CC Minutes - 07/18/05 Mtg - Laserfiche WebLink

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Moshe Immerman , 1295 McLean Boulevard, invited the council to the anniversary celebration of the Corvallis food co-operative. Mr. Immerman alleged that Hyundai, now Hynix, had received “illegal tax breaks.” He asserted that Hyundai, when originally looking at Eugene, walked away from over $800 million in tax breaks in the state of Oklahoma. He maintained that Hyundai came here because of the water and other factors and not tax breaks. He believed that many programs had been cut in order to give tax breaks to Hyundai, programs such as the Human Rights Program and parks and recreation programs. Mr. Immerman said that the Corvallis food co-op was the most “joyful, positive, magical place” to work in Oregon. He said he was working to start a food co-op in Eugene, thinking it would be possible to open a branch of the Corvallis co-op. He suggested that Homeland Security funds could be used to create a food co-op. He averred that local food security was a “huge issue.” Mayor Piercy closed the Public Forum and called for questions and comments from the council. Councilor Kelly thanked everyone for their testimony. He explained that the council would be retiring into an executive session before taking action on the enterprise zone resolution in order to ask the City Attorney several legal questions. He called it disingenuous to say that outside businesses would be favored over resident businesses. He underscored that the rules treated everyone equally; should a job be created, a tax break would be granted. He did not believe that enterprise zones were the only tool for economic development. He felt there had been a great deal of misinformation regarding the zone. He cited Glorybee Foods as an example and said that, according to his calculator, the company would receive the same benefit in an enterprise zone, with or without a job cap. Councilor Bettman stressed that the City and the County wanted an enterprise zone, but now the two jurisdictions were “haggling over the price.” She said one issue was whether the two would have “real standards” or whether such standards would be “window dressing.” She thought the proposals on the table were “window dressing” and the impact on the magnitude of the benefit would be negligible. Councilor Taylor thanked everyone for speaking. She asserted that an enterprise zone could not require family wages, long-term commitment, local hiring, or environmental protection under current State law. She opposed any enterprise zone. She opined that the standards, as proposed by the council, were minimal and should not be lowered. Mayor Piercy thanked Mr. Brown for bringing the need for extra patrols on the river banks over the next 60 days to the council’s attention. She understood that there had been an increase in the number of police bicycle patrols in that area. She also wished to thank the members of CAFHN for their work with the City, calling it “extraordinary.” Councilor Poling expressed his enthusiasm for the tour he would be taking of the Chambers area the next day, courtesy of CAFHN members. Regarding the enterprise zone, Councilor Poling wished to clarify and address some of the assertions made during the Public Forum. He stated that, though some would portray the City Council and the Lane Board of County Commissioners as being at “complete odds,” the truth was that the two jurisdictions had agreed MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 18, 2005 Page 8 Regular Session