The City Council “lost track” of economic issues over the last three years and some policies resulted in “unintended consequences,” Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey said during his sixth annual state of the city address Wednesday.
He said that Eugene has developed a reputation “as a city that is not open for business,” and that he is working with a consulting firm to create a questionnaire for prospective businesses to determine what it will take to bring businesses into Eugene and keep them here.
“Business as usual in Eugene just won’t get it done,” he said.
City Councilor David Kelly, whose district includes the University, said Torrey should have mentioned specific incidents before talking about unintended consequences.
“To me, his comments go back to an old dichotomy,” Kelly said. “I don’t believe there is a dichotomy of jobs versus regulation or the environment.”
Kelly said problems lie not in the regulations the city has passed, but in the city staff’s implementation of the regulation.
Torrey addressed University President Dave Frohnmayer directly during the speech and proposed a new park-and-ride site in the Autzen Stadium parking lot. His plan would also include widening and reinforcing the Autzen Footbridge and using the same type of shuttle buses used by Lane Transit District’s Breeze program.
“We’ve got a (transportation) problem here, and we have to start considering unique and creative solutions,” Torrey said.
Councilor Betty Taylor was adamantly opposed to Torrey’s plans to run vehicles down the footpath.
“I think it’s an unacceptable idea,” she said. “It would do a lot of damage to the wetland area down there.”
The mayor also expressed concern about the tax base lost with companies such as Symantec and PeaceHealth moving to Springfield, but he said their decision to remain close to their old homes saved jobs.
Torrey said he will gather all Lane County elected officials soon and attempt to combine services and streamline budgets, in hopes that any money saved will mean lesser cuts to schools.
Although Kelly and Taylor said Torrey’s attempt is a good idea, neither thought much would come from it. Taylor said a better idea would be to combine the 4J and Bethel school districts and save money by streamlining that administration.