HomeMy WebLinkAbout180110 WSMINUTES
Eugene City Council
Harris Hall, 125 East 8 th Avenue
Eugene, Oregon 97401
January 10, 2018
12:00 p.m.
Councilors Present: Emily Semple, Betty Taylor, Alan Zelenka, Jennifer Yeh, Mike Clark, Greg Evans,
Claire Syrett, Chris Pryor
Mayor Vinis opened the January 10, 2018, Work Session of the Eugene City Council.
1. WORK SESSION: Performance Auditor Discussion
MOTION: Councilor Syrett, seconded by Councilor Zelenka, moved to direct staff to craft a
proposed charter amendment for an independent performance auditor based on the objectives
and provisions contained in the Citizens for Sensible Oversight January 8 memo presented to
Mayor and Council in sufficient time to allow for a referral to the May 2018 special election ballot.
Council Discussion
• The City has a responsibility to provide a public forum for the discussion around auditor
options.
• It may not be a good idea to alter the City's form of government.
• Citizens placed an initiative on the ballot. Council shouldn't interfere; should wait to see how
the vote goes.
• There is not enough time to put together a thoughtful alternate ballot measure.
• Support for the proposed motion does not mean automatic support for putting alternate
measure on the ballot.
VOTE: Passed 4:3, Councilors Semple, Taylor, and Clark in opposition. Councilor Evans absent
for vote.
2. ACTION: Dusk to Dawn Family Site
MOTION: Councilor Clark, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved to approve 4060 West Amazon
Drive as a site for the Dusk to Dawn overnight sleeping program.
Council Discussion
• Request made to postpone the vote from the previous Monday to allow people to come to the
public forum to speak to it.
VOTE: Passed 7:0, Councilor Evans absent for vote.
MINUTES -Eugene City
Work Session
January I 0, 2018 Page I
3. WORK SESSION: Parks and Recrea tion System Plan Implementation -Funding for Opera tions
and Maintenance and Capital Improvements
Parks and Open Space Division Manager Craig Carnagey, Parks Planning Manager Carolyn Burke,
and Recreation Services Director Craig Smith presented funding options fo r the Parks and
Recrea t ion System Plan Upd ate recommendations.
Counc il Discussion
• Concerned about adding costs to homeown ers and those in affordab le housing.
• Selling Lau r el wood Golf Course wou ld provide an Operating and Ma intenance endowment.
• Would like to explore transient taxes to help pay for parks funding.
• Would really l ike to focus on s hort-term actions while also working on longer-term strategies.
• There is great faith in the project list because of how much feedback was rece ived and how
much outreach in the community was done.
• Parks a re a priority for this community; there may be interest in th e more robust funding
op tions ove r the more cautious options.
• Would like to compare the levy by itself vers u s the bond and the le vy.
• A s ugary beverage t ax seems like a viable str ategy to support ongoing operations.
• Need to address the safety aspects of parks funding, including ba th room facil ities.
• The levy and bond would be put on the ba ll ot as two separate items.
• If the City doesn't make t h ese investments n ow, the price tag will jus t keep getti ng higher.
• Need to provide competitive sports faciliti es locally and in vest in the infrastructure to help
t h e local economy.
• Levies a nd bonds both increase property taxes, but many peopl e in the community r ent.
Property tax increase r esult in rent increases, impact ing affordable housing.
• Mari juana taxes are general fund dollars t hat can fund whatever Council wants, current pol icy
directs these funds towards community court, parks security, and human services.
• Draw from the success o f road bond initiatives and include a citize n advisory committee,
au dits, a nd d istribution of benefits a round the city .
The meeting adjourned at 1:27 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
~
Elena Dom ingo
Deputy Ci ty Reco rder
MINUTES -Eugene City
W o rk Session
January I 0 . 2018 Page 2