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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 2C: Ratification of IGR Minutes ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Ratification of Intergovernmental Relations Committee Minutes of January 27, 2010 and February 3, 2010 Meeting Date: February 22, 2010 Agenda Item Number: 2C Department: City Manager’s Office Staff Contact: Brenda Wilson www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 682-8441 ISSUE STATEMENT This is an action item to ratify the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) Committee meetings of January 27, 2010, and February 3, 2010. BACKGROUND As a matter of procedure, the City Council is routinely asked to ratify the actions taken by the Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) Committee. This is done by submitting the minutes of each committee meeting to the council. RELATED CITY POLICIES Ratification of IGR Committee actions is the making or affirming of the City of Eugene’s policy with respect to Federal and State legislative issues or such other matters as may come to the council from the committee. COUNCIL OPTIONS The council may ratify or decline to ratify the IGR Committee’s actions as set forth in the minutes of the committee's meeting. CITY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION The City Manager recommends ratification of the IGR Committee's actions as set forth in the minutes of the committee's meeting. SUGGESTED MOTION Move to ratify the IGR Committee's actions as set forth in the minutes of the January 27, 2010, and February 3, 2010, IGR meetings. ATTACHMENTS A. IGR Committee Minutes of January 27, 2010 B. IGR Committee Minutes of February 3, 2010 Z:\CMO\2010 Council Agendas\M100222\S1002222C.doc FOR MORE INFORMATION Staff Contact: Brenda Wilson Telephone: 682-8441 Staff E-Mail: brenda.s.wilson@ci.eugene.or.us Z:\CMO\2010 Council Agendas\M100222\S1002222C.doc ATTACHMENT A M I N U T E S Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations McNutt Room—Eugene City Hall 777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon January 27, 2010 1:30 p.m. PRESENT: Betty Taylor, Chair; Andrea Ortiz, George Poling, members; Brenda Wilson, Jessica Mumme, City Manager's Office; Steve Nystrom, Planning and Development Department; Larry Hill, Financial Services; Connie Bennett, Library, Recreation, Cultural Services De- partment; Mike Penwell, Facility Management, Central Services Department; Kitty Piercy, Mayor. 1. Call to Order and Review Agenda Ms. Taylor called the meeting of the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations (CCIGR) to order and asked if there were any changes to the agenda. She noted that they would elect a new chair, given that it was a new year. Intergovernmental Relations Manager, Brenda Wilson, added an item to discuss meeting times given that the special session would convene on February 1 and an item intended to update the CCIGR on the United Front lobbying effort. Ms. Taylor suggested that those be included in the last agenda item. Ms. Ortiz, seconded by Ms. Taylor, nominated Mr. Poling as chair. Mr. Poling was elected by a unanimous vote, 3:0. Ms. Taylor passed the responsibilities of chair to Mr. Poling and Mr. Poling continued the meeting. 2. Approval of Minutes Ms. Taylor, seconded by Ms. Ortiz, moved to approve the minutes from the meeting held on December 16, 2009, as written. The motion passed unanimously, 3:0. 3. NEA Big Read Grant Opportunity Mr. Poling opened the floor for questions. Ms. Wilson explained, for the record, that the grant was a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Big Read opportunity and it was a request for $12,000 for staff wages, materials, and activities for the program. She said the grant required a match, which was why it was being brought to the CCIGR. She added that the due date was February 2. Ms. Ortiz asked if the grant would be something the library would be able to continue. Connie Bennett, MINUTES—Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations January 27, 2010 Page 1 Library Services Director, replied that it was a one-time opportunity. She said if they received the grant, the activity would occur sometime during the next school year. She noted that in the past the library had engaged in other community reading programs using other funding sources. She underscored that the grant represented an opportunity to garner one-time funds. Mayor Piercy pointed out that the source of the local match was funds donated by the Friends of the Eugene Public Library. Ms. Ortiz, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved to support the grant application. The motion passed unanimously, 3:0. 4. Request for Support of Federal Legislation Ms. Wilson explained that the City was being requested to support United States Senate Bill 2747, which was an appropriations bill that would fully fund the Land, Water, and Conservation Fund. She said the fund had been “woefully” underfunded in the past years. She related that they were asking Senators Wyden and Merkley to become co-sponsors of the bill. She stated that the fund was one of the only ones available for the purchase of public lands for national parks and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) activities, such as the ones involved with the West Eugene Wetlands project. Ms. Taylor, seconded by Ms. Ortiz, moved to support the request. The motion passed un- animously, 3:0. 