CC Minutes - 04/23/01 Work Session

Home Browse Search

Ms. Nathanson said that job loss in the community was a concern to her, and she hoped over time the council could discuss that topic more broadly in terms of community economic health. She noted that the council had some discussions over the last few months about what was economic development, and encouraged staff to listen to the tapes of those meetings for some of the specific ideas suggested by the council. Mayor Torrey noted that he was invited to the barbeque commemorating the closing of HMT. He said it was not a fun event. Workers were very concerned about how they would find new jobs. He said that the community had severe problems the council needed to address. Mr. Meisner supported the motion. He said that without the input of the sustainability principles and the growth management policies, the priority was essentially a vague form of "boosterism." The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Ms. Bettman believed the action priority called for the creation of new jobs rather than providing for support of existing jobs. Ms. Bettman, seconded by Mr. Pap~, moved to amend the work plan by changing the action priority to read "Create and implement economic development policies that maintain and generate family-wage jobs." The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Referring to item 2, Explore collaborative efforts with likely partners including Lane County, University of Oregon, and Lane Community College, Mr. Pap~ believed there were other community organizations that would welcome being asked what Eugene does that takes away from or contributes to sustainable community development. He thought the City would get plenty of response. Mr. Meisner hoped the City could find another way to do things, saying he preferred not to create an advisory committee, hire a consultant, or spend a great deal of money to prepare a context report. He thought the City had access to the needed information. Mr. Johnson said that those steps were not "set in stone." Ms. Taylor preferred to delete the references to the committee, consultant, and report. Ms. Taylor, seconded by Mr. Meisner, moved to amend the work program by striking the last three sentences in the section titled Additional resources required to accomplish. Responding to a question from Mr. Pap~, Mr. Johnson interpreted the motion as directing staff to take small steps and return to the council for more direction. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Action Priority: Adopt a new Downtown Plan and begin implementation of the Greater Downtown Vision MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 23, 2001 Page 14 Work Session