CC Minutes - 07/25/07 Work Session

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Mr. Zelenka suggested that the West Broadway Advisory Committee could add on to its charge regarding the open spaces to discuss public space. Mayor Piercy agreed. Mayor Piercy was glad to hear that the Chamber of Commerce was open to playing a role, and suggested the schools also be engaged in a discussion of “what we do together.” She also liked that the City’s diversity goals were being looked at through the lens of the arts and hoped that arts could be integrated into all of the City’s priorities. Mayor Piercy said she liked the City’s slogan. She thought there was strength in the combination of the arts and outdoors, and while Eugene might be not the greatest such city in the world, she thought it offered many great things to the community and its visitors. Ms. Solomon understood the need for the alliance and asked if it was the committee’s expectation that the alliance would eventually become self-supporting and self-funded. Ms. Rinaldi said yes. The City would convene the group initially, which would become independent or perhaps attached to a civic group such as the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Solomon said she thought urban renewal money could only be used on capital infrastructure. City Manager Taylor said it could be used for eligible activities, and that could include facilities, land assembly, or construction. He said the Hult Center was not in the downtown urban renewal district, but the City might be able to use urban renewal funds as a part of a coordinated effort in both districts to support implementa- tion activities. Responding to a question from Ms. Solomon, City Manager Taylor recommended that when the report had been costed out, a proposal for funding would be brought back to the council for adoption. Ms. Ortiz, seconded by Mr. Pryor, moved to accept the Cultural Policy Review final report, and to direct the City Manager to initiate implementation and identify funding for Priority 1 strategies during the FY09 budget realignment process, and initiate additional strategies that can be accomplished with the help of community partners and within existing resources. Ms. Taylor reminded Mayor Piercy that when she spoke in Russia she had said the City was aspiring to be the greatest city of the arts and outdoors rather than claiming it was the greatest city of the arts and outdoors. She said that $100,000 was the same amount the City paid for property options downtown and she thought the arts was a better expenditure of such money. She suggested the City could use urban renewal money to fund construction of a theater downtown. Ms. Taylor agreed as to the importance of arts in the schools and said the “No Child Left Behind” Act was helping to destroy arts in the schools. Regarding the issue of coordination, she thought coordination and information would be good and pointed out that in other communities the library was frequently the custodian of such information. Mr. Zelenka encouraged everyone to participate in the West Broadway Advisory Committee process through its discussion of open space or the mix of proposed uses. He said the August 3 First Friday Art Walk would include a community involvement even and a public forum was scheduled the next day. Mr. Zelenka asked how the endowment worked. Ms. Rinaldi anticipated the implementation committee would determine that. The intention was that it would be both public and privately funded. It would be used for community arts grants. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 25, 2007 Page 5 Work Session