04/02/1984 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e excessive amount to come from the General Fund. He felt that it was inapprop- riate to use a broad-base tax to cover the deficit of the center when a percentage of the citizens can not afford tickets to Hult Center events. He felt that the WOW Hall type of operation was more appropriate to the community. He questioned how long the City could manage to maintain an image that it cannot afford. Dave Sweet, 590 West 12th Avenue. stated that he had previously suggested to the task force at its public hearing in March that the Hult Center be wired for cable and satellite transmissions as a revenue source. He suggested that shows could be sold to cable networks. a percentage going to the Hult Center. Referring to the task force recommendations. Mr. Sweet commented that no new revenue sources had been presented. He said the proposed tax package would not tax everyone in the community; he felt that the citizens deserved more responsible representation than that which proposed no solution as the only alternative to imposing a greater burden on the taxpayers. Art Erickson. 1470 East Briarcliff. stated that he had understood that the Hult Center would not present a burden to the taxpayers when it was finally in operation. Now the citizens were being asked to give $500.000 from City funds to subsidize the Hult Center while some of the basic public services were being cut. e John Bauguess, 364 East Broadway #4, stated that the testimony being presented reflected a city which has lost its identify. He said the Eugene Arts Founda- tion, having first developed the idea for the center. had now left the City with the burden of funding. He felt that the Eugene Arts Foundation represented a problem in the ethical relationship with the City. He felt sorry for those citizens who cannot afford the cost of Hult Center tickets but who must still pay for the center while the Eugene Arts Foundation was being given a loan to continue its operations. Clyde Baxter. 1790 Hayes. speaking as a citizen and a candidate for the City Council from Ward 7, stated that the Hult Center was a beautiful center but that the City had overextended itself. He said he was displeased with the task force report. suggesting that the center would best be operated by the private sector. He felt that the other financing proposals mentioned in the report were ludicrous because any type of tax imposed on the citizens of Eugene would still be a burden. He stated that the only solution was for the City to liquidate the center to private enterprises as soon as possible and return to providing essential services to the citizens. Tom Heusel, 3318 Olive Street. an organizer of Citizens for Open Government and a member of Sacred Heart Hospital's Activities Council. referred to a letter which he had received from Councilor Wooten on the naming of the Hult Center. In the letter Ms. Wooten stated that "while she would like to have rejected the Hult's offer, the donation would be a relief to the taxpayers not to have to subsidize the deficit through increased taxes or the General Fund". Mr. Heusel stated that the involvement of the Eugene Arts Foundation began in 1978 when the proposed center was projected to have an operating deficit of e MINUTES--Eugene City Council Apri 1 2, 1984 Pa ge 7