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Ms. Taylor opined that people of the City did not want to expand and bring in big businesses. She <br />stressed the importance of having a variety of small businesses and helping them maintain a <br />living wage. <br /> <br />Mr. Farr maintained that the timber industry was a sustainable industry that was continually <br />throttled by the State. He raised concern over the bent of the City to discourage businesses from <br />coming to Eugene by excessive regulation. He stressed the importance of not adding layers of <br />bureaucracy to City regulations. <br /> <br />Mr. Rayor said he did not want the same old programs dressed in new titles. He said he wanted a <br />specific list showing the differences between the program and older programs. He said he <br />wanted Eugene to be different from any other city in the Northwest by developing economic plans <br />to mix zoning. He stressed the importance of not developing car-dependent infrastructure. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey noted that everyone had their own definition of sustainability. He stressed the <br />importance of recognizing businesses who were doing well environmentally and not demanding <br />that they do business a certain way. He said if the City made it too hard to do business to do <br />business in Eugene, then businesses would go elsewhere. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly said that recognizing businesses that were doing well was a great next step. He <br />expressed a desire to see staff publicize area success stories so that people would know the <br />kinds of things that were going on. He cautioned that incentives for businesses needed to be well <br />targeted. <br /> <br />Regarding Ms. Nathanson's concern that the City should not be put in a teaching role, Mr. Kelly <br />suggested partnering with agencies that could fulfill a teaching role. <br /> <br /> Mr. Kelly, seconded by Ms. Bettman, moved to direct the City Manager to add <br /> a position devoted to sustainable economic development planning and <br /> implementation. Funding for the rest of fiscal year 2003 would come from <br /> the reserve for revenue shortfall. Funding would be included in the base <br /> budget for future years. The position would serve as the focal point for <br /> sustainable economic development work in the City in collaboration with <br /> other city staff and public and private organizations and individuals. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman raised concern with adding a position after the budget cycle. She said it would be <br />useful to have someone who could do some cost benefit analysis of City programs. <br /> <br />Mr. Meisner noted that there was no money to create a new position or to implement any <br />programs. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor said she would not support the idea of creating a new position. She noted that money <br />was already being allocated to the Metro Partnership. <br /> <br />Mr. Farr stressed the importance of supporting businesses and attracting new businesses in the <br />City instead of making things more difficult for existing businesses. He said he would oppose the <br />motion. He said essential services needed to be taken care of first. <br /> <br /> MINUTES--Eugene City Council August 12, 2002 Page 4 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />