CC Minutes - 06/17/10 Joint Elected Officials

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Mr. Clark noted the anticipated decline in timber payments over time, which would have a severe impact on the County's budget. He hoped to have more discussions at the Eugene council about the impact of that and its implications on other governments. He referred to his earlier question about the County's ability to pay for a new refinement plan and said it was interesting to hear the commissioners discuss adding new expenses to the County budget at a time when the County faced real challenges. He looked forward to further discussion. Mr. Clark welcomed more regular two -way communication between the cities and the County about the important things that the jurisdictions were doing together. He recalled that during a recent Envision Eugene work shop he had raised the need for City staff to check in with the Board of County Commissioners on a frequent basis in regard to what was developing. He invited the board to track that process and provide input. In response to Mayor Leiken's remarks, Mr. Fleenor believed the conversations needed to take place in the public eye and did not think it worked to conduct such business at a breakfast. Speaking to Mayor r Piercy's remarks, Mr. Fleenor said that the board had not taken any official position but he believed there was a consensus that something needed to be done. He personally preferred that the Metro Plan be eliminated and that each jurisdiction have its own comprehensive plan, but he acknowledged that was cost - prohibitive. Ms. Taylor believed that the elected officials could say what they wished without consulting one another. Mayor Piercy said she was not saying people did not have a right to an opinion. However, when one jurisdiction was asking for something from another jurisdiction, it needed to ensure that its position represented that jurisdiction's position, not just that of an individual. Ms. Ortiz said that she frequently heard about the topic from residents of the area in question and was happy to know the board was discussing the issue. She said that the residents of the area in question were taxpayers, and it was a challenge to give taxpayers what they needed within the budget. She thought the meeting was the appropriate setting for the discussion. Ms. Taylor left the meeting. 3. FOLLOW -UP ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES Eugene City Manager Ruiz recalled the elected officials' approval of the Regional Economic Development Plan in February 2010, and provided a status report on progress that had occurred in regard to the six strategies outlined in the plan. He invited questions on the summary of progress presented and the material provided in the meeting packet. Mr. Fleenor maintained that "the global tide has gone out." There were 3,106 counties in the United States and many thousands of cities vying for new jobs. In regard to the six strategies, Mr. Fleenor suggested that the elected officials of any city or county could hear virtually the same presentation. He asked what the region could do that was so unique that it would drive people to live in Lane County. In response, City Manager Ruiz acknowledged that basic infrastructure creation was common to all communities but extended the scope of what was considered infrastructure to include land, a trained workforce, and entrepreneurial infrastructures such as that created by the University of Oregon. He said that once the infrastructure was in place, the question was what happened next. City Manager Ruiz MINUTES Joint Elected Officials Lane County & Eugene June 17, 2010 Page 7