05/12/1975 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

-- negotiations were started on the basis of the first alignment. The property owners were informed that the offers were withdrawn and that a subsequent offer would be made. That would occur, he said, if the requested amendment is approved. It was understood the amending resolution would be an item on the May 12, 1975 Council agenda. Corom 4/30/75 Approve B. Code Amendment, Fireworks - Copies of proposed code amendment were distributed to Council members. The amendment would prohibit sale of fireworks at other than authorized places and would provide for other changes of a "housekeeping" nature. It was understood the amending ordinance would be brought to the Council at its May 12 meeting. Corom 4/30/75 Approve C.Room Tax Allocation Committee Recommendation - Mall Manager - Copies of memo from parks department were distributed to Council with agenda submitting information on the request for room tax funds ($6,000) to pay half the salary of a manager for downtown mall activities, the other half to be paid by the Eugene Downtown Association. Also distributed were copies of the mall manager's job description and Mall Commercial Activities Committee report of September 1973. Letter from Richard Hansen, manager of the Valley River Center, was noted in which objections to use of room tax funds for the benefit of a specific group (downtown.business- men) were stated. e Vince Farina, member of the Downtown Association, called attention to recommenda- tions of the Mall Commercial Activities Committee appointed by the Mayor, one of which was hiring of a mall manager through the use. of room tax funds. That recom- mendation was based o~ the earmarking of room tax funds for cultural, recreational, and tourist oriented activities, he said, recognizing that mall activities would also include those of a commercial nature. Mr. Farina said another recommendation of the Committee was that it would be reconvened to ascertain whether its recom- mendations had been accomplished. A great many had, he said, but nothing was done about calling the committee back into session. The Eugene Downtown Association, feeling something should be done, worked out the SO/50 formula for engaging a mall manager with the idea. that EDA would receive and pay for the time spent on com- mercial activities, the city would receive and pay for the time spent on cultural, recreational, tourism activites. That proposal was presented to the Room Tax Allocation Committee and approval was recommended to the Council. He said the suggestion for part-time management, hired separately by the EDA and the city, could result in nothing but conflict. The Association, as well as the Downtown Development Board, he said, felt this was a workable proposal that should be approved. Sally Weston, member of the,Mal1 Commercial Activities Committee, comme~ted that the report submitted from that Committee did not properly reflect ltS opinion. She noted the impasse in the Committee - some thought commercial activities on the mall would present obstacles, others thought they would en- hance the character of the mall. A year's delay was decided upon to determine if concerns about licensing commercial activities on the mall could be investi- gated, and to see if there would be genuine obstacles to such activities. She suggested that if pUblic money was to be used to help pay for a mall manager, he should receive some direction from citizens who were interested in more' than just "high school band concerts and beauty queens, etc." She thought too that the mall manager should be aware there was no unanimity about what his job should be - the Commercial Activities Committee recommendation was not so "cut and dried" as was presented. e Mr. Hansen didn't think it was the city's responsibility to fund management of activities for the benefit of individual businesses. He said that if a program was to be developed to promote cultural and recreational uses on t~e down~o~n . mall a separate application for room tax funds not tied to commerc~al actlv~t~es should be presented. 25+ 5/12/75 - 9