5. Review Pending Legislation Ms. Wilson stated that there were Legislative Concepts included in the list. She said they would not become bills until the Legislative Session started on Monday, February 1. Legislative Concept 108 Ms. Wilson explained that staff recommended a Priority 2 Oppose. Ms. Taylor indicated her preference to support the bill. Steve Nystrom, Principal Planner, stated that he had reviewed the bill further he had determined that the bill only applied to the Portland area. He wanted to change his recommendation to Drop. Ms. Taylor, seconded by Ms. Ortiz, moved to Drop LC 108. The motion passed unanim- ously, 3:0. Mayor Piercy asked to place LC 116 on the list. Ms. Wilson said she had recommended adoption of a Priority 3 Support position on the bill. She stated that the bill had not been pulled for discussion. She added that the subject, relating to containers made with bisphenol, was something that both the federal government and the state legislature were reviewing. Mayor Piercy noted that the Oregon Toxics Alliance was taking some leadership on the issue. She had wanted to bring to people’s attention that there was also a local effort taken on it. MINUTES—Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations January 27, 2010 Page 2 Legislative Concept 139 Ms. Wilson stated that after further review, staff had changed its recommendation for a position on the bill from Monitor to Drop. She said she had been concerned about the changes in the lien process for contractors, specifically whether or not the changes in the lien process would impact projects that the City was engaged in. She related that three staff members had reviewed the bill and determined that it would not impact the City. Ms. Taylor had pulled it for discussion. In response to a question from Ms. Taylor, Ms. Wilson said the City did not govern issues between private landowners and contractors. Ms. Taylor indicated that she had been looking to provide further protection for private property owners. She was amenable to taking a Drop position. Ms. Ortiz, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved to Drop LC 139. The motion passed unanim- ously, 3:0. House Bill 3621 Ms. Wilson explained that the bill had to do with backflow testing. Facilities Manager Mike Penwell said he wanted to change the staff position from one of being Neutral to a Monitor. He was not concerned that the bill would impact the City of Eugene. He stated that the City would still be allowed to do its backflow testing and maintenance with its own staff. Mr. Poling agreed, noting that he had brought it up because he thought it should be monitored and if a grandfather clause was added, the City should support the bill. Mr. Penwell related that after subsequent review, he had determined that the grandfather clause was still intact. He said the way it could potentially affect the City in the future would be if it started relying more on on-call contractors, which would increase the cost because the bill would make it so only plumbers would be allowed to do the work. He commented that the plumbers union was strong in the state and a “fair number” of bills came forward along the lines of the one before them. Mr. Poling, seconded by Ms. Ortiz, moved to take a Monitor position on HB 3621. The motion passed unanimously, 3:0. House Bill 3608 Ms. Wilson related that Ethan Nelson, Solid Waste Management Program Manager, believed that the bill could correspond to the City’s Legislative Policy. She said he thought Eugene would support a regulatory process that would provide incentives and financial measures for preservation and natural resources and that would promote sustainable energy policies. She noted that Ms. Taylor had pulled the bill. Ms. Taylor thought the City should oppose the bill. Larry Hill, Senior Management Analyst for the Finance Division, stated that he had reviewed the bill only in terms of the fiscal impact and the bill would have minimal direct fiscal impact on the City. He had not judged the bill based on the policies and he would defer to Mr. Nelson in that respect. MINUTES—Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations January 27, 2010 Page 3 Ms. Taylor expressed concern about the provision of tax credits, which the bill would give for the transportation of woody biomass from forest management operations to biofuel producers. Mr. Hill observed that the bill would provide three different tax credits, which would have a negative impact to some degree on state revenue, though he did not anticipate it to be significant. Ms. Taylor moved to adopt an Oppose position on HB 3608. Ms. Ortiz asked if other entities received tax credits for moving other energy resources, such as gas. Mr. Hill responded that he did not