10/26/1983 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Program, said he felt that community promotion was a part of the role to be performed by the City. He said Mr. Lindberg's suggestion could be accomplished e without any problem to the other jurisdictions, but he wanted to stress the importance of that role. Mr. Lindberg said he was generally supportive of the program's thrust, but he said it was important to acknowledge that it was a relatively new function for the City. He said he di d not want to be in the promotion business. Mayor Keller said he perceived the action of the City as an ongoi ng program and that he fel t it \'<<>ul d be a basic rol e for the Ci ty to perform. Mr. Gleason said that apparently the more visible parts of the community promo- tion role had been seen as novel, but he said the City had been involved in promotion for a long time, such as the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Hul t Center. He said that the Ci ty had recently been involved wi th more fl ashy promotion but there was no fundamental change. He said that it waul d be difficul t, if not impossible, for the City to get out of the promotion business entirely. Councilor Obie said he respected Mr. Lindberg's comments. He reminded those present that the true diversification of the economy \'<<>uld be a long-term goal of 10 to 20 years. He said the memorandum addressed the concerns of the council on individual roles and responsibilities. He commended Mayor Keller on his efforts in the development of the memorandum. He said the memorandum had been to the Council Committee on Economic Diversification twice for discussion and that he and Ms. Wooten had discussed the issue with Mayor Keller. He said the agreement could possibly be changed as the City's role changed, but he said it was important to proceed with the agreement. e Councilor Wooten agreed that it was important to be refl ective on the rol es of the City and said that some discussion on economic diversification, possibly during the Goals Session, would be appropriate. She said the memorandum deve- loped by the CCED was based on the policies adopted by the council and that if the council wished to change its direction in this role, then there should be some discussion. She said the memorandum was a result of all past discussions and contained no hidden agendas. She said it was fairly conservative and simple in the manner in which it outlined roles. Ms. Wooten said if the council felt that it did not belong in the role outlined by the agreement, then it should change the Six-Point Program. Councilor Hansen agreed that gaining consensus among groups was always difficult. He sug~ested ending the sentence in Section #4 after the phrase "assuming other roles.' He questioned if the council had ever discussed its roles in investment recruitment and program funding. He al so stated that the Universi ty of Oregon and Lane Community College should be included in the agreement. In respo nse, Ms. Wooten said the council was on record in supporting the Ambassador Program, which already addressed investment recruitment. She also said the business development fund existed and the system was in place to assist local businesses. Councilor Holmer said he admired the craftmanship of the agreement. He said the council shoul d be careful in "rubber-stamping" the agreement al ready approved by the other parties. He agreed with Mr. Hansen's suggestion to shorten Section #4, thus 1 eavi ng that area open to incl ude programs such as II Buy Oregon. II e MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 26, 1983 Page 7