Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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consider for enactment, and then consider some level of measurement to determine whether the actions were effective. Mr. Shaver requested one-time funding for a staff support position, on behalf of the commission, in order to help move the work forward. Mr. Laue offered the other Sustainability Commissioners the opportunity to comment. Sean Boles, commissioner, thanked the council for having sustainability on its goals list. He believed that sustainability was the overarching issue of the present time. He averred that society had been good about meeting its pressing economic, environmental, and social needs but had been poor about compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. He said a substantial change would be required at a household level and at a larger level. He asked the council to listen to the proposals that would be made by the Sustainability Commission and to be “brave enough to act.” Mr. Laue said as the commission had considered its work plan, commissioners had been struck by the breadth, scope, and magnitude of the issues involved. He averred that for the commission to be successful it would have to collaborate with all parts of the community. He stated that the commission had designed the framework of its work plan so that it could work with its intergovernmental partners, non-profit agencies, and businesses and not duplicate work that had already been done. Regarding the request for one-time funding, Mr. Laue explained that the commission felt that it could not reasonably ask for ongoing funding for a staff position at this time. He said there was a lot of education and outreach that needed to be done along with a lot of coordination and collaboration with others in the community in the initial phases of the commission. Mr. Clark thanked the commissioners for their work. He had been impressed with the work plan. He felt the commission was doing important and difficult work but the commission was made up of “an all-star team of people.” He had been a little troubled by the request for one-time funding for a full time equivalent (FTE) employee. While he agreed the work was important, he believed it needed to be considered within the larger scope of what was happening in the community and the level of devastation that the County’s public safety system faced. He felt it would be irresponsible to add to this program in the face of the potential loss of other important programs. Ms. Ortiz thanked the commissioners for coming and presenting the work plan. She believed the commission was doing important work of which the community could be proud. In response to a question from Ms. Ortiz, Ms. Fahy affirmed that she was the only staff person working for the Sustainability Commission. Mr. Laue clarified that the commission was proposing hiring a staff person to assist during the life of the work plan. He did not expect to gain a decision from the council on the proposal at this point in time nor did they anticipate that they would be able to go outside of the budget process. He reiterated that they were seeking an “infusion of staff” to get the commission’s work off the ground given its breadth and scope. He acknowledged Mr. Clark’s concern and noted that the County’s “huge problem” affected the triple bottom line. Mr. Pryor appreciated that the request was for one-time funding, given the difficulties that were ahead. He noted that having a safe community was also of primary importance. He commended the commission for doing its work in the most thoughtful way possible and for not asking the council to “jump” the budget process. He commented that even if the County’s budget woes were taken out of consideration, the City still faced significant budget issues including transportation and public safety. MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 23, 2008 Page 2 Work Session