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Regarding the specifics of Hynix that had been cited, Councilor Poling wished to point out that seven companies were currently looking at the City of Eugene and one thing they were looking at was the enterprise zone. He felt an enterprise zone was not the deciding factor for a business seeking to move, but it was “the icing on the cake.” He pointed out that some cities were nearly giving land away. Councilor Poling stated that while Hynix received a $50 million tax break, it provided a return of $270 million into the economy, and $1.9 million in 2003-2004 into the education system alone above the property taxes. He felt it was time to stop picking on one company and look at the larger view. He wanted to get beyond personal differences and begin the “real” discussion about permanent community standards. He thanked the Mayor for continuing the discussions in order to bring control of the enterprise zone back to the local jurisdictions. Councilor Bettman alleged that Hynix worked with the County, the Mayor, and selected councilors to “dictate” what the foregone tax revenue would be. She said she would not have supported an application for the enterprise zone had she known the State statute was “immutable” in terms of guaranteeing a two-thirds benefit “no matter what.” She felt she had been misled about this. Councilor Bettman reiterated her disappointment that the council’s original intent had been altered. She thought the way the council designed the maximum job cap was a “good, strategic, economic tool.” She felt the zone could allow Hynix, should it make a larger capital investment, to have a $70 million “write-off.” She asked if the Mayor and councilors knew that when they were “negotiating this so-called compromise.” Councilor Kelly asserted that the lack of communication between the bodies was because City staff had not kept the council informed that the County Commissioners had to concur on the local criteria. He averred that had he known, he would have been communicating with them regularly and asking to hold joint meetings. Councilor Pryor called this situation a “poster-child example” of the old adage that says the two things one did not want to watch being made were sausage and government. He stated that it had been a long road and most everything that needed to be said had been said. He encouraged the council to move ahead and vote. Councilor Papé commented that most of the discussion at the table was about what the City was giving up, but it was important to look at what the City would be receiving. He asserted that the City would be gaining mostly good jobs, the majority of which would come through expansion of existing businesses. He pointed to the testimony of business representatives that spoke to the successes of the enterprise zone in jobs and benefits gained. He hoped that Hynix would build a $2 billion addition to its plant as the exemption would go away in three years. Even with depreciation, he observed, the City stood to gain. Mayor Piercy acknowledged the hard work of all the elected officials. She underscored that she tried to be transparent in her efforts. She tried to pay attention to the desire not to count existing employees and to get community standards in place. She stressed that the City had an enterprise zone in place with no community standards and no cap and was facing a legal remedy that she did not believe the City would win. She arrived at the proposal because she believed it to be in the best interest of the community. She related that she discussed the zone with many people and in an article in The Register-Guard. She appreciated the support of the Lane Board of County Commissioners and asked the council for its support as well. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 8, 2005 Page 9 Regular Session