CC Minutes - 10/04/07 Workshop - Laserfiche WebLink

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and not a decision-making one. He felt the WEC could provide valuable assistance to the agencies by reflecting the community perspective and encouraging them to look creatively at their own processes. He said LTD was driven by federal requirements and environmental policies, but was appreciative of the opportunity to participate in and be assisted by the WEC in its planning process. Mr. Pryor stated that he became involved with the WEC at the point when the grassroots effort was transitioning to a formal West Eugene Collaborative. He was amazed at the people who had come together to work on the same issue and his immediate impression was that it was not business as usual. He said the diverse group stayed together by a common commitment from every member and needed to survive by common support from government partners, business and other significant interests in the community. He said one purpose of the meeting was to discuss the mechanisms and safeguards that were in place to assure the investment of public funds. He urged endorsement of the WEC because it represented an organic and dynamic approach to issues in West Eugene that represented the diverse and major interests in the community. He described it as a government/private partnership that was working well and contributed constructive participation to jurisdictions official processes at a level not seen before. Mr. Pryor emphasized that the WEC understood its advisory role and recognized the authority of elected and appointed officials. He said the WEC process was parallel and complimentary to the work of jurisdictions and would use the same data sources; having government partners would assure the processes did not lose touch. He hoped the council would demonstrate leadership to other partners by providing financial support for the WEC that indicated support for the effort and a belief that it would provide effective advice. He said a request for $40,000 would be forthcoming and the intent of the workshop was to provide information on the collaborative and address any questions from the council. Ms. Proudfoot said the collaborative was responsive to TransPlan Goal #1 related to integration of transportation and land use. She identified the options available to the council as set forth in the AIS. Ms. Piercy called the council's attention to the work plan and the fact that it was well thought out and the WEC was on schedule. Mr. Zako added that the work plan was being modified somewhat to respond to LTD's need for information on the West Eugene EmX extension. He said a charette was planned to generate alternative ideas for LTD's purpose and needs statement. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 4, 2007 Page 3 Work Session