For More Information Contact:
Lance Robertson, 984-4716
Eugene Water & Electric Board

Utility board purchases west Eugene property

EWEB commissioners on Tuesday night (Feb. 8) agreed to purchase 46 acres in west Eugene as a potential future site of all or part of the utility's operations.

EWEB is buying the land from Corvallis-based Brand S Corp. for $1.6 million. Terms of the deal call for EWEB to pay $600,000 up front, with the remaining $1 million paid over a 10-year period at 5 percent interest. The site is at the southeast corner of Beltline Road and Roosevelt Boulevard. At one time, a log pond and other mill operations were located on the site, but it is currently vacant land.

At Tuesday's board meeting, commissioners stressed that the land purchase does not signal that EWEB is moving anytime soon. The purchase culminates a five-year search for an alternate future site, predating any interest in EWEB's current riverfront property by Triad Hospitals or Arlie & Co.

“Buying this land does not obligate us to move,” Board President Ron Farmer told about 20 citizens, EWEB staff and news reporters attending the meeting.

Triad and Arlie have offered to purchase most or all of EWEB's 27-acre site on the Willamette River. Triad wants to build a new McKenzie Willamette hospital on the site, while Arlie has proposed a mixed-use development that includes allowing EWEB to keep administrative staff in the current headquarters under a lease agreement.

Also on Tuesday, the Board awarded a $792,000 contract with WBGS Architecture & Planning to perform conceptual design and other work necessary to get a solid estimate of what EWEB's relocation costs would be, if the utility were to move to the Roosevelt site. The work should be completed by September. The cost estimate is critical for responding to Triad or Arlie. Commissioners have said they do not support a move that requires a rate increase to pay for it.

The project also includes a decision point for the Board about whether to plan for a “split” move, in which only electric and water operations would be relocated, or a combined move, in which both operations and administration would be relocated.

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