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MINUTES <br />Eugene Water & Electric Board and Eugene City Council <br />McNutt Room — Eugene City Hall <br />777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon <br />June 7, 2010 <br />6 p.m. <br />COUNCILORS PRESENT: Mike Clark, Betty Taylor, Jennifer Solomon, George Poling (via speakerphone), <br />Alan Zelenka, Chris Pryor, George Brown. <br />COUNCILORS ABSENT: Andrea Ortiz. <br />COMMISSIONERS <br />PRESENT: John Brown, President; Rich Cunningham, Vice President; Joann Ernst, Bob <br />Cassidy, Ron Farmer, commissioners. <br />Council President Mike Clark convened the meeting of the Eugene City Council. He noted that Mayor Kitty Piercy <br />was in Vancouver attending a rail summit. He welcomed Veneta Mayor Rick Ingram and Eugene Water & Electric <br />Board (EWEB) General Manager Roger Gray. <br />President John Brown convened the meeting of the Eugene Water & Electric Board. <br />Everyone present introduced themselves. <br />A. WORK SESSION: <br />Eugene Water & Electric Board Water Rights <br />Mr. Farmer provided historical perspective. He stressed that water of the McKenzie River could conceivably be <br />Eugene's most valuable asset; it created a solid base of renewable green energy and its water was among the highest <br />quality in the world. He declared that the abundant high quality water was a part of the quality of life in Eugene <br />and gave it an advantage. He felt that the value of the asset was often taken for granted by the City, but EWEB did <br />not take it for granted. <br />Mr. Farmer stated that water rights were held by the board as a "sacred trust." He said water rights, when acquired, <br />had to be used. He underscored that this had come to the forefront when the Oregon Legislature, in the past few <br />years, had passed a body of law that directed that water rights should be used or they could be lost. He averred that <br />preserving EWEB's last largest water right would keep this asset in the hands of Eugene citizens. He believed it <br />would be shameful to allow it to be lost. He stressed that working toward the retention of this most valuable asset <br />was the key motivating reason for pursuing a water contract with the City of Veneta. <br />Continuing, Mr. Farmer related that the Region 2050 process had called out the potential water issues the region <br />would be facing in the future and it had underlined the real value of the water rights that EWEB had. He said most <br />of the smaller outlying communities would face water shortages in the future; the only entities in the area with <br />water access beyond their capacity need were Eugene and EWEB. He stated that this capacity would be priceless <br />in the future. He declared that if some of that capacity could be harnessed for the benefit of the citizens of Eugene <br />and its neighbors in Eugene, it would be an ethical win for everyone. He said selling surplus water on a wholesale <br />MINUTES —Joint Meeting - Eugene Water & Electric Board and Eugene City Council June 7, 2010 <br />Page 1 <br />