11/22/1982 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilor Miller addressed concerns that had been raised during public testimony e regarding the resolution that had been prepared for the council on this item. She said that staff prepared resolutions on almost all items on the council's agendas, but she noted that the resolutions do not always get passed, and that the council is free to select any course of action it wishes. She said the reason that a resolution was prepared in advance was that resolutions adopted by the council had to have been available for public scrutiny before the council could vote on them. Ms. Miller conceded that the council had not served the public well with the procedures followed in adopting the Hult Center name at the September 23, 1982, recognition dinner and special council meeting and said that a better procedure on the naming of public buildings needed to be developed for the future. She felt it was important to convey a sense of community appreciation for gifts to the center and to encourage such contributions. Ms. Miller felt that the taxes of Eugeneans and the prices of tickets at the center were already high enough and that private contributions would allow the center to prosper without unduly raising either of these items. She did not feel that naming of the center for the Hults should in any way remove the people of Eugene's sense of ownership of and pride in the center. Councilor Obie said he was pleased with the sense of public pride in the center that had been expressed during testimony. He regretted the accusations of conspiracy that had been made and felt that the actions of petitioners had been irresponsible and had jeopardized the fundraising efforts of the Eugene Arts Foundation. He felt that public participation should entail public responsibility. He reaffirmed his support of naming the center for the Hult family. Councilor Smith concurred with the statements of Councilors Miller and Obie. e She said that the council could not act efficiently without preparation of tentative resolutions by staff for consideration by the council, since such resolutions were effective in focusing council debate on an issue. Ms. Smith felt the council had done the right thing in making its initial decision to name the center for the Hults and urged reaffirmation of that decision. Councilor Schue said she felt it was entirely appropriate that the center should be paid for by a combination of public and private funds and said that the council had always known that pUblic funding would not be sufficient to support center operations and that private funds would be needed. Ms. Schue agreed that the original decision regarding the naming of the Hult Center could have been made in a more appropriate setting. She felt that meeting could be described as confusing or chaotic, but not as the conspiracy some citizens seemed to believe occurred. She said that she believed the City's legal position regarding the special council meeting was sound but that she was not willing to spend City funds to take this matter to court. She therefore felt it was appropriate to take action to reaffirm the original decision. Councilor Wooten agreed that the council had made a mistake in the process that had been used for naming the center. She agreed with the opinion of the City's legal counsel that there had been no violation of the Open Meetings Law. She felt that the City's General Fund could not be expected to cover the initial operating deficit which the center could be expected to experience in its early operations. She therefore felt that the Hults' donation was a colossal relief to the taxpayers, since it would help offset operating deficits. Ms. Wooten e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 22, 1982 Page 9