
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■ Councilor Semple -referred to a prior conversation on the benefits and qualifications for an
extension of the exemption, and that a Council decision should be based on them meeting
criteria and not personal interests; stated that one's position on COVID should not be a factor.
■ Councilor Yeh -concurred with Councilor Semple and agreed the program criteria has been
met; expressed support for the addition to future public benefit criteria around working with
previously incarcerated residents.
■ Councilor Clark -expressed support for adding criteria around the previously incarcerated;
stated the benefits paid through job creation and learning opportunities will be above and
beyond the tax exemption amounts granted to Peterson Corp.; stated the time may be right for
another conversation on incentivizing voluntary annexation, which he believes could do a lot of
good for the City in the long term.
■ Councilor Evans -echoed Councilor Syrett's proposed inclusion of support for the previously
incarcerated into public benefit criteria; stated a larger conversation is needed on how to
reinvest in and reintegrate these individuals.
■ Councilor Syrett -appreciated the endorsement of the concept of supporting the previously
incarcerated as public benefit criteria; noted it may be possible as an administrative change
made by staff; asked staff to follow up on the pathway for adding new public benefit criteria or
stating the current criteria more explicitly.
■ Councilor Evans -stated the need to be explicit in the language around a benefit for hiring and
retaining the previously incarcerated.
■ Mayor Vinis -added the possibility of including climate and environmental impact
considerations to the public benefit criteria.
■ Councilor Keating -stated his support for recidivism efforts, use of locally sourced materials
and climate considerations into future public benefit criteria; asked about the percentage of
Peterson Corp. workforce who are represented by a labor union.
MOTION AND VOTE: Councilor Syrett, seconded by Councilor Keating, moved to adopt
the Resolution Approving a Two-Year Extension Request for a Property Tax Exemption
to Peterson Pacific Corp. for its Operations in the West Eugene Enterprise Zone as
outlined in Attachment A. PASSED 8:0
Mayor Vinis adjourned the meeting at 1:31 p.m.
Brooke Freed
City Recorder AIC
(Recorded by Jay Ferris)
Link to the web cast of this City Council meeting here .
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Work Session
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