know the answer. Ms. Wilson stated that there were a number of tax credits that were under scrutiny. She said the Chair of the House Revenue Committee had asked for a list of all of the existing tax credits, including sunset dates. She agreed that the impact on state revenue would be small at first, because it was a new industry, and depending on how large the industry became, the impact could change. She underscored that the purpose of the bill was to spur economic growth and development and jobs. In response to a question from Ms. Ortiz, Ms. Wilson said she did not believe the bill would pass during the special session. She reiterated that each representative was allowed to sponsor one bill, noting that this was Representative Thompson’s bill. Ms. Ortiz preferred to monitor the bill. Ms. Taylor noted that she had already placed a motion on the table. Ms. Ortiz offered a friendly amendment to change Ms. Taylor’s motion from adopting an Oppose position to adopting a Monitor position. Ms. Taylor declined the friendly amendment. Ms. Ortiz, seconded by Mr. Poling, moved to amend the motion to substitute Monitor for Oppose. The amendment passed, 2:1; Ms. Taylor voting in opposition. The motion passed, as amended, 2:1; Ms. Taylor voting in opposition. House Bill 3611 Ms. Wilson explained that the bill created a subtraction from federal income tax for health insurance premium payments. She said staff recommended adopting a Neutral position. Mr. Poling questioned taking a neutral position. He understood that it would not have a direct impact on the City, but he believed it would have some impact on state income tax revenue. Mr. Hill acknowledged that the impact to state income tax could impact the City, but he judged the impact to be relatively small. He said it would apply to those people who paid individual health insurance. Mr. Poling, seconded by Ms. Ortiz, moved to change the position from Neutral to Moni- tor. The motion passed unanimously, 3:0. House Bill 3631 MINUTES—Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations January 27, 2010 Page 4 Ms. Wilson stated that the bill would prohibit insurers from treating injuries sustained from sexual violence as a preexisting condition. She noted that Risk Services Director Myrnie Daut had recommended they monitor the bill given that the City was self-insured and it would not have a direct fiscal impact. Ms. Ortiz said the City should support the bill as a statement because it was the right thing to do. Mr. Poling concurred. Mr. Poling, seconded by Ms. Ortiz, moved to adopt a Priority 2 Support position on HB 3631. The motion passed unanimously, 3:0. House Bill 3623 Ms. Wilson stated that the bill would require the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) to include informational materials regarding human trafficking with certain licensing materials. She recommended adoption of a Priority 3 Support because the City Council had adopted a Priority 2 Support position on a bill in 2007 that sought to make human trafficking a crime. She noted that the City of Portland had the highestper capita sex industry in the nation, which many attributed to its location at the crossroads of two interstate highways. She related that the Oregon State Police had reported coming into contact with three to five human trafficking victims a week, half of which were children. The CCIGR agreed with the staff recommendation to adopt a Priority 3 Support position on HB 3623. HB 3625 Ms. Wilson stated that the bill would designate May as Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month. She said she had recommended adoption of a Priority 3 Support because of one of the United Front projects supported over the past several years had been a study of the infant and fetal mortality rates in Lane County, which was higher than the state and national averages. Ms. Taylor opined that there were already too many special months and days and questioned why they needed to adopt another one. Mayor Piercy pointed out that designating a particular day or month provided organizations the opportuni- ty to aim an education program to raise awareness. The CCIGR left the staff recommendation to adopt a Priority 3 Support position on HB 3625 intact. House Joint Resolution 100 Ms. Wilson explained that HJR 100 would propose an amendment to the Oregon Constitution that would establish the right of all Oregonians to equal opportunity to lead healthy and productive lives. She said she had brought the bill to the CCIGR because it was a broad policy and because it was co-sponsored by State Senator Bill Morrissette. Mr. Poling said he could not find the definition of legal resident in the amendment. Ms. Wilson responded that she had noticed this, too, and intended to talk to Sen. Morrissette about it. Mr. Poling asked who would be responsible for financing it. Ms. Wilson replied that she was certain that the amendment would be the beginning of a larger discussion on health care. MINUTES—Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations January 27, 2010 Page 5 Mr. Poling said given that it would refer the proposed amendment to the people for their approval or rejection, he was amenable to support the staff’s position. The CCIGR retained the staff recommended position of Priority 3 Support on HJR 100. 