Item 4A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Ms. Bettman noted that the consortium membership was geographically determined, which meant Eugene was not represented based on its population. She was concerned that the decision-making process of regional bodies gave smaller cities the same voting power as Eugene. She said the proposed agreement indicated financial resources would be the responsibility of the governing body and Eugene would be participating in a process where it was not proportionately represented. She felt Eugene was often considered the "deep pockets" in those situations and she was reluctant to be involved in a regional decision- making body with budgeting authority without the weight of the City's population behind it. She asked how the agreement would assure that Eugene taxpayers did not bear a disportionate burden. Ms. Berrian said the agreement insured that no financial obligation would be undertaken without the council's specific authoriza- tion. Ms. Bettman asked if any consortium financial obligation would come before the council. Ms. Berrian said any obligation that affected Eugene would come to the council. She reviewed the relevant provisions of the bylaws. Ms. Bettman pointed out that bylaws could be changed and asked if Eugene could propose proportional representation. Mr. Mecham said that Eugene could make that proposal. He clarified that the consortium had operating funds that were disposed of according to the decisions of the consortium; however, the City of Eugene was not obligated to provide those operating funds. He said operating funds were generated by the lease of fiber. Ms. Bettman commented that revenues went directly to the consortium even though Eugene likely generated more resources than the other members. Ms. Berrian explained that the fiber backbone used only 66 feet of Eugene's right-of-way, for which the City was provided nine miles of fiber through the city limits. Ms. Bettman asked how the City could pursue the issue that any expenditure or resource investment decision of the consortium would come back to the council. Mr. Lidz said a proposal for proportional representation involving weighted votes based on population could be submitted, although that would mean that Eugene would have greater weight than any other member of the consortium and the partnership could lose its attractiveness to other communities. Mr. Mecham said in a population-based proportional representation scenario Eugene would likely have close to 50 percent of the population and other jurisdictions would probably object. He understood the concern about proportional representation, but Eugene's original intent when entering into the consortium was to provide assistance to smaller cities that did not have access to telecommunications facilities. He said Eugene's involvement was not based on a particular benefit to the City, but rather aiding those other communities. He noted that the negotiations resulted in a large amount of fiber throughout Eugene that significantly increased its fiber infrastructure and from which the City had profited tremendously. He said Eugene had already received far greater value from the consortium than any of the other cities would ever receive. Mr. Pryor indicated he was pleased with the proposal and felt staff had negotiated a good agreement. He felt that any changes should be at the direction of the full council and subject to a vote. Ms. Bettman cited provisions of the agreement that authorized the consortium to enter into contracts for technical services, construction, facilities, purchase and ownership of real and personal property. She asked MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 15, 2007 Page 8 Public Hearing