CC MInutes - 07/19/00 Work Session

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Mr. Kelly agreed with Mr. Farr about the status of the General Fund but was willing to leave that question to staff. While acknowledging Mr. Farr's comments about the controversial nature of the 4(d) rules, Mr. Kelly believed the City's ESA effort enjoyed widespread support among Eugene residents. He encouraged staff to proceed. Ms. Nathanson agreed with Mr. Meisner and Mr. Farr regarding the funding for the proposals. Regarding the issue of training, Ms. Nathanson questioned whether the City could do something for the public, such as training for employees of construction firms. She asked staff to keep that in mind as a possibility. At the request of Ms. Nathanson, staff enumerated some City practices that would be reviewed. Mr. Lankston cited vehicle washing, road construction practices, paint-striping practices, etc. Ms. Taylor moved, seconded by Mr. Lee, to direct staff to prepare a supplemental budget request for consulting services to identify City activities that have potential environmental impacts and move forward with the request for proposals process. Responding to a question from Mr. Meisner, Mr. Bj0rklund responded that the National Marine Fisheries Service favored green technologies and that was the path that the Public Works Department has been heading for some time. Mr. Johnson noted that his biggest concern was over how to lower water temperature in the community's waterways. Mr. Farr reiterated his concerns about the General Fund. Mr. Johnson indicated he would take another look at the funding split. The motion passed unanimously, 6:0. D.Work Session: Mexico Sister City Mary Walston, City Manager's Office, introduced the item. She provided background on the item, noting that the mayor had suggested the addition of a fifth sister city from Mexico in his January State of the City address. She reported that the Eugene Sister City Foundation had not yet formally responded to the mayor's proposal regarding a new sister city. Mr. Meisner noted his previous request for information about the amount of time that City employees spent on sister city-related work. He was not interested in pursuing another sister city relationship because of its financial implications. Mr. Meisner said that even the friendship city option would require time and money, which he was hesitant to dedicate to the expenditure. He said he had often contemplated the idea that the City have a comparably sized sister city in the United States, which might be useful. He was most interested in Option 4 as listed in the briefing summary. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 19, 2000 Page 7 Work Session