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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMinutes - 05/12/04 WS MINUTES Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room--City Hall May 12, 2004 Noon COUNCILORS PRESENT: Bonny Bettman, George Poling, Nancy Nathanson, Scott Meisner, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Gary Papd, Jennifer Solomon. His Honor Mayor James D. Torrey called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. A. WORK SESSION: Update on Cultural Services Division City Manager Dennis Taylor introduced the item, saying that the City's cultural infrastructure was one of the things that made it unique. He said the intent of the presentation was to share the division's short- and long-term plans with the City Council. He introduced Library, Recreation, and Cultural Services (LRCS) Department Director Angel Jones, who asked the Cultural Services Advisory Committee members to indicate their presence by standing. Ms. Jones thanked the committee members for their attendance at the meeting. She then introduced Cultural Services Division Manager Robb Hankins. Ms. Solomon arrived. Mr. Hankins provided a PowerPoint presentation on the Cultural Services Division, copies of which were made available to the council. Mr. Hankins reported on the challenges faced by the division, noting that operations had been contracting for some time. He outlined some of the changes made by the division to meet its challenges, which included online ticket sales and "Wild Card Wednesdays." Mr. Hankins said that ticket sales remained constant while expenses grew, and he anticipated the gap between revenues and expenses would continue to exist and that the reserves would be drawn down. He noted the repairs needed at the Hult Center. Mr. Hankins acknowledged the challenges facing the Cuthbert Amphitheater, such as how to be competitive, were similar to those facing the Hult Center. Mr. Hankins said the division could no longer survive by cutting expenses, and planned to continue to contain costs while increasing sales, attracting new audiences, and creating new products. He anticipated the division would go beyond merely being a landlord for events. He noted the recent appearance of ~Larry the Cable Guy" at the Hult Center, a comic on the ~Blue Collar Comedy Tour," whose performance had been sold out and who had attracted new audiences to the center. Mr. Hankins said that the Hult Center needed to find out how to reach out to more diverse audiences, and it needed to be a community center for all residents as well as a performing arts center. Ms. Nathanson arrived. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 12, 2004 Page 1 Work Session Mr. Hankins emphasized the return on investment the community realized from the Hult, saying that every time a visitor stayed overnight in Eugene, the division received $2.88. He said the division was working on weekend packages built around the arts to attract more visitors to stay overnight in Eugene. In addition, he wanted the division to partner to a greater degree than in the past with the Hilton Convention Center to host conventions of all kinds, because every dollar of room tax revenue generated another $5.58 in the commu- nity. Mr. Hankins recommended the City revisit the Hult Center's priorities, and that the center begin to host more world-class artists and entertainers as well as be a true home for the community's arts organizations. He advocated for the division to take advantage of changes that were happening downtown, and to help make downtown a true arts center. Mr. Hankins spoke of the City's several resident companies and commended the quality of their performances. He also noted the many arts venues that now existed downtown and suggested the City could build on its resident companies and those other venues. Mr. Hankins called for a Cultural Services Division that looked at the %ig picture," marketing Eugene arts on a national basis, promoting cultural tourism, and working to bring the arts to all citizens. Mr. Hankins encouraged the councilors to support the arts and to talk about the arts at every opportunity. He called for more arts spaces in downtown, and suggested the City had buildings it could use for that purpose. He said University of Oregon students should be encouraged to be in downtown; he believed that would be one of the fastest ways to enhance downtown. Mr. Hankins reported that on a recent Saturday night, he had the opportunity to watch three very different cultural events: the McCornack Elementary School production of the musical ~The Sound of Music," the Eugene Concert Choir performance of Verdi's ~Requiem," and, an outdoor performance by fire jugglers and drummers at the Cafe Paradiso. He suggested that experience could only happen in Eugene. Mr. Hankins suggested as Eugene's new slogan ~America's Greatest City of the Arts and the Outdoors." He said a recent book by Richard Florida indicated economic development of the future was in the arts and the outdoors. Mr. Hankins said the 25th anniversary of the Hult Center was the perfect time to celebrate how far Eugene had come, and to prepare to create an even greater future. Mayor Torrey called on councilors for comments and questions. Mr. Kelly emphasized the importance of the division to the City's civic and economic life and suggested the arts were what kept Eugene from being just a collection of zip codes. He said the arts brought joy, education, and awareness. Mr. Kelly believed the arts were a means of calibrating the community's ~moral compass." He applauded the division's work and Mr. Hankins' enthusiasm, as well as his willingness to be creative. He believed the center needed to remain both publicly owned and publicly managed, with broad council oversight. He wanted to see more links with other performing arts groups so Eugene could be marketed as a package arts destination. Ms. Bettman thanked staff for the presentation and commended Mr. Hankin's enthusiasm and vision. She agreed with the points Mr. Hankins made in his presentation. She supported looking for niche ways of doing sustainable economic development, and felt the presentation ~hit the nail on the head." Ms. Bettman said the connection between youth and the arts should not be