Lariviere has chance to do the right thing on ORI project

• Published in: The register-guard
• Main Authors: Cziko, Paul, Stark-MacMillan, Zachary, Hancock, Allen
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Eugene, Or Gannett Co., Inc 10.01.2011
• ISSN: 0739-8557

For the ORI project, the university now intends to lease this same property to Trammell Crow Company, a subsidiary of the world's largest commercial real estate service company, for the next 55 years for a single payment of only $1.46 million. At a fixed $26,545 per year, that's less than 10 percent of the land's market value. Unfortunately, the public hasn't had an opportunity to ask these questions. Although the research park is a joint venture of the UO and the city of Eugene, established in 1986 by an intergovernmental agreement, the university is moving ahead unilaterally with the ORI project. Despite a law that requires a Riverfront Research Park Commission to analyze proposals and hold public hearings to protect the taxpayers' investment, there has been no public oversight of the project in more than a decade. Over the years, the university has abandoned its commitment to openness and accountability. When the UO Senate recently asked the administration whether the university's actions complied with local laws, officials responded that it had intended long ago to withdraw from its agreement with the city. Without evidence that the agreement actually had been terminated, that's like telling the IRS that you intended to pay your taxes!