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. , c e Ms. Smith said the Convention Bureau needed an annual budget allocation that it could rely upon and one which did not depend upon passage of Eugene and Springfield budgets. She said all the comments at this meeting would be brought to the task force for its review. II. REPORTS FROM BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS Mr. Lindberg reported that the Renewal Plan Advisory Committee decided at its last meeting to recommend no expansion of the current downtown renewal project. He said the committee was considering creation of one or more additional renewal districts and the two areas under consideration were the 5th Street Special District and the renewal agency property on Broadway between Lincoln and Charnelton. Mr. Obie commented that the Eugene Renewal Agency would be having a retreat soon and the City Council would be invited to lunch so comments on the direction of the renewal agency could be shared. Ms. Smith reported on the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission. She said the possibility of any Federal funding was unknown and the commission was pursuing every possible option for funding. She said an additional $50 million was needed to complete the plant. Ms. Wooten commented that any help at the Federal level would come from Senate action because the House had no funds in its budget recommendations for wastewater treatment plants. Ms. Smith said even if $2.4 billion were allocated at the Federal level, the portion for Oregon would never meet the needs. Mr. e Gleason said if the allocation were earmarked just for plants in progress, it would be an 8-year program. He said the Federal administration clearly wants out of this sort of business. Ms. Smith said the commission was not sitting around waiting to see what would happen but was working hard to generate funds from other sources. Mr. Lindberg said perhaps the entire project would have to be scaled down if no funding can be found. Ms. Smith agreed the commission had to come to grips with that possibility. Mr. Obie asked if the City had any possibility for suing to recover money promised by previous administrations and congresses. Ms. Smith said the costs involved in any kind of court action were prohibitive. Mr. Gleason said that furthermore the Federal government on a civil issue of this nature would have to agree to allow the City to file suit, and it certainly would not do that in this case. He said, in addition, there was no entitlement to past appropriations, so there is essentially nothing to sue about. He said Congress appropriates funds from time to time, and that a present congress was not bound by the appropriation decisions of previous congresses. He said there was much uncertainty as to what congress is going to do this year, and that without this information it was difficult for the commission to decide whether to consider a scaled-down project or not. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 13, 1981 Page 5