Public forum on new City Hall features many pro-downtown speakers

The Eugene City Council heard public forum comments Monday, Dec. 10, on the three options for City Hall: move to EWEB’s riverfront building, stay at the same 7th and Pearl site and build a new building, or rebuild and beautify the existing city hall using parts of its skeleton. (See wkly.ws/1a9 for more information.) Most of the 17 speakers advocated keeping city hall downtown; two spoke in favor of the EWEB site.

As EW goes to press Wednesday, Dec. 12, council will sit down to a work session that Mayor Kitty Piercy said after the Dec. 10 meeting would include an attempt by council to decide on the future site. Piercy said that because of Councilor George Poling’s expected absence, there would not be a tie. But if Poling is able to phone into the Dec. 12 meeting and a tie results, Piercy says she supports remaining downtown for reasons including its connection to the county building and the city’s ownership of the 7th and Pearl property. “It just makes really good sense to me,” she said.

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