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- difficult issues confronting ESMP. She said there have been 20 location inquiries for primarily heavy industrial sites in the last four months. There has not been a location request for light industrial property in the last six months. ESMP sent a group to Sweden for discussions on manufactured housing prospects. Two weeks after the talks, one of the Swedish companies visited the Eugene/Springfield area for more information on a possible joint venture with local companies. Ms. Dietmeyer said the company is also working with the University of Oregon to develoD a CAD/CAM system. ESMP sent representatives with Governor Neil Goldschmidt on his recent trip to Japan. This year ESMP has planned seven investment missions to California, Chicago, and possibly some on the East Coast. Ms. Dietmeyer said "Cable," a Canadian firm that manufactures aluminum electrical cable, rejected the Eugene/Springfield area for a heavy industrial manufacturing site. The area was one of four sites, two in Oregon and two in Nevada, under consideration. There were four principal reasons why Eugene/Springfield was dropped from the list of possible locations: 1) high property taxes; 2) high wage rates; 3) high shipping and transportation costs; and 4) the poor quality of heavy industrial sites. She said Eugene/Springfield cannot rely on the area's quality of life when trying to attract large firms. Companies such as "Cable" look at basic economic costs such as property taxes when deciding where to locate a manufacturing plant. e Ms. Dietmeyer said Eugene/Springfield tends to have the best success attracting smaller companies with fewer than 50 employees. She said ESMP is working with a sawmill company and an outdoor furniture maker considering moving to the area. Currently there are 47 cases, seven of those are at level one; eight are foreign. On marketing matters, the latest issue of Fast Track and the February edition of Oregon Business Magazine wi" carry articles about Eugene/Springfield. She said the Trade Center is working we 11 . The ESMP annual meeting ; s scheduled for February 2 at Valley River Inn. Ms. Dietmeyer said ESMP is in the middle of interviews for a new Recruitment Director. Discussions for an annual performance evaluation are continuing. She said ESMP is waiting for feedback from the City on what criteria ESMP will be judged. Mr. Bennett asked for clarification on how wages in Eugene/Springfield ranked with other areas the "Cable" company was investigating. Ms. Dietmeyer said she does not have the final wage-rate information on Reno, Nevada. However, she said Eugene/Springfield came in $1 to $2 higher than Klamath Falls/Roseburg. She said the firm has never been unionized and added company officals told her they want to locate in a right-to-work state, which Oregon is not. Mayor Obie said "Cable" is not overly concerned about the livability of where their plants are located. He said the company is in a competitive industry and has to take every economic advantage available. - MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 6, 1988 Page 11