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. e - Department staff realizes there is a problem and will try to mitigate it. He said a staff member told him access to the Gateway area will be maintained. He suggested highway signs should indicate there is easy access both to and from the metropolitan area. Mayor Obie asked City Manager Micheal Gleason to direct staff to take an active role in getting people off the freeway and into the metropolitan area this summer. He pointed out there are several freeway exits to the metro- politan area. He said the construction project will provide 300 jobs that are also important to the area. D. Crime Prevention Efforts Ms. Wooten said she had discussed the creation of a crime prevention advisory committee with the council previously. She said a community forum will be held on May 14, 1986, to discuss crime prevention issues and the organization of a committee. E. League of Oregon Cities Regional Meeting Ms. Schue said the League of Oregon Cities will meet in Eugene on April 16, 1986. She is a member of the Executive Board and will attend the meeting. She invited other councilors to attend the meeting also. F. Downtown Program to Provide Awnings Mr. Rutan said newspaper articles and material from the Development Depart- ment indicated that tax allocation funds will be used to encourage downtown businesses to provide awnings for their buildings. He was surprised the council was not asked to approve the expenditure. Mr. Gleason responded that the Downtown Commission implements the budget which the council approves. He said the budget included funds for the awnings. He suggested the council discuss the implementation process for downtown improvements at another time. Answering a question from Ms. Ehrman, Mr. Rutan said he wondered why the City is underwriting leasehold improvements in the downtown area only. Mayor Obie responded that the Downtown Commission is an advocate for the downtown and implements the budget for the downtown. Mr. Hansen said processes have been adopted that allow other people to make decisions that are the council's responsibility. For example, the revisions to the Sign Code indicate that the councilors will no longer approve Sign Code variances. He would like the council to discuss the matter in a quarterly process session. G. Arbor Day Celebration Ms. Bascom said the Arbor Day Celebration was very successful. Represen- tatives of the Lutheran Brotherhood and many school children participated in planting trees. MINUTES--Eugene City Council Page 2 April 16, 1986