06/14/1982 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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, .- Mayor Keller said that the Core Area Redevelopment portion of the six-point e program called for a focus of Community Development Block Grant funds on economic diversification and housing rehabilitation. He said that for the 1982-83 Fiscal Year, $260,000 would be set aside for economic diversification and $360,000 for housing rehabilitation. He said that lending agreements were being developed to blend Community Development funds and lenders' dollars to create new loan programs. Mayor Keller said that on May 24, 1982, the council had created the Eugene Downtown Commission, and that that group would be involved in the core area redevelopment efforts. Regarding the Small Business Assistance portion of the six-point program, Mayor Keller said that the City had contracted with Profiles Northwest, a Eugene-based management-consulting firm, to identify the needs of Eugene's small businesses and the resources available to meet them. Mayor Keller said that the Destination Point Activity of the City's program was aimed primarily at marketing the new Civic Center complex. He noted the importance of the role of the Eugene Arts Foundation in creation of this complex. Mayor Keller reviewed the costs involved in construction of the entire complex and said that they totaled $45.6 million, with over one-third of those funds coming from private resources. He said that the City also had contributed over $85,000 in the last several years to the work of the Visitors and Convention Bureau. Mayor Keller noted that the efforts made to attract tourists to Eugene would also attract businesses. Mayor Keller said that the Employment and Training portion of the six-point e program has concentrated on linking economic development efforts with the City CETA program. Regarding Planning for Capital Im,rovements, Mayor Keller said that the council had adopted as part of its Capita Improvement Program four projects that are of spec i a 1 importance to the economic diversification program: acquisition of land for Mahlon Sweet Airport; expansion of the airport terminal; development of the Willamette Arcade; and construction of the West Eugene Sewer Line. Mayor Ke 11 er noted that the state-funded project to extend 6th and 7th avenues west of the City was also an important element in local economic development efforts. Mayor Keller said that the Development Assistance and Information Center, which opened March 15, 1982, also played a key role in the City's economic diversifi- cation efforts. He said that the center handles approximately 60 information requests per day. He noted that Phase II of that program would provide land use planning information through the Information Center. He said that other City permit processes were being studied for incorporation into future phases of the work of the Information Center. Mayor Keller emphaisized that throughout the City's economic diversification efforts, the importance of the existing mainstay industries--wood products and agriculture--had not been forgotten. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 14, 1982 Page 2