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Report, "City Position on Courthouse Square" "...considered over forty potential sites for the transit center" and had conGuded that the Senator Block was one of two locations recommended. Because of the Senator Biock's designation on the City's Comprehensive Plan the District Board selected it as its primary site and commissioned the subject study to investigate its joint development potential. In addition to the professional study team, an Advisory Committee of thirteen, representint Transit, Marion County, City of Salem, the Downtown Development Board, the Downtown Parking Board, the YMCA, the Salem Downtown Association, CANDO, and CATCI, met regularly witli the consultant team to review the issues and their conclusions. To paraphrase the conclusion reached by the study; they found significant benefits to Transit, Marion County, the City of Salem, Downtown Businesses, a Private Developer, and The Community from a joint Marion CountylTransit development of this site and recommended to the Transit District that it proceed with the joint development opportunity. (Interestingly enough, another broadly based community Site Selection Committee reached a similar conclusion in August 1995.) There was strong community support for relocating the transit facility to an off-street site following the Site Selection Committee's deliberations. On August 28, 1995 the Statesman Joumal published an editorial (Attachment "D"~vhich said, in part, "...The way we're going now, there's no solution. Every suggestion is shot down. Every location has its fans and even more detractors...ff they (the city council, downtown business groups, and Marion County) are happy with the ad-hoc transfer set-up on High Street, then tell the Salem Area Transit Board to quit wonying about a transit building. But we don't believe that they are happy. If that's made clear, then at least the transit board will know - again - that it must flnd a new home and that the community is behind its efforts...~"~e've set ug unrealistic obstacles to everv g~~~l...ff everyone agrees that we need a safe place to park buses and to load and unload passengers, make that the flrst priority. Then tackle the next priority: recovering from the effects of the first. ff the Senate (sic) Hotel and its low-income housing are lost to a transit station, make that an opportunity, not an obstacle...This is not ju~ a~y bus station we're talking about• it's a maior downtown imarovement Make the most of it The transit board now has three sites to consider. the Senator Hotel block, the block where Washington Mutual Bank is located, and the block that includes Greyhound bus station. All have good qualities that would strengthen our bus em and give us the o~1~l~y to make other significant imnrovements at the same time. If we are serious about a transit station let's do it Otherwise we will fuss around with it for another 15 years•„ The partnership between the County and Transit to implement Courthouse Square on the Senator Block was consummated at the end of 1995. The temporary period granted by the City expired in 1990 and, on several occas'ions, staff from the City and Transit discussed the necess'~r of relocating the facilit~r to an off-street location. No formal action was taken by the City until May 11, 1993, when the City Council unanimously directed that the Temporary Transit Facility be removed from High Street by May 3, 1995. Attachment "E" is the letter from foRner Mayor R.G. Andersen-Wyckoff to Jim Cla~lc, Chairman of the Transit District Board, notifjring the District of the Council's action. The City Council extended that deadline in 1995 to allow completion of Courthouse Square. CITY POSITION ON COURTHOUSE SQUARE Communications with, and actions by, the City have played a key role in proceeding with the Courthouse Square concept. On November 6, 1995, the City Staff provided the Cily Council with an inforrnational report, Attachment "F', which reviewed the three primary proposed sites for the new off- street Transit Center which had been recommended by the Site Selection Committee and its Technical • Page 2