HomeMy WebLinkAbout181114 WSMINUTES – Eugene City Council November 14, 2018 Page 1
Work Session
M I N U T E S
Eugene City Council
Harris Hall, 125 East 8th Avenue
Eugene, Oregon 97401
November 14, 2018
12:00 p.m.
Councilors Present: Emily Semple, Jennifer Yeh, Claire Syrett, Alan Zelenka, Mike Clark. Chris Pryor, Betty Taylor
Councilors Absent: Greg Evans
Mayor Vinis opened the November 14, 2018, Work Session of the Eugene City Council.
1. WORK SESSION: Northwest Natural Gas Franchise Finance Director Twylla Miller and Intergovernmental Relations Manager Ethan Nelson presented information about the franchise renewal process and timeline and its nexus with the Climate Action Plan. Council Discussion
• Questions asked about the Public Utilities Commission’s role and scope of authority in any attempt to attach new conditions to the franchise agreement.
• Council should consider an option to immediately stop the provision of new natural gas service, with some emergency exceptions.
• In order to meet climate recovery goals, everyone, including utility providers, needs to participate. City can be a leader in these efforts by providing incentives and considering conditions on new franchise agreement.
• Request made for information about the implementation of a privilege tax.
• Council could consider dedicating the franchise fee to the City’s climate recovery efforts, and identify incentives to help residents move away from natural gas use.
• Partnership with internal and external stakeholders will be critical to the success of any plan to change the franchise conditions.
2. WORK SESSION: Downtown Update Facility Management Division Manager Jeff Perry, Community Events Manager Colette Ramirez-Maddock, Police Sergeant Julie Smith, and Associate Planner Eric Brown presented information about downtown activities and initiatives, and plans to build on past efforts to continue the momentum of this work. Council Discussion
• Thanks to staff and community partners for incredible work. Appreciate the funding of a new Downtown Manager position to coordinate all of these efforts.
• Disagree with overall approach and tone of efforts; council represents very diverse opinions and there are many in the community who are frustrated that bad behaviors downtown are not being enforced.
• Improvements downtown are being seen; although things are moving in the right direction, there is more to be done.
• Increase efforts to target bad behavior occurring on public rights-of-way.