CC Minutes - 09/26/05 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Kelly reported that two applicants for the Budget Committee who received ballots to be interviewed could not attend the proposed interview date. He asked for council consent to direct staff to work with the candidates to find interview dates that worked. Councilors nodded in assent. Mr. Kelly said the Oregon State Legislature passed a bill allowing Oregon cities to make application to the Federal Forest Legacy Program for forest acquisitions with the urban growth boundary and asked if staff was seeking opportunities to take advantage of that funding. He also asked if the council had any role in that process. Mr. Kelly reported that the Region 2050 long-range planning project sponsored a very well-attended meeting at the Lane County Fairgrounds on September 22. About 90 to 100 participants engaged in high-quality discussions about the future of the community. Mr. Kelly said the meeting was the last of a dozen public meetings in the region. The Region 2050 Policy Board would review the information collected through the public process and prepare a draft strategy for review by all participating jurisdictions. Ms. Bettman said she recently spoke at the Lane County Historic Museum in conjunction with an exhibit about public safety in Lane County. The museum was sponsoring a series of speakers through the month of November. She said the exhibit was very interesting and she encouraged councilors and residents to visit it if possible. Ms. Bettman announced that Lane County Commissioner Peter Sorenson would hold a public forum at the Lane County Fairgrounds on September 27 for the purpose of hearing from residents how they felt about the future of the fairgrounds. She would also be at the forum. Mr. Pryor commended the Region 2050 planning process, saying he was impressed by the depth of the community input being sought. Mr. Pryor said the Board of the Lane Metro Partnership met the previous week to discuss the organizational evaluation. The evaluation indicated four areas for improvement: 1) a more effective marketing outreach program; 2) continued improvement of the partner relationships; 3) adoption of a work plan with specific goals and measurable outcomes; and 4) better engagement of the expertise represented on the board. He described the board’s discussion as very good, and said he had been encouraged by its direction. He noted the State suffered from a general shortage of “shovel-ready” land, and he characterized that as both a problem and an opportunity. Mr. Pryor said the Human Services Commission (HSC) met earlier that day and he thought the discussion, which was focused around goal-setting and strategizing, was very productive. The commission also discussed its role and how it could be more effective as a policy making body. Mr. Pryor said it appeared that several councilors would miss the October 11 meeting related to the Coburg wastewater treatment proposal. He anticipated an interesting discussion. With regard to the HSC meeting, Ms. Ortiz agreed with Mr. Pryor that the commission had a good conversation. She observed that as a new councilor she frequently found herself in the role of “new person,” but she was not as “new” as many people thought, so it was interesting to see people’s perceptions. Ms. Ortiz reported the Trainsong neighbors held their neighborhood picnic on September 21. About 75 people attended, and many people signed up for additional participation in neighborhood issues. She said MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 26, 2005 Page 2 Work Session