underestimated. All the resident arts companies had a connection to the different schools and private dance teachers, and the relatives of the MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 12, 2004 Page 2 Work Session participating youth come to all the performances, enhancing the community connection. The same was true of music. The resident companies were particularly important as music and arts were being reduced at the schools. Ms. Bettman did not want to overlook that. She thought the community did a good job in supporting sports and sports fields and said that should be extended equitably to cultural opportunities. She looked forward to the implementation of the vision presented. Ms. Bettman suggested the City could begin its marketing in a more modest and regional effort and asked what the City was doing in terms of marketing to communities such as Ashland and Medford. Mr. Hankins said the effort was just beginning, and he would know more when the growth plan was completed in the next few months. Ms. Jones added that the City could not longer afford to be just a landlord. In the past it had not actively recruited events, but limited resources forced staff to think more creatively and collaboratively. For that reason, the division was looking at a growth strategy rather than a reduction strategy. Mr. Taylor said the issue was linked to many other issues, such as downtown revitalization. He said the division was not proposing to do ~less with less"; staff wanted to find ways to make things grow and build on the vitality that made Eugene unique. He believed the 25th anniversary of the Hult Center was a chance to create a focal point around an action plan. Ms. Nathanson concurred the City could no longer afford to be merely a landlord. She recalled past proposed reduction strategies aimed to close Cultural Services Division facilities, and was thankful the City had not taken that course. She found the presentation to be exciting and important, and thanked Mr. Hankins. She agreed with everything that had been said, and pledged her assistance. Mr. Pap~ emphasized the importance of enhancing the connection between the City and University's arts events, facilities, and institutions. Mr. Pap~ agreed with Mr. Kelly about the importance of keeping the Hult Center and Cuthbert Amphithea- ter in public ownership, but did not necessarily agree that they should be managed publicly. He did not think the City should foreclose that option if necessary. Mayor Torrey expressed appreciation for the enthusiasm of Mr. Hankins and for the work of the advisory committee. He thanked committee members. He said the council should not take for granted that the center would always be in place or that its importance was recognized by all. He said he had recently heard a suggestion that crosswalks in the downtown be marked artistically with ducks to emphasize the connection between the University of Oregon and the City, and suggested such a thematic approach could be taken to create more a connection to the University. Mayor Torrey suggested a new off-ramp from I-5 at Franklin Boulevard could be signed creatively and artistically from the freeway to the downtown in a way that took advantage of the remodeled arts museum on campus and downtown arts-related activities. Mayor Torrey encouraged staff to keep pushing on the council regarding the importance of the Hult Center. Ms. Taylor thanked staff and the committee for their work. She spoke of a recent visit she made to the Hult Center, where she heard the Eugene Concert Choir and was able to forget about everything else. She noted the high priority she personally placed on the arts and recreation. Ms. Taylor thought it important to build on the assets the community already had. She concurred with Mr. Hankins about the importance of the MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 12, 2004 Page 3 Work Session University of Oregon and said she considered the Farmers Market to be a form of artistry. Ms. Taylor emphasized the importance of the Hult Center's resident companies and hoped they were not priced out of their ability to use the center. Mayor Torrey solicited a second round of comments. Mr. Kelly noted the council's goal for accessible culture and thriving recreation, and hoped the council kept that in mind during its service prioritization efforts. Mr. Kelly thanked the Cultural Services Department Advisory Committee for its hard work and also expressed his appreciation for Hult Center's resident companies. He understood how much they did with limited resources. Mr. Kelly also had an interest in greater connections between the University of Oregon and the City. He noted that he lectured occasionally at the University and learned that many students never went downtown. He thought downtown was a logical place for students to hang out. He thought there was a greater opportunity for outreach to that community, and questioned who did that outreach. Mr. Kelly suggested that the Cultural Services Division could coordinate that effort, which should also involve the Convention and Visitors Association of Lane County (CVALCO) and downtown merchants and restaurateurs. He thought there were tremendous opportunities to build upon. In response, Ms. Jones noted that the division had formed a steering committee focused on that effort. The committee included representatives of the University of Oregon, Lane Community College, and the Northwest Christian College, and the first meeting was scheduled for May 16. She hoped the steering committee would help shape how communication and collaboration occurred and that the effort would bring more students to downtown, creating new revenue- generating activities. Mr. Kelly said the Parks Blocks Placemaking Committee had discussed the potential of programming live music downtown, but Downtown Eugene, Inc. had no funding to coordinate those activities. He suggested the Cultural Services Division take on that task. B. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Eugene City Council met in executive session in accordance with Oregon Revised Statute 192.660(1)(h). The meeting adjourned at 1:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis M. Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 12, 2004 Page 4 Work Session