Item 3A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Mayor 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 need statement. Mayor Piercy remarked that in addition to the funds received from the City, LTD, and environmental and business partners, support was also being provided by the Metro Partnership, Realtors, and 1000 Friends of Oregon; the Governor's Office was also interested in the West Eugene Collaborative as an innovative approach to planning. Mr. Pryor introduced the other WEC members who were present: Kevin Matthews, Ed Moore, Larry Reed, Mark Schoening, Tom Schwetz, Charles Snyder, and Jim Welch. Mayor Piercy expressed her appreciation to all those participating in the collaborative process. Ms. Bettman asked if the City of Springfield, LTD and Lane Council of Governments were also being asked to make a financial contribution to the WEC. Mr. Pryor replied that the plan was to ask other jurisdictions for funding; that would include LTD, Lane County, and the State, but not the City of Springfield. He hoped that grant funding could also be obtained. Ms. Bettman asked how many meetings would be held for $10,000 per month. Ms. Proudfoot replied that there were many activities underway; the WEC met approximately every six weeks, but in the interim, the subcommittees were conducting their work. Mr. Zako added that WEC meetings were usually held over a two-day period and included subcommittee meetings to obtain maximum value from the facilitators. Ms. O'Brien noted that the facilitator's work was not limited to the formal meetings; they were also available on-call whenever the WEC, subcommittees, or associated staff or groups needed them. She said the Osprey Group was unanimously selected as the facilitator from among three applicants. Ms. Bettman said she was not tracking the WEC effort because it was a self-selected group of people who were active in government and business and she had worked with many of the participants before. She did not regard the WEC as a grassroots effort and felt it was top-heavy with government agencies. She found it difficult to be optimistic that the same group and the same process she had seen before would come up with something different. She asked if any WEC representatives were advocates for access management and rail, which she felt were the most important issues. Mr. Pryor said there was not a representative specifically from rail. He asked if Ms. Bettman meant access management to the infrastructure. Ms. Bettman said her reference was to managing access to the transportation corridors in order to decrease congestion. She did not feel that everyone who needed to be part of the WEC was represented. She wanted to see people added to the membership list, a work plan, and a written memorandum or agreement between the City and the WEC that specified what the City would receive for its investment of $40,000. th Ms. Proudfoot stated that part of the West 11 Corridor study was looking at access management tools to improve safety and mobility along the corridor. She was not certain there was an independent community th advocate for access management, but it was definitely part of the West 11 scope of work. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 4, 2007 Page 3 Work Session