CC Minutes - 09/14/09 Joint Elected Officials

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MINUTES OF THE JOINT ELECTED OFFICIALS OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL, EUGENE CITY COUNCIL, AND LANE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2009 A joint elected officials meeting with the City of Springfield, City of Eugene, and Lane County was held in the Library Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, September 14, 2009 at 12:00pm with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATTENDANCE Present from Springfield were Mayor Sid Leiken and Councilors Wylie, Leezer, and Simmons. Councilors Lundberg, Ralston and Pishioneri were absent. Present from Eugene were Mayor Kitty Piercy and Councilors Ortiz, Clark, Brown, Taylor, Solomon, and Pryor. Councilors Poling and Zelenka were absent. Present from Lane County were Board Chair Pete Sorenson and Commissioners Dwyer, Fleenor, and Handy. Commissioner Stewart was absent. Mayor Leiken opened the meeting of the Springfield City Council. Mayor Piercy opened the meeting of the Eugene City Council. Board Chair Sorenson opened the meeting of the Lane County Board of Commissioners. 1. Economic Development Report. Eugene City Manager Jon Ruiz presented this item. At the June Joint Elected Officials (JEO) meeting, members approved the framework for a regional economic development plan that would better position our regional economy to take advantage of economic opportunities that aligned with our area’s assets and values. The JEO Economic Development sub-committee (ED Task Force) that was formed to oversee the development of this plan worked with the Technical Advisory Group (TAG), a group composed of key stakeholders in our regional economy, to develop economic development strategies that would help define the next economy for our region. The ED Task Force recommended that the JEO approve the economic development strategies outlined below to ensure continued and timely progress on creating a regional economic development plan. The citizens of the Eugene-Springfield metro area had felt the burden of the financial crisis more so than in other counties and other states. The decline in local jobs, coupled with an increased demand for social services, was putting a strain on city, county and state programs. The Eugene-Springfield metro area unemployment rate in July 2009 was 12.5%, a 6 percentage point increase over the last year, which was slightly higher than the state unemployment rate of 11.9%. The decline in the availability of local jobs has put increased pressure on social services. The number of cases in the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program for our local district had increased 18.5 percentage points over the past year. The number of applications for low-income housing in Lane County in 2008 increased 13 percentage points compared to the previous year. These programs were indicative that the economic crisis had significantly impacted our local economy and that the need for a regional, long-term plan was present.