6. Items from Members and Staff Ms. Wilson reported that 200 bills were being introduced for the Special Legislative Session, one of which was a bill to change to annual sessions. She recommended that the CCIGR meet during the first two weeks of February, noting that after the bills were addressed it would be “only about the money” and how they would continue to allocate funds. The CCIGR agreed to meet at noon on February 3 and after the City Council Work Session on February 10. Ms. Wilson said the CCIGR would meet in the early summer to talk about the following United Front effort as well as the upcoming legislative session. Ms. Wilson noted that the President intended to issue the proposed budget and was requesting significant spending freezes on domestic spending and anything that did not have to do with the Veterans Administra- tion, the military, Homeland Security, Medicare, and Social Security. She said they were moving ahead with the United Front efforts, but she anticipated that they might hear of another one-year delay of the reauthorization bill because they could not come to an agreement as to where the funding would come from for it. She wanted to update the CCIGR, noting that one of the projects that Congressman Peter DeFazio had picked up had been the safety project on Delta Highway – not the projects between River Road and Coburg Road on Beltline Highway as she had previously reported. She said there was not anything they could to about lobbying for any of the projects currently except to wait for the reauthoriza- tion. She related that they would continue discussions with Rep. DeFazio’s office because another one- year delay would make planning a little difficult. Mayor Piercy asked if this would affect whether or not it would be worth the City’s while to go on the United Front trip in the first place. Ms. Wilson responded that it would not because the appropriations would still need to be worked through their budget. She thought it could impact the number of earmarks, which would provide more reason to advocate for the projects they wanted to move forward. Ms. Wilson reported that the House had passed a jobs bill and it was now waiting for the Senate to reconvene with their new members. She said it appeared that the Senate would also take up a jobs bill. She noted that part of the original bill included additional dedicated funding to Metropolitan Policy Organizations, like the money they received for preservation projects. In response to a question from Mr. Poling, Ms. Wilson stated that the United Front trip was scheduled to leave on February 28 and return on March 4. Ms. Ortiz expressed disappointment that the safety project on Beltline Highway between River Road and Coburg Road had not been a project that would be included to be moved forward. Ms. Wilson responded that it was still on the list and could be resubmitted. Mr. Poling adjourned the meeting at 2:04 p.m. (Recorded by Ruth Atcherson) MINUTES—Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations January 27, 2010 Page 6 ATTACHMENT B M I N U T E S Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations McNutt Room—Eugene City Hall 777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon February 3, 2010 1:30 p.m. PRESENT: George Poling, Chair; Andrea Ortiz, Betty Taylor, members; Brenda Wilson(participating by telephone), Jessica Mumme, City Manager's Office; Ethan Nelson, Planning and De- velopment Department; Larry Hill, Financial Services; Mike Penwell, Facility Manage- ment, Central Services Department; Paul Klope, Public Works Department; Kitty Piercy, Mayor. 1. Call to Order and Review Agenda Mr. Poling called the meeting of the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations (CCIGR) to order and asked if there were any changes to the agenda. Program Coordinator, Jessica Mumme, added an item to notify the CCIGR of a grant from the Eugene Airport. She noted that no match would be required. She also pointed out a one-page item from David Wilde in regard to Emerald Rail Transit. 2. Review Pending Legislation House Bill 3609 Mr. Poling stated that the bill related to Enterprise Zones. Ms. Taylor thought that they should adopt an Oppose position. Senior Management Analyst for the Finance Division, Larry Hill, explained that he had recommended that they adopt a Support position because the bill was consistent with the City’s Legislative Policies document. He related that the document specifically called for Enterprise Zones to be made more flexible and the bill would do that. He explained that the bill would also limit the flexibility so that, for instance, should the City suffer a loss of jobs for two consecutive quarters and be two points below the state unemployment rate, then the bill would kick in and the council would have the option to review individual enterprise zone agreements and decide whether to extend an agreement or to change the