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Tri-Aqency Meeting -2- 11/7/95 <br />from that group. It was then narrowed to 4 sites. The full <br />committee met and the result of discussion was evenly split on 3 <br />of the final sites. The technical advisory group voted <br />unanimously for senator block, with one exception. In past <br />discussions, the senator block has been the overall choice. <br />Proposal <br />R. G. Andersen-Wyckoff (Transit) commented that over the years <br />the public have said we need to do more things in cooperation <br />with other government agencies. He indicated the need to form <br />public/private partnerships to proceed. The Transit District <br />looks to propose a Downtown Transit Center to meet long-term <br />needs and to vacate the temporary facility on High Street. In <br />addition, the County has identified downtown office space needs <br />for the next twenty years. He stressed that these concerns, <br />along with the belief that effective government in the 21st <br />Century will rely extensively on public/private partnerships for <br />more efficient use of tax dollars motivating the proposed <br />concept. ~ <br />The "Courthouse Square" is proposed to be a very innovative <br />partnership of local governments with private enterprise. It <br />envisions meeting identified needs of local governments, and puts <br />land back on the tax rolls, redevelops an otherwise under <br />utilized, primarily government owned block, creates new business <br />opportunities, opens the door to greater government efficiencies <br />and consolidations, and does so without the necessity of going to <br />the mutual constituency ta~ayers for new capital. <br />He emphasized that this is a concept and it has not been approved <br />by any body yet. He added that it is not intended to represent <br />the ultimate development, but rather the opportunities that could <br />be present within that development. The constants in the project <br />will be the specific requirements of the individual public <br />partners -- City, County and Transit District -- mixed with <br />market parameters of the private developer. <br />The end result is projected to be an aesthetically pleasing, <br />commercially marketable development in which the public partners <br />realize their specific needs, ultimately owning them free and <br />clear, without additional taxpayer debt. <br />Mr. Andersen-Wyckoff explained that the identified site for this <br />project is commonly referred to as the "Senator Block." The <br />location is encompassed by Court Street on the south, Church <br />Street on the east, Chemeketa Street on the north and High Street <br />on the west. He added that all but three small parcels in the <br />block are currently owned by the County and this proposal <br />