Item 2C: Ratification of IGR Actions of April 23, 2008

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discussion on the hill that indicated that they were only looking for technical changes to it and not conceptual changes. She said the CCIGR and subsequently the full City Council would have to put forth its ideas for the reauthorization. She thought Mr. Bailey’s visit would provide an opportunity to debrief the trip to Washington, D.C. in order to improve the endeavor. Ms. Taylor said knowing which person would discuss each item ahead of time. She stated she was not sure who was to take the lead in each meeting while they were in Washington D.C. Ms. Wilson noted that this was done in two ways: the lead person opens up the discussion and then each jurisdiction gives their presentation; or if we are in an agency meeting, then it is up to the elected official, since the presentation comes across better from the elected official rather than staff. She noted it would be helpful if we had the schedule of meetings before or could meet prior to the meetings. Ms. Taylor also noted that Gerry Gaydos, chair of the LTD Board, had been listed as an elected official. She wanted to clarify that he was not elected. She felt he had been lead too much. Ms. Ortiz wanted to know who Kirk Bailey was. Ms. Wilson stated he was an associate of the federal lobbying firm that the United Front contracted with for the pasts 20 or so years and was very familiar with the city’s projects, especially since he was from this area and had once worked for the University of Oregon. She noted that there had been a discussion on sending out the Request for Proposals (RFP) for lobbying firms and that it had been decided to wait to do so until after the SAFETEA-LU reauthorization because of Smith Dawson’s in-depth knowledge of transportation issues and their good relationship with Mr. DeFazio’s office. Smith Dawson knows this is coming. Ms. Wilson said the City needed to hone its process in terms of coming with a “huge list” of things and letting the CCIGR decide what appeared to be important and then getting feedback from Smith Dawson on what was possible and why. Mayor Piercy averred that the City should have a sense of the context from which it was taking things forward from Eugene. She said in West Eugene they were looking at transportation and land use in tandem and felt that the City should “look through that lens” when setting priorities. She stated that she didn’t think we were taking into consideration over-arching policies when determining what our federal priorities would be. Ms. Wilson states she agreed and for example, felt that there was not a regional transportation planning process and this created difficulties. She said it would be good to determine regional priorities for a particular issue and see how well this would work. Mayor Piercy emphasized the importance of considering the environmental context and land use issues in tandem with transportation projects. Ms. Taylor noted that it had been said that grant monies were not available for shuttle buses. She felt grants should be available for shuttle buses for people who live up in the hills as part of the LTD system. She declared that transportation was needed all over the city. Mayor Piercy said they should think about whether more people from the CCIGR could participate in the United Front trip. She felt it would help the people who did not have experience with the United Front to understand it. MINUTES—Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations April 23, 2008 Page 7