number of jobs required under an agreement. Ms. Ortiz asked if it would stop the tax exemption. Mr. Hill replied that it would not negate it. Ms. Ortiz recalled a committee effort regarding enterprise zone expansion. She understood that the process at that point had been that the City had been required to go to the state for approval of the language changes that had been proposed. She thought that if the City wanted to do something similar, the bill MINUTES—Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations February 3, 2010 Page 1 would allow the City to do so potentially without state approval. Mr. Hill responded that this would only be so if the exact conditions specified in the bill were present and only to the extent that it would allow the change in the existing agreement. He said this particular change in the statute was highly qualified; the City would have to be in a recession and it would only be allowed to make two changes to the enterprise zone agreement. Mr. Poling ascertained that the bill would not change any of the other requirements specified in the City’s Enterprise Zone; the bill specifically addressed what would happen during an economic downturn. Ms. Taylor moved to adopt a Neutral position. Ms. Ortiz provided a second for discussion purposes. Mayor Piercy did not share Ms. Taylor’s view of enterprise zones. She felt the zone had worked the way the council intended it to. She preferred to start out monitoring the bill in order to hear some of the arguments. Ms. Taylor changed her motion to adopt a Monitor position. Ms. Ortiz indicated she was amenable to the change. Intergovernmental Relations Manager, Brenda Wilson, stated that there was a hearing on the bill scheduled for February 5. She indicated she would be happy to report back on it. She felt it would give plenty of time for the City to weigh in on it, should they determine a need to do so. The motion passed, 2:1; Mr. Poling voting in opposition. House Bill 3640 Ms. Wilson stated that the bill was the very first bill for State Representative Hoyle as a state legislator. She related that Rep. Hoyle had telephoned her the previous evening and had been angry. She said someone had sent a copy of the legislative report to Rep. Hoyle and all she had seen was that staff had recommended that they adopt an Oppose position. She asked that she be made aware of any communica- tion with a state legislator so that she could better represent the City of Eugene. Ms. Wilson stated that they had a long-standing practice of opposing bills that created property tax exemptions. She explained that the bill would exempt manufactured homes valued at $12,000 or less from paying property tax. She had heard from the County Assessor that the bill would cost $67,000 in lost revenue for the City, but the delinquent rate for these homes was 94 percent. She noted that Multnomah County had done the same inquiry into their records and found a similar delinquency rate. She related that they had determined that channeling their energy into collecting from people who owed a lot more in taxes, they would collect a lot more revenue for cities and counties. She said the bill had been amended so that it applied to four counties, including Lane County, and that it would sunset after four years. The involved entities were either taking a Neutral or Support position on the bill. She added that it would “value us tremendously in the future” to at least not oppose Rep. Hoyle’s first bill. Mr. Poling asked if the exemption would be automatic or would it have to be applied for by individual property owners. Ms. Wilson replied that it would be automatic. Ms. Ortiz asked what position Ms. Wilson would recommend. Ms. Wilson responded that she would recommend anything but an Oppose position. Mayor Piercy asked if the County had taken a formal position on the bill. Ms. Wilson replied that she had MINUTES—Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations February 3, 2010 Page 2 not heard what the official position of the County was, but they had been involved in the conversation as well. Ms. Ortiz, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved to adopt a Support position for House Bill 3640. Ms. Taylor noted that the bill ran against her principles, but that she was willing to go along with a Support position due to the information presented. The motion passed unanimously, 3:0. Senate Bill 1050 Ms. Taylor thought the CCIGR should support the bill. Ms. Wilson stated that the bill was the state’s version of “buy American.” She said it would require that any local government or public body including state agencies to use iron and steel manufactured goods that were made in the United States. She noted that staff recommended adopting an Oppose position because the bill would restrict the City’s ability to buy these goods. She commented that the bill would make some sense for communities on the east coast, but there were not a lot of such manufacturing facilities in Oregon. She added that she did not see the bill going anywhere, though the bill had a hearing scheduled for that day. Paul