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Ms. Nathanson suggested the foundation members contact other organizations that have <br />undergone similar transitions to nonprofit status for advice on fund-raising. She commended the <br />slide presentation, and indicated interest in discussion with foundation representations of where <br />and how the presentation should be used. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey asked Mr. Johnson to assign a staff member to the issue if the motion passed. If <br />the motion passed the program would have to compete with other existing service priorities <br />through the budget process. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey noted his concurrence with Ms. Taylor's remarks, saying it was embarrassing, as <br />the mayor of the city, to be asked to return delegation visits when no funding was available. He <br />said that the City was not in the position to reciprocate and he believed a minimum performance <br />standard should be established if the City was to continue its sister city relationships. Mayor <br />Torrey noted the international connections of the Rotary Club, and suggested that the foundation <br />identify and solicit assistance from a Rotary Club in developing a mutually reciprocal Rotary <br />Club/sister city/City relationship. He further suggested that the foundation consider narrowing its <br />funding focus on those sister city relationships that are most active. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor said that rather than asking the City for money, the foundation was assisting the City in <br />something City government in the past had decided to do, and members were volunteering their <br />time and services to the effort. <br /> <br />Mr. Farr concurred with Ms. Taylor. He said that the City of Eugene embarked on the <br />relationships, and the foundation was assisting it. He indicated his intent to support program <br />funding during the upcoming budget review. <br /> <br /> The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey thanked the representatives of the Sister City Foundation. <br /> <br /> B. Work Session: Year 2000 Problem <br /> <br />Mr. Lee referred the council to options for the City government to take in regard to the extent to <br />which it would act as a leader in the community in addressing the Year 2000 problem. He noted <br />the wide range of affected organizations and businesses. Mr. Lee said that the League of <br />Oregon Cities held a call-in discussion on the impacts of the issue on October 7. The league <br />requested that elected officials get involved in educating the public about the problem; to begin <br />looking at Year 2000 solutions to get a sense of the interface between governments, nonprofit <br />organizations, and private businesses; and to participate in regional contingency planning. Mr. <br />Lee asked the council for direction on next steps. <br /> <br />Responding to a question from Mayor Torrey, Mr. Kurtz clarified that his assignment was to <br />examine what was needed to ensure that City services continued to operate, and that included <br />outside suppliers who provide the City with critical goods and services, such as the Eugene <br />Water & Electric Board (EWEB). He said that there was some interest among citizens in having <br />City government take an active role in ensuring the community was Year 2000 compliant, and in <br />particular assisting small businesses that may lack resources to do Year 2000 remediation <br />testing. <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 12, 1998 Page 4 <br />5:30 p.m. <br /> <br /> <br />