Item 3D: Ratification of IGR Meeting Minutes

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3. United Front Priorities List Ms. Wilson explained that the list in the attachment entitled United Front 2007 Federal Priorities – FY 2008 Draft was a draft, but the United Front group believed it to be the final list. She said four main items on the list would be submitted or worked on by the City of Eugene and the items at the bottom were items that would be brought up but would not be included in the Legislative Priority Book. She related that the book would include a page or more on the items at the top of the draft. Ms. Wilson discussed the West Bank Trail project which had increased in price due to escalating construc- th tion costs. She noted that the West 11 Corridor Planning was a new project request. She said there was word that Representative DeFazio’s office had specifically requested that the City ask for monies for the project. Additionally, Ms. Wilson reported that the Springfield School District had voluntarily removed its proposed environmental education project from the list and had asked the City of Eugene to let them know in the future when a good time to place the project would be. Ms. Bettman asked if there had not been an issue in the State Legislature that pertained to expanding the ability to have Forest Legacy money applied to land outside of the urban growth boundary (UGB). She asked if that had “worked its way through the legislature” and if it had done so, she wondered why the City was not sponsoring a bill to do so. Ms. Wilson responded that the bill would be introduced by State Representative Paul Holvey and the bill had been called a “slam dunk.” She understood that there were some eastern Oregon legislators that had bills they planned to introduce, but no one had seen the bills to date. She said if the CCIGR did have a concept it wished to introduced, it needed to be at the Legislative Counsel by January 26. Ms. Bettman wanted to “get more strongly” behind that bill and suggested, to make it more palatable, that the language should say that it would expand “outside the UGB if it completes a system or provides a link.” Ms. Wilson reiterated that staff had not seen the bill and that once it was released from the Legislative Counsel, the bill would be brought to staff to be reviewed and then before the CCIGR. Ms. Medary added that the way the bill was presently worded it would lift the UGB restriction but it would not have the language that Ms. Bettman was suggesting. She noted that she would not want to place that kind of limit on it, unless she intended to expand it to indicate that it would be part of a master plan. She recommended waiting until the language of the bill was known. She related that the Oregon Recreation and Parks Association had a couple of agenda items that were its highest priority and the Forest Legacy was one of them. Ms. Bettman asked if anyone knew where the bill would be when the United Front group left. Ms. Wilson replied that it was in the hands of Legislative Counsel and it was her understanding that the back-up of bills waiting to go into editing was “huge.” Ms. Bettman asked why the item entitled Secure Rural Schools Legislation Reauthorization would not have a page in the book. Ms. Medary responded that some of the items listed under Other Items would be listed in the book. She explained that the ones listed above Other Items had appropriations requests and the items listed below that heading would have a page in the book with no accompanying appropriation request. MINUTES—Council Committee on Intergovernmental January 23, 2007 Page 11 Relations