08/11/1992 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e joint effort of the two chambers and three local jurisdictions. Mr. Green said that the Oregon Economic Development Department relies heavily upon the partnership in its networking efforts in the area. He said he would not support eliminating the partnership, but indicated support for merging it with the Business Assistance Team. Mr. Robinette said that the partnership represented the consolidated effort called for by the community. Mr. Nicholson agreed with Ms. Ehrman that the continuing need to provide some type of response to the contacts and questions she referred to, but he urged the council to eliminate the contract because the council had no control over how the partnership spent the contribution it received from the City. He said that when the partnership was called upon to defend itself, it could not produce a single business that asserted the partnership's efforts and activi- ties were critical to the business locating or staying in Eugene. He suggest- ed the money was better spent on a similar internal function. Mr. Boles agreed with Mr. Nicholson's remarks, and said the motion deserved support because it provided the council with an incentive to do things differently and the partnership did not reflect the values of the entire community although it is supported with public money. The motion failed, 6:2. e Ms. Ehrman pointed out that the straw vote to include Component 23A (eliminate business counseling) meant that City staff would have to refer inquiries to the Metro Partnership. The council discussed Component 32C, Community Information/Parking Permits (Reduce Service by 50 Percent; realizes $100,000). Mr. Robinette moved, seconded by Mr. Rutan, to drop the compo- nent from further consideration at this time. The motion passed, 7:1. The council discussed Component 42B, Hult Center (Increase rental fees; realizes $35,000). Mr. MacDonald pointed out that the Hult Center recovers a large share of its total costs at the present time. He said the City had been able to support community activities that might not otherwise be viable, and said increasing rental fees could threaten those activities. Ms. Bascom moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, to drop Component 42B from further consideration at this time. Responding to a question from Mr. Rutan, Bob Schultz of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services said that the resident companies had e MINUTES--City Council Work Session August 11, 1992 Page 13 5:30 p.m.