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recalled that several subcommittee members discussed the identity of the region and how to build on the <br />infrastructure in that context. <br />Ms. Lundberg agreed about the importance of infrastructure as broadly defined by City Manager Ruiz. <br />She said when she considered government's role she thought about both physical infrastructure as well as <br />other needs, such as the provision of a trained work force, and matching businesses with that work force. <br />She said that frequently, businesses were "on their own" when it came to finding qualified applicants, and <br />she suggested that local governments could form a consortium that served as a clearing house to assist <br />employers in finding qualified workers. Ms. Lundberg liked what she saw in the report and called for <br />more mention of the trades, as the trades provided more skilled and highly paid jobs. <br />Mayor Piercy believed the community had many of the pieces of infrastructure already in place to build <br />on. She thought the one -stop service center mentioned in the staff report was a great idea and wanted to <br />make sure it was publicized. <br />Speaking to the mention of targeted industries, Mayor Piercy asked for more detail about what was being <br />contemplated. <br />Mayor Piercy questioned what direction the elected officials would give the Metro Partnership about what <br />they wanted it to emphasize and what it might want the partnership to do more of and less of. <br />Ms. Ortiz expressed appreciation for the staff work. However, she did not think the report included <br />sufficient mention of the University of Oregon and all the businesses it had generated. <br />Ms. Ortiz expressed appreciation for Ms. Lundberg's comments about the trades and suggested that more <br />focus be placed on such jobs. She pointed out not all residents attended college, and those jobs were <br />generally family -wage jobs. <br />Mr. Clark expressed appreciation for the work of staff. He appreciated that the focus industry sectors <br />discussed manufacturing, because he thought it critical that the area produced something that brought in <br />capital and added to local economic independence. He expressed surprise about the lack of mention of <br />agriculturally -based products. He thought that was an area where the community could strengthen its <br />economic independence and establish a community identity. Mayor Piercy agreed. <br />Mr. Zelenka thought the plan was okay but did not find it forward - looking. It did not seem to have much <br />emphasis on positioning the community in the "future economy," which he believed would be focused on <br />"green technologies" and a green focus. He suggested that staff consider the business sectors identified in <br />the Mayor's Sustainable Business Initiative and shift more focus to those areas. <br />Mr. Fleenor said that the private sector was where job creation took place. He endorsed a focus on getting <br />more private jobs into the community. He said that private capital moved into and out of locations on the <br />basis of profitability, and companies were willing to take advantage of public investments and tax <br />subsidies to increase their profits and would then "cut and run" once the tax subsidy ran out. He believed <br />that the community needed to prevent that from occurring again in Lane County. Mr. Fleenor urged a <br />focus on the retention of local businesses and jobs and assistance to struggling business people in Lane <br />County that allowed them to stay in Lane County. He also encouraged a focus on the removal of <br />regulatory barriers and providing business a helping hand whenever possible. <br />Mayor Leiken expressed appreciation for the staff work. He agreed with Mr. zelenka. I Ie believed that <br />the region had been trending toward a green economy for a while now and noted his own experience with <br />MINUTES Joint Elected Officials Lane County & Eugene June l 7, 2D l o Page 8 <br />