CC Minutes - 07/25/07 Work Session

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amount of high-quality events for a community its size. She agreed as to the fragility of the arts organiza- tions, which had to reinvent themselves over and over again. She said that cultural attractions were important to the economic vitality of the community and downtown. Speaking to financing, Ms. Bettman said that that City proposed to place $50 million on the table to subsidize retailers downtown without looking at the range of options that existed for how to best leverage that money and do the necessary economic impact studies and give the public the best value for the money. She believed that the implementation of the report should be funded through urban renewal money. Mr. Zelenka commended the committee, the consultants, and staff for producing a realistic and doable plan. He found the arts to be a high priority, and a city that lacked arts and culture was not a city in which he wanted to live. Speaking to the issue of funding, Mr. Zelenka suggested the City faced a continual balancing act in what it wanted to fund, and he thought that to be a thriving city to attract people in a new economy, such investments were needed. People would be more mobile and transient in the future and would be attracted to places with a strong cultural presence. Referring to Strategy I.1, related to the formation of the proposed alliance, Mr. Zelenka asked how the alliance would be formed and what the City was paying for. Ms. Niles said that staff envisioned that an implementation team would be formed to ensure the plan did not sit on a shelf. The team would provide a foundation to get the alliance going. She said the money would provide staff resources, materials, and supplies to the committee to ensure it had a good foundation. The department would look to its internal resources to the degree possible, but she acknowledged some gaps in existing funding. Mr. Zelenka asked what the Hult Center operational examination would encompass. Ms. Niles anticipated a consultant would be hired to examine operations, gaps in services, data collection, and the financial operations of the center. That might lead to a change in the center’s mission. At this time, the mission of the Hult Center was to serve the broadest community. If a consultant recommended changes to the City’s operations or financial model, that would be included in the report. The last study completed was not so in- depth and had not addressed the Hult Center’s future bottom line. Referring to Strategy V.3, related to a coordinator to put together an arts plan, Mr. Zelenka suggested that was a function of the proposed alliance. Ms. Niles said a Public Art Committee had been formed at City Manager Taylor’s behest, and it advised the City on its implementation of the public arts ordinance. The establishment of a public arts coordinator was a lower priority item that had been implemented as a result of the committee’s formation, and the coordinator would staff that committee and be a permanent staff member. Ms. Bach said a public arts plan would provide guidance to the committee as it implemented the ordinance in a more targeted manner that was dovetailed with other community priorities. City Manager Taylor added that the quality and maintenance of the art as well as the space for the art were all committee topics. The City had a long tradition of allocating money for public art but it had not always placed its arts expenditures in a larger framework. Mr. Zelenka asked if the West Broadway Advisory Committee had discussed how its work might impact the provision of public art downtown. City Manager Taylor suggested that staff and the arts committee could work in the same time frame as the West Broadway Advisory Committee to make recommendations for public art in association with the West Broadway redevelopment project. Acting Library, Recreation, and Cultural Services Director Renee Grube concurred with City Manager Taylor and indicated that staff would have more information when it had more clarity about the budget. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 25, 2007 Page 4 Work Session