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Continuing, Mr. Hankins noted that the primary way the City supported cultural services in Eugene was <br />through the TRT, and because of this the division was intrinsically linked with tourism. He stressed that <br />this was why he was promoting Eugene as the Greatest City for the Arts and Outdoors. He predicted that <br />the downtown area would one day soon be complete and people would come to Eugene and to the <br />downtown area and it would be a consummate tourist experience. He underscored that every time <br />someone stayed overnight in a hotel, the division received $2.89. He .averred that any way the connection <br />could work would provide more. money for the spiritual and economic benefit of.the area. He opined that <br />arts received a low priority because people did not recognize these. benefits. He felt Eugene was prime to <br />be the place that people would want to visit when in Oregon. <br />Mr. McDonald asked for more information on Hayward Field: Ms. Hardt responded that it was a regional <br />agreement; the City along with several other partners had invested in it. City Manager Taylor said he <br />would bring a memorandum to the committee that would fully explain the loan. <br />City Manager Taylor stated that the underlying element of the present discussion was that the same <br />structural imbalance that existed in many funds also existed in the area of cultural services. He reiterated <br />that Ms. Jones and Mr. Hankins were bringing to the attention of the committee that the division could no <br />longer just keep doing what it had been doing, it would no longer be able to address the facility needs nor <br />would it be able to maintain the current mix and level of its services. He thought it possible to bring <br />forward with rigor some new ideas-that would reverse the trend and address the division's needs. He <br />stated that the presentation intended to provide a high level overview and then the division would return in <br />FY07 and FY08 with specific recommendations for the Budget Committee to consider. <br />Mr. McDonald asked if the City was exercising its right to use Hayward Field a certain amount of days of <br />the year, as guaranteed in the original loan documents. Ms. Jones replied-that the City did use the facility, <br />citing the Junior Olympics and the Hershey Track and Field Meet as two examples. She. affirmed, in <br />response to another question from Mr. McDonald, that the.City used all of the days to which it was <br />entitled. <br />In response to a question from Mr. McDonald, Mr. Hankins explained that the Automated Teller Machine <br />(ATM) installed in the Hult Center lobby was part of the growth plan experiment and, currently, the <br />machine was being used at no cost. He said that when the right machine was found, the Hult Center <br />intended to purchase it for $3,500 and would then receive all of the profits from it. <br />Ms: Bettman, seconded by Ms. Rygas, moved to extend the time allotted by five <br />minutes in order to continue the discussion: The motion passed, 11:4; Mr. Peters, <br />Mr. Kelly, Mr. Pape, and Ms. Solomon voting in opposition: <br />In response. to a question from Ms. Rygas, Ms. Jones stated that LRCS was responsible for assisting in the <br />logistics and administration of the Eugene Celebration. <br />Ms. Rygas expressed an interest in knowing.more about the public input process that the comprehensive <br />plan would utilize. She also wished to see more ideas on how the link could be made between a <br />comprehensive arts plan and economic growth. Ms. Jones responded that staff hoped the project would <br />mirror the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space comprehensive planning process, in which there was.ample <br />opportunity for public input. <br />Mr. Kelly hoped the comprehensive plan could be moved forward sooner than FY07. <br />MINUTES-Eugene Budget. Committee February 22, 2005 Page 13 <br />