04/02/1984 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e to the comments on taking money from basic City operations to support the Hult Center, she stressed her personal opinion that it was essential that basic services be protected. However, she stated that the City did not have the option of selling or mothballing the center. Responding to Ms. Pierron's question on the source of City funds, Ms. Wooten explained that the money used to purchase land and suggested for the Hult Center was working capital funds not necessarily appropriate for specific programs. She agreed with Mr. Hansen's comments that the City cannot continue to support one program at the expense of others. She stressed that the City cannot afford to deal only in short-term solutions. Mayor Keller, responding to the issue of the private sector taking over the Hult Center operation, stated that it had previously been decided that the public sector would operate the center. He stressed that any short-term effort in another direction would not be in the City's or the center's best interests. While everyone had hoped that the center could operate without a subsidy, Mayor Keller felt that this idea had been an error in judgment rather than the result of stupidity or naivity. He felt the suggestion to mothball the center was unacceptable, based on the $10 million spinoff from the center to the local economy. He said the center and the accompanying culture was important to the community. In regard to the issue of the City Council lacking the proper attitude or direction on the center, he felt that people would continue to enjoy the center and would decide that the council had acted in the best interests of the city. He said the council had recog- nized that the center's operation needed some adjustment and had decided that a study by an outside firm was appropriate. Councilor Hansen stated that the Hult Center was a good facility and must be recognized as a long-term addition to the community. While the short-term operation will have some effect on the City, he believed that the center will be a long-term asset. He hoped that the council would support the recommenda- tions of the task force. Mr. Hansen stressed that the center was a vital part of the community that must be given continued support. Councilor Ball stated that funding for the Hult Center was substantively different than other City funding due to the accessibility of the center as a public service. He stated that the ticket prices presented a burden to some residents, therefore an equity question was present. Mr. Ball emphasized that the citizens had been promised that they would not have to pay for the center out of any tax funds and that the City Council must honor that promise. He said that obtaining support for any future program would be more difficult if the promise were broken. He also stated that the issue of the source of the revenue to support the center must be confronted. He said all the solutions presented in the report were dependent on tentative future actions and that the council was being asked to provide funding for the center in return for something which might not occur next fall. Councilor Schue agreed with Mr. Hansen that the center was a long-term asset, adding that it was initiated by the voters and not the council. She said the center has already brought money and jobs to Eugene after a short time, comparing the center to the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland which was started MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 2, 1984 Page 9