Klope, Civil Engineer for the Public Works Department, explained that the issue lay in that if the 25 percent was applied to the entire structure, it became a very big number for public entities to pay for, but if it was applied only to the items purchased, he would find that acceptable. He had thought it to be a good idea, but preferred to apply it more specifically. Ms. Taylor felt the bill promoted sustainability and that, as a matter of principle, they should support it. Ms. Taylor moved to adopt a Support position on Senate Bill 1050. The motion died for lack of a second. Ms. Taylor, seconded by Mr. Poling, moved to Monitor the bill. The motion passed un- animously, 3:0. Senate Bill 1009 Ms. Wilson said the bill had been heard in committee on the previous day and had faced a lot of opposition on a number of different fronts. She related that the sentiment about the bill was that while it was good policy, the bill did not accomplish that policy. She predicted that the bill would be amended. She noted that President Courtney had issued a statement indicating that he would support it if things could be worked out between industry and the legislators. Ethan Nelson, Solid Waste Management Program Manager, agreed that the focus on removing plastic bags from the waste stream was good, but the way the legislation was written could create a rebounding affect that would have a greater environmental impact in terms of greenhouse gas production. He had recom- mended that they take an Oppose position. Ms. Ortiz remarked that conceptually it was difficult for her to adopt an Oppose position. She preferred to adopt a Monitor position. MINUTES—Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations February 3, 2010 Page 3 Ms. Wilson commented that the bill would need a lot of work to pass. She agreed that the bill was the beginning of a larger conversation. One of the most interesting things that had come from the discussion had been that no one could define what kind of plastic bags the bill would apply to. She did not think there would be enough time in the month of February to address the bill. Ms. Ortiz, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved to Monitor Senate Bill 1009. Mayor Piercy approved of adopting a Monitor position. She averred that it was important to be open to the bill’s intent conceptually. The motion passed unanimously, 3:0. Senate Bill 1059 Ms. Wilson said staff had recommended an Oppose position on the bill. She related that the bill had been introduced by the President of the Senate, who had been a member of the Greenhouse Gas Task Force. She noted that Councilor Alan Zelenka had been the City’s representative on the task force and that he had also a member of the work group that had drafted the report. She related that the bill indicated that it had been at the request of the task force. She stated that President Courtney had responded to questions by saying he had promised to introduce a bill but he had not said it “would be good.” She said the bill did not adequately reflect the recommendations of the task force; specifically it provided no mention of how the directions would be taken on by local government or how it would be paid for. She also noted that several other groups had come out against it throughout the state saying that the bill just did not reflect the recommendations of the task force. She remarked that everyone was opposed to the bill. She averred that the City would “have to get in line to oppose this bill.” She did not predict the bill would go anywhere as written. The chairs of both the House and Senate Transportation Committees did not think they had the votes to get the bill out. Mayor Piercy had spoken with Mr. Zelenka. She commented that it was not unusual to send something to the legislative counsel and then have it come out something completely different. She thought there would be some attempt to address the issues and get the bill more in line with what had come out of the task force. This bill was pulled for discussion purposes only. Ms. Ortiz recalled that people had testified before the City Council in regard to a marine reserve proposed for the City of Newport. She asked if Ms. Wilson had any updates on it. Ms. Wilson replied that she had not heard anything. She said she would look into it. She surmised that the funding could be coming through a state agency and it would be in a state agency budget bill. She added that it had received a lot of federal funding. Mayor Piercy thought Mr. Zelenka intended to bring a resolution in support of the reserve. She noted that it was not to be confused with the facility that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) had proposed to locate in Newport, a proposal that was being hotly contested by the State of Washington. Ms. Taylor, seconded by Ms. Ortiz, moved to adopt the staff recommendation for priori- ties and recommendations for all bills that were not pulled for discussion for the present meeting and the committee action for all bills that were discussed and acted up on at the meeting. The motion passed unanimously, 