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happening, which required one -on -one dialogues with the individual cities. EWEB had begun those <br />dialogues as a result of the Region 2050 process. All the Lane County communities had been at the table, <br />and it was clear from the Region 2050 Steering Committee's discussions there was a need for a regional <br />water plan. Mr. Taylor noted that all the small cities had identified EWEB as a potential water source <br />within their master plans, which was the foundation of the collaborative planning effort. <br />Mr. Zelenka acknowledged the fact of the local master plan and said his remarks were directed at the lack <br />of a regional water plan. He believed that EWEB needed to lead such an effort and produce a plan. He <br />believed it was important to put contracts such as Veneta's in the appropriate context. Ms. Smith said <br />EWEB was committed to such a master plan but she was unsure of the timing. She pointed out that <br />EWEB was currently responding to new leadership, and she was unsure how that affected EWEB's <br />priorities. She said that Mr. Taylor was focused on developing relationships with the smaller communities <br />as a critical first step. <br />Mr. Brown suggested that communities such as Creswell would approach EWEB because they wanted to <br />double their population but could not do so without more water. He was unsure of his position on the <br />contract but was concerned about "physically creating a subdivision" ten miles outside the Eugene urban <br />growth boundary. He suggested that Veneta could not realize its population projections without water <br />from EWEB. He believed Eugene first needed to decide if it wanted EWEB to be a regional provider. <br />Mr. Brown thought that the water contract would encourage what he termed "exurban growth" and again <br />asked what Eugene got in return. He anticipated even more people driving to Eugene as a result of the <br />contract. Mr. Brown expressed concern that the council had adopted growth management goals and then <br />proposed to do something in direct contradiction of its goals. <br />Mayor Piercy suggested that sometimes the council had good goals that conflicted with each other. <br />Veneta was seeking to build a community where people could live, work, and play at home. She <br />suggested that community's goals were similar to Eugene's. She recognized that the two communities had <br />shared travel areas, which came at a cost. <br />Mr. Ingham emphasized Veneta's interest in rebuilding its business base, which had declined with the <br />decline of the timber industry. He suggested the danger that Veneta could be viewed as a community in <br />decline, and businesses and industries would avoid locating there, leading Veneta to shut down the <br />schools that were at the heart of the community, leaving no community at all. He suggested that could <br />mean Veneta eventually unincorporated, and Veneta's leaders were trying to avoid that. <br />Mr. Pryor did not believe it was possible to discuss the contract without discussing the context involved. <br />He was glad the issue of Eugene's role in the region was on the table so questions related to that could be <br />discussed. What would partnership look like and how far would it extend? If Eugene was the manager, <br />what did that look like? Mr. Pryor acknowledged that Eugene was a regional factor but he was unsure to <br />what degree it should be a controller. He said that Eugene needed to be a good steward of its resources, <br />but he tended to believe that "we are all in this together" and if Eugene could make water available to <br />Veneta without harm to its own citizens, it should. He questioned whether it was Eugene's job to manage <br />Veneta's growth. <br />Mr. Pryor referred to the City's Growth Management Policies, which were posted on the meeting room <br />wall, and asked why he should "buy into them" as they were adopted in 1998 and he had no part in their <br />development. He believed that the council should discuss the policies. He believed some contradicted <br />each other, and wanted an opportunity to weigh in on them before the council used them to govern "real <br />world" issues. <br />MINUTES— Eugene City Council November 10, 2010 Page 5 <br />Work Session <br />