Eugene weekly., May 05, 2016, Page 5, Image 5

economic elite. What is most refreshing
is that she’s not an equivocator. She’ll
tell you where she stands on issues like
ending MUPTE and DTURD, protecting
neighborhoods from destruction and
gentrification, and providing meaningful
support for people without homes.
Even though she is not an "insider" like
Wig, or "coronated" by Kitty like Skov, I
know that with her passion, commitment
and hard work she can accomplish a lot of
good in Eugene.
Bonny Bettman McCornack
Former City Councilor
Eugene
REAL SAFETY ISSUE
Dear city of Springfield:
A crosswalk post that can be found
near the intersection of Mohawk and
Olympic streets has a button that is falling
out of place. When you press the button,
it no longer beeps in response. Instead, it
wiggles and bobs, and I am left to trust my
instincts as I jaywalk (read: run quickly to
avoid getting creamed by a car) to cross
the street. It’s a busy intersection, where
residential meets commercial, with Hwy.
126 just a few yards away.
This is a real traffic safety issue, not an
idled motorist handing out money, socks
or food to a panhandler. Perhaps it’d be
a better use of your time to worry about
broken light signals than sign holders.
Terra Williams
#KillTheAntiKindessOrdinance
Eugene/Springfield
PLAYING GAMES
Thank you for publishing the opinion
of Hayden Rooke-Ley. His perspective
is welcome, though uncomfortable as he
strains not to offend.
I think it would also be helpful to
include the opinion of a ping-pong player
on the activities of the Supreme Court.
Professional ping-pong players have a
unique perspective on intelligence, and
the Supreme Court is sorely lacking the
wisdom a ping-pong player could provide.
DESIGN MATTERS
BY JERRY DIE T HEL M
Runaway
City Hall
A PUBLIC PROJECT HAS ESCAPED
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
T
he big surprise revealed about the new Eugene
City Hall at the Wednesday, April 27, City
Council work session was not that the cost
had climbed from the original $15 million to
$25 million. The surprise was that the council
voted not to pause and become more knowledgeable and
accountable for the situation. Councilor George Brown’s
motion to hold “at least one more session” on the project’s
budget, costs and financing went wanting when it failed to
pass, garnering just three votes.
Some of the figures in the project-costs breakdown, given
to councilors just days before the meeting, were often twice
as high as previous estimates and expectations. The cost to
tear down the old City Hall that was supposed to have cost $1
million turned out to have cost $2 million. The council had not
been informed.
Architectural and engineering fees were now up $1.3
million to a total of $4.4 million, which would amount to 18
percent of the $25 million total projected cost. A class “A”
office building’s professional fees would normally be in the
range of 8-10 percent. Fees for the new federal courthouse
were around 10 percent. “Please,” said an architectural
friend and colleague with a bad case of fee-envy, “get me
one of these deals!”
It’s sad that the designing of what is perhaps our most
important community symbol has been conducted without
any real citizen participation. What should have been an
open civic process has been out of the public eye for long
periods of time and, for far more than anyone was aware of,
out of the council’s oversight.
Why did it take City Council a whole year to learn that
the project was running seriously over budget? Where were
the fiscal responsibility and the diligence that was due to
question the cost increases for project management?
Why were there no regular monthly reports to council
from the project’s construction manager general contractor
(CMGC), hired specifically to monitor and manage the
projects costs during its design development, in the year
since the council had agreed to increase the budget to $17
million for a fourth floor?
There was no citizen’s advisory committee formed to
consult about the appropriateness of the building’s design
for Eugene or whether its earthquake preparedness should
be set at a higher level than we build into our public schools.
There was no consultation in the space planning with such
principle users as the city councilors as to whether or not they
needed office space until long after the floor plans had been set.
There was never any plan to ask the citizens of Eugene
whether they liked and wanted the building or whether they
would be willing to pass a bond issue to pay for it the way we
did for such others as the Hult Center and the Eugene Public
Library. But there should have been.
This is the most secret and closely held public project in
all of my 46 years in Eugene. Ironically, its subject is our
most public building and civic symbol.
So what was the big hurry at the council workshop?
My guess is to skip as fast as possible over any unwanted
sunshine on the consequences of some irresponsible project
management. It’s time now, past time, for a time out.
The only way to sneak this one’s costs in under the radar
now is to break the radar.
Jerry Diethelm is a Eugene architect and planning and urban design consultant.
EUGENE CITY HALL PROJECTED COSTS
DESIGN/ADMINISTRATION
CONSTRUCTION
TOTAL PROJECTED COST
ORIGINAL BUDGET
$3,535,000
$11,465,000
$15,000,000
Cycle the Lovely
Mohawk Valley!
May 7, 2016
BUDGET ADDING 4TH FLOOR
$4,550,000
$13,300,000
$17,850,000
CURRENT ESTIMATED BUDGET
$6,125,000
$18,835,000
$24,960,000
Historic Preservation Month
May is National Historic Preservation Month! Join us in celebrating Eugene ‘s history!
Every Saturday in May - Booth at Saturday Market
May 7 - Friendly Neighborhood Walk, 1 PM
May 8 - Historic Architecture Scavenger Hunt
May 15 - Mid-Century Modern Tour, 11 AM
June 6 - City Landmark Workshop, 6 PM
The 5th annual benefit bike ride for
Oregon Supported Living Program’s
Arts & Culture Program
mohawkvalley100k.org
40K 60K 100K 100K+
Armitage Park, Eugene, OR
For more information:
erik.berg@ci.eugene.or.us
www.eugene-or.gov/HP
eugeneweekly.com • May 5, 2016
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