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<br />- <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />- <br /> <br />Ms. Wooten said the council was sincere in its statements on intergovernmental <br />cooperation and economic development/diversification. She said the council <br />could also be sensitive in incorporating the needs of the other Lane County <br />communities as part of the county-wide diversification and training matrix. She <br />felt strongly that the intergovernmental agreement was needed for operation of <br />the program. <br /> <br />Mr. Schafer stated that the EPIC had agreed in previous meetings that a certain <br />amount of trust must exist on all sides. He felt that this trust had not <br />existed on the part of the council for broadening the scope of one SOA or PIC. <br />He said the EPIC did not see any personal loss in the proposed merger. He said <br />a problem would exist if the City was not willing to accept the merger on good <br />faith or to be fliexible in the merger negotiations. <br /> <br />Ms. Pooley, as a member of both the Eugene and Lane County PICs, said she felt <br />that individuals on both PICs wanted to merge. She said it was her understanding <br />that the ties to all the governmental agencies would still exist even if the <br />SDAs were incorporated. She said she had some difficulty with the direction <br />being given by the council. Mayor Keller responded that it was important to <br />understand the history behind the split between the PICs, stating that program <br />directions and the need for the City to operate at proper levels of mandates <br />were two reasons for the split. He felt that definite directions existed for <br />the PICs to perform to standards and the City did not want anything less than <br />the program already established by the EPIC. Ms. Pooley said she was not <br />dealing with any past history. She felt the City Council must assume that both <br />PICs were operating in good faith and wanted to relate to the governments <br />serving the people. Mr. Pryor said the EPIC was operating in good faith but was <br />also setting certain ground rules. He said that no program was meant to cheat <br />either side. Ms. Pooley said she still had a problem with the council eliminat- <br />ing one of the merger options. <br /> <br />Mr. McIver stated that he had discussed incorporation because other PICs had <br />done so. He felt it was a shame that so much time was being spent on the issue <br />because the EPIC did not have any serious considerations for that option. He <br />commented that some PICs which had incorporated had leveraged their funds by <br />donations. As a person in the private sector, he felt the possibility of <br />incorporation must be studied based on possible funding advantages. Ms. Schue <br />agreed, stating that the council was known to change its mind on occasion. She <br />said the present meeting was held to provide the EPIC with the feelings of the <br />council. She commented that the program was good and that it had performed well <br />in the past. She stressed that the City did not want to lose what it had <br />achieved, especially since the program tied in with the council IS goal of <br />economic development and the City's relationship with Springfield. She said it <br />was important for the EPIC to understand the feelings of the council. <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor said the EPIC was currently in the information-gathering stage and was <br />not committed to anyone program design. He said that all options were being <br />considered and the council's input was desired as part of the process. <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council/Private Industry Council <br />February 29, 1984 <br /> <br />Page 6 <br />