09/14/1977 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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. John Amundson, Chairman of the Eugene/Springfield Combined Area Chamber of Commerce Port Steering Committee, revieweo for Council the development of this committee. The two Chambers of Commerce had a major concern regard- e ing the economic status and potential in Lane County. Each had been independently exploring this problem. Eugene was exploring the possibi- lity of a economic improvement district or a port district, while Spring- field was exploring other alternatives. The committee was established to fulfill a mission: (1) to improve the economic vitality of the metro area by creating employment opportunities by locating acceptable business and. industries; and (2) to develop an effective program which would offer higher potential to attract and retain these industries. He said the committee was not committed to anyone of the suggested alternatives. He said the committee had been in a research phase for the past two months, noting the preliminary research shown on the graph distributed to Council. Observations made by the committee to date included: (1) a port district and economic development district could co-exist and would be compatible; (2) a port district would have much broader powers and could be provided with loan fund grants for development of programs; (3) a port district would exhibit extremely high returns on a tax dollars levied; (4) the EDD would provide a direct pipeline to federal grants which could in turn provide money for a port district; (5) EIDC was only beginning to be explored. Mr. Amundson continued that at the present time the committee had no recommendation for one vehicle over another. He said it appeared they all could operate together as a package. However, the committee favors direction which would help fulfill the mission, whether it be public or private. He said it was not a growth or no growth issue, but one to create e job opportunities for all the citizens in the community. It was hoped the committee would be out of its research phase in another month or two and would be able to make some recommendation. That decision would be taken back to each chamber of commerce for support and then would be presented to whatever jurisdictions necessary for completion of action and approval. Ms. Smith wondered if the committee had been comparing EDD and port activities, i.e., avoiding duplication of efforts. Mr. Amundson replied that issue had been explored, noting one of the problems was double taxation. However, he said the two could not accomplish the same func- tion, but one in essence could enhance the other. He reviewed for Council the six port districts existing in Oregon. One other comment Mr. Amundson noted was that an EDD is normally a mul ti -county di strict whil e a port district mayor may not cover even one county. He said the committee had not approached any of the surrounding smaller areas outside of Eugene/Springfield regarding port district interest. e 9/14/77--4 lOb