Eugene Weekly : News : 12.15.05

WEP Wrestling
County, Springfield balk at Eugene offer to discuss freeway.
BY ALAN PITTMAN

The city of Eugene last week invited West Eugene Parkway (WEP) supporters to talk to opponents of the freeway through wetlands to break a decades old impasse over the bypass, but WEP supporters refused.

WEP supporters jilted Eugene's invitation to take part in a "collaborative process" on the WEP dispute at a Dec. 8 meeting of the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC).

At a previous MPC meeting last month, Eugene representatives voted to not move forward with a list of local transportation projects if they included the WEP, and other MPC members voted to not move forward with the list of projects unless it included the WEP. The meeting resulted in an impasse since Eugene, like Lane County and Springfield, holds a veto vote on the MPC.

A similar impasse repeated at the meeting last week. Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy and Councilor David Kelly said the city was willing to take part in a facilitated collaborative process with WEP supporters to try and reach a solution to traffic problems in west Eugene. The Federal Highway Administration, which is bankrolling most of the proposed parkway, agreed to take part and potentially split the cost of the process with the city.

"We're at loggerheads, not only at this table, but in the community, and we need to find a way to move forward," Piercy said.

But WEP supporters reacted to the invitation to talk with hostility. Springfield Councilor Christine Lundberg demanded that Eugene commit to supporting the WEP before any collaborative discussion.

Lane County Commissioner Bobby Green, Coburg Mayor Judy Volta and Springfield Councilor Anne Ballew accused Eugene representatives of holding other projects hostage to defeat the WEP.

Kelly and Piercy denied any hostage taking and pointed out that they were willing to approve the other projects without the WEP.

Green said Piercy and Kelly defied Eugene ballot measure votes two years ago to support the WEP and not pursue alternatives. "You ask people to vote on something and you ignore it and thwart the view of the voters," Green said. "I just can't do that," he said. "We respect the vote of the people."

But WEP opponents point out that Green and other county officials have ignored the will of voters numerous times. The county is now laying plans to impose a new public safety tax after county voters refused to pay more for such services a dozen times at the ballot box.

WEP opponents also point out that the project has doubled in cost and changed substantially since 51 percent voted for it. The alternatives measure was defeated by a wider margin, but WEP opponents said it was confusing to voters and many WEP opponents voted against it.

Green and Lundberg said they would boycott any collaborative process with WEP opponents. "There are those of us that are not willing to go through the processes because we already know where we're going to be."

Green threatened to lobby against federal funding for the process. "Maybe we need to go further up the chain and talk about how we use federal dollars here locally."

Volta and Green said they'd like to take away Eugene's veto power on the MPC.

"That really bothers me," a clearly frustrated Piercy said after an hour of Eugene bashing. "Springfield has a right to its position, Lane County has a right to its position, well, Eugene does too."

Piercy said she was "bending over backwards and sideways" to collaborate with WEP supporters on discussing the project. If facilitated discussions offer a chance to get past a 20-year fight on the project, "what is wrong with that?"

Although WEP opponents refused to agree to talk about the project, most did agree at the very end of the meeting to talk about talking about the project. Over Green's objection, County Commissioner Faye Stewart offered to talk to Eugene representatives about details of the collaborative process and bring back information to the January meeting of the MPC. Piercy quickly agreed.

Exactly what form the collaborative process could take remains undecided. But such mediated collaborations for controversial projects are not new for the federal government.

The federal Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution was created by Congress in 1998 to deal with just such impasses. IECR has a roster of 240 facilitators, including 17 in Oregon, trained to help solve environmental impasses involving federal projects.

The institute has worked on projects dealing with Grand Canyon overflight noise, highway corridor planning in Riverside County, Calif., and a new bridge over a Wild and Scenic River in St. Croix, Minn. IECR reports its facilitation service "provides stakeholders with an opportunity to work out their differences and arrive at joint solutions with the help of an impartial mediator."

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		WEP Wrestling County, Springfield balk at Eugene offer to discuss freeway. BY ALAN PITTMAN The city of Eugene last week invited West Eugene Parkway (WEP) supporters to talk to opponents of the freeway through wetlands to break a decades old impasse over the bypass, but WEP supporters refused. WEP supporters jilted Eugene's invitation to take part in a "collaborative process" on the WEP dispute at a Dec. 8 meeting of the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC). At a previous MPC meeting last month, Eugene representatives voted to not move forward with a list of local transportation projects if they included the WEP, and other MPC members voted to not move forward with the list of projects unless it included the WEP. The meeting resulted in an impasse since Eugene, like Lane County and Springfield, holds a veto vote on the MPC. A similar impasse repeated at the meeting last week. Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy and Councilor David Kelly said the city was willing to take part in a facilitated collaborative process with WEP supporters to try and reach a solution to traffic problems in west Eugene. The Federal Highway Administration, which is bankrolling most of the proposed parkway, agreed to take part and potentially split the cost of the process with the city. "We're at loggerheads, not only at this table, but in the community, and we need to find a way to move forward," Piercy said. But WEP supporters reacted to the invitation to talk with hostility. Springfield Councilor Christine Lundberg demanded that Eugene commit to supporting the WEP before any collaborative discussion. Lane County Commissioner Bobby Green, Coburg Mayor Judy Volta and Springfield Councilor Anne Ballew accused Eugene representatives of holding other projects hostage to defeat the WEP. Kelly and Piercy denied any hostage taking and pointed out that they were willing to approve the other projects without the WEP. Green said Piercy and Kelly defied Eugene ballot measure votes two years ago to support the WEP and not pursue alternatives. "You ask people to vote on something and you ignore it and thwart the view of the voters," Green said. "I just can't do that," he said. "We respect the vote of the people." But WEP opponents point out that Green and other county officials have ignored the will of voters numerous times. The county is now laying plans to impose a new public safety tax after county voters refused to pay more for such services a dozen times at the ballot box. WEP opponents also point out that the project has doubled in cost and changed substantially since 51 percent voted for it. The alternatives measure was defeated by a wider margin, but WEP opponents said it was confusing to voters and many WEP opponents voted against it. Green and Lundberg said they would boycott any collaborative process with WEP opponents. "There are those of us that are not willing to go through the processes because we already know where we're going to be." Green threatened to lobby against federal funding for the process. "Maybe we need to go further up the chain and talk about how we use federal dollars here locally." Volta and Green said they'd like to take away Eugene's veto power on the MPC. "That really bothers me," a clearly frustrated Piercy said after an hour of Eugene bashing. "Springfield has a right to its position, Lane County has a right to its position, well, Eugene does too." Piercy said she was "bending over backwards and sideways" to collaborate with WEP supporters on discussing the project. If facilitated discussions offer a chance to get past a 20-year fight on the project, "what is wrong with that?" Although WEP opponents refused to agree to talk about the project, most did agree at the very end of the meeting to talk about talking about the project. Over Green's objection, County Commissioner Faye Stewart offered to talk to Eugene representatives about details of the collaborative process and bring back information to the January meeting of the MPC. Piercy quickly agreed. Exactly what form the collaborative process could take remains undecided. But such mediated collaborations for controversial projects are not new for the federal government. The federal Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution was created by Congress in 1998 to deal with just such impasses. IECR has a roster of 240 facilitators, including 17 in Oregon, trained to help solve environmental impasses involving federal projects. The institute has worked on projects dealing with Grand Canyon overflight noise, highway corridor planning in Riverside County, Calif., and a new bridge over a Wild and Scenic River in St. Croix, Minn. IECR reports its facilitation service "provides stakeholders with an opportunity to work out their differences and arrive at joint solutions with the help of an impartial mediator."






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