3:0. MINUTES—Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations February 3, 2010 Page 4 6. Items from Members and Staff Ms. Wilson related that the Eugene Airport had notified the CCIGR that they had applied for a $10,000 grant from Lane County Tourism. She explained that the money would be used as part of a $50,000 match for a $550,000 federal grant that they had applied for and no city funds would be used for it. She said the CCIGR did not need to act upon it. Regarding the second item, Ms. Wilson stated that a non-profit group wanted to conduct a feasibility study for streetcars in Eugene. She said the non-profit was headed by David Wilde, who had been working on the item for two years. She related that he had gone before the Lane Board of County Commissioners and asked for their support and they had provided it to him. She said they had spoken with the congressional delegation about it and they basically said, along with the Lane Transit District, that they needed to see a plan. She stated that Mr. Wilde would take a request to the commissioners asking them to be a partner in a grant application for the Transportation and Growth Management (TGM) program, a program that provided funding for transportation system planning and integrated land use and transportation planning. She noted that some of the details were not clear at present, but in order to get it on the agenda for the commissioners they needed an endorsement from the CCIGR. She also noted that Mr. Wilde had indicated that the range for a feasibility study was between $25,000 and $250,000. She had asked him if he could narrow that down because the TGM grants were in the neighborhood of $150,000 to $200,000 and required a 10.27 percent local match. She explained that a $200,000 grant application would require approximately a $22,000 match. In addition to this, two areas of the city were also applying for TGM grants. She related that the City would be applying for $185,000 to do better policy planning when the City put together its new Comprehensive Plan. She said they intended to create a sub-component of the plan, which they would call an urban form plan and would serve to illustrate how the different policies of the City could be realized on the ground and that would lead to better cooperation, understanding, and progress on important goals like greenhouse gas reduction. She understood that another area of staff would also be applying for a TGM grant and both would compete with the one Mr. Wilde was proposing. In response to a question from Mr. Poling, Ms. Wilson surmised that the local match would be split three ways between Lane County, the City, and the University of Oregon, if the latter signed on for the project. Mayor Piercy asked if LTD had been contacted. Ms. Wilson responded that they had not asked LTD to partner in it and she was not certain why. Mr. Poling noted that the back page of the memorandum indicated that they had reached a verbal agreement with LTD’s general manager. He asked if Ms. Wilson was aware if that had occurred and to what degree that verbal agreement would extend. Ms. Wilson confirmed that they had conversed. She related that LTD had agreed on a couple of points: that streetcars would not compete with BRT and that LTD would work with them to see whether or not it was feasible. She was not aware of any agreement that LTD would aid in the match funding. Mr. Poling ascertained from Ms. Wilson that the funding was just for a feasibility study. Ms. Wilson added that they did speak with the congressional delegation staff and asked them how they would want the City to move forward with a discussion on streetcars in Eugene. She related that they indicated that they needed to have a real plan before it was brought back to them. Mayor Piercy remarked that Rep. DeFazio had his name behind a new publication called Street Smart. She believed there was positive interest in the area, but she was not certain the City was ready to move on MINUTES—Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations February 3, 2010 Page 5 it. She asked if Ms. Wilson had spoken with City Manager Jon Ruiz on the issue. Ms. Wilson affirmed that she had. She related that Mr. Ruiz had agreed to represent the City on the issue, after she had brought it before the CCIGR. Mayor Piercy felt a need to have a better idea of how this would fit into the City’s budgetary issues. She was uncertain whether they were ready for this. Ms. Taylor thought it sounded like LTD was in favor. She indicated her support for it. Ms. Taylor moved to support the grant application provided the other agencies shared equally and the City’s portion would not go over $8,000. The motion died for lack of a second. Ms. Wilson observed that they would need direction as to where the money would come from. Ms. Ortiz, seconded by Mr. Poling, moved to take the application before the City Council for consideration. The motion passed unanimously, 3:0. Mr. Poling adjourned the meeting at 2:04 p.m. (Recorded by Ruth Atcherson) MINUTES—Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations February 3, 2010 Page 6