Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Ms. Niles reported that work on the CPR had also greatly increased the level of engagement from the University of Oregon, and that faculty and student representatives from the University's Arts Management and Public Policy programs had directly participated in the CPR process. Ms. Niles commented that the CPR process over the last two years had greatly contributed to the increased level of awareness of how the City's arts and cultural footprint would contribute to the overall success of the community, both socially and economically. She mentioned that articles had appeared in the Register- Guard, several Eugene Chamber of Commerce publications, and Travel Lane Oregon in that regard. Ms. Niles noted that the CPR process had also improved the level of internal communications with respect to the City's cultural strategies and policies. Ms. Niles cited the recent Summer in the City event and noted that the Eugene Police, Planning & Development, and Library Recreation and Cultural Services depart- ments had each contributed to making it a safe and successful event. Ms. Niles noted that a detailed debriefing on Summer in the City would be presented to the council later in the year. Ms. Niles reported that the consultants working on the CPR had determined that while there were many cultural events and activities in Eugene, there was little if any connectivity between those interests. She hoped that the alliance of staff and community members working over the next year on the CPR would be able to help improve the level of Eugene's cultural connectivity. Ms. Niles noted that the a grant request had been written through the Oregon Community Foundation to fund the purchase of a software package called Artsopolis for use by the staff and CPR implementation team. She hoped that the software would be purchased and up and running by September of 2010. Ms. Niles noted that, as part of the staff's efforts to reorganize the City's Cultural Services Division, her office had been relocated from the basement of the Hult Center to staff offices in the Eugene Public Library. She expressed that her awareness and vision of the City's arts and cultural footprint had expanded greatly as a result of that move. Ms. Niles noted that new positions had recently been developed and filled for a Hult Center Manager, Community Events Manager, and Council Cultural Support as part of the CPR process. Ms. Niles reported that the Hult Center Operations Assessment had recently been completed as part of the CPR process wherein the Hult Center was reviewed in comparison to seven similarly sized venues across the country. She noted that the assessment had revealed several strategies towards developing the Hult's concessions and programming services along more sustainable business models. Ms. Niles noted that the CPR process would continue to specifically address how the Hult Center would serve the community as one of the City's most important and visible cultural assets. Ms. Niles noted that the consultant's data and a variety of other information related to the CRP was available online. Ms. Niles maintained that Ms. Piercy's active participation in the CPR process had engendered an enormous amount of community response and would help encourage even more people from across the City to become involved in local cultural events and activities. Ms. Piercy thanked Ms. Niles and her colleagues, and agreed that the Summer in the City events had positively contributed to public safety in and around downtown Eugene. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 12, 2009 Page 8 Work Session