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e e e Mr. Bennett said he is on the Downtown Marketing Committee which met regular- ly early in the year to deal with funding for advertising and promotion which had previously gone to the Eugene Downtown Association (EDA) through a con- tract with the Downtown Commission. Mr. Bennett said he is continuing his effort to form a new privately-based group to represent the downtown business interest and to work in conjunction with the Eugene Development Department (EDD) and the Downtown Commission. This group met its funding criteria and has received good response not only from building owners, but also from the stronger retailers in the downtown area. In response to a question from Mayor Obie, Mr. Bennett said Downtown Eugene Incorporated (DEI) currently does not have a procedure for centralized retail management although this will be a primary focus of the group. Ms. Wooten asked whether DEI would get the contract from the City to provide marketing services for the downtown area. Mr. Bennett said this is not certain although DEI will actively pursue the contract which is worth approx- imately $125,000. Mr. Bennett said Russ Brink will probably serve as staff person for the group initially and will be part of the administrative costs of DEI if the Downtown Commission supports the proposal. Ms. Ehrman asked whether Mr. Bennett is representing the City Councilor his own private interests as a member of DEI. Mr. Bennett said he is represent- ing private interests and asked if other councilors felt this was a conflict of interest. Ms. Wooten did not think it was. She said it might look like a conflict to others though, because DEI will be trying to lobby and influence the way large amounts of City money is spent downtown. Mayor Obie felt it would not be a conflict if Mr. Bennett was careful to identify his involve- ment in DEI when related issues come before the council. Mr. Gleason said DEI is currently a non-profit organization and has no connection to the City; when there is a connection, Mr. Bennett will be advised of the legal ramifi- cations associated with his participation in DEI. Reporting on his involvement with the Metro Partnership, Mayor Obie said the focus of the Metropolitan Partnership is stronger this year because it is focusing on one-on-one marketing. On another subject, he said the charge of the Maurie Jacobs Memorial Committee is to develop a concept for a fitting memorial and to find funding for it. IV. AGENDA ITEMS A. Cable Access Mr. Miller said a representative from KLSR talked to him about the possibili- ty of getting onto Channel 36 with the understanding that any government program would be run when necess3ry. Mr. Miller felt it is important to find ways to form a public-private partnership in dealing with cable access so that the service can still be provided while some of the public cost can be eliminated. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 6, 1988 Page 7