Committee drafting economic plan.

Byline: Edward Russo The Register-Guard

Eugene businesswoman Gretchen Pierce knows the drill: Invest a bunch of time on a public advisory committee, then see your recommendations gather dust on a shelf.

Still, Pierce and 15 other Eugene residents recently accepted an invitation by Mayor Jim Torrey to be on the mayor's Committee on Economic Development. In August, members are supposed to produce a list of job-growth ideas that the mayor and City Council might ultimately adopt as part of a strategy.

But first committee members must agree what role, if any, city government should play in what are mainly private-sector decisions.

Government agencies in the past two decades have ignored some of the suggestions contained in previous economic development studies.

Pierce, for example, was chairwoman of the 1994 City Council Committee on Economic Development. The group's report was "received and essentially dismissed," Pierce said. "That was troubling."

The current committee was called into being by Torrey, who is a lame duck mayor with only slightly more than nine months left in office. The council may - or may not - accept the committee's suggestions.

"The (committee's) report is not going to be rubber-stamped by anybody," Torrey concedes.

Add this political uncertainty to the mix: In addition to turnover in the mayor's post, four of the eight council seats are up for election this year.

"I want the council to adopt a new economic development strategy by November," Torrey said. "That doesn't mean a new mayor or council can't change it. But these are what the rules will be today, and these are the goals today."

Eugene and all of Oregon have struggled with an economic slump for the past three years, as high-tech and other manufacturing firms closed or cut back. The state's jobless rate has been among the highest in the nation for more than a year.

Pierce, president of commercial real estate investment firm Hult & Associates, said she volunteered for the committee because job creation is important. She noted that the best-known mayoral candidates - Nancy Nathanson and Kitty Piercy - have mentioned economic development as a priority.

"That gives me reason to think that whoever is elected will be interested in our recommendations," Pierce said.

To develop a report, the committee will review the city's prior economic development studies and examine a range of issues. These will include possible expansion of the city's urban growth boundary, the supply of industrial and commercial land, the city's regulatory environment, and its efforts to recruit and keep businesses.

Given the outcome of several prior panels during the past two decades, some members of Torrey's group have doubts about what they can accomplish. During their first meeting, on March 8, there was reportedly a brief debate about whether the committee should disband.

Committee member Craig Wanichek said the presentation of the group's report to the mayor and city councilors in the summer will put the topic of economic development in the spotlight, at least for a while.

Even with a new mayor and the possibility of new council members next year, elected officials will have to react to the recommendations, Wanichek said.

The report is "going to be out on the table and they will have to deal with it," he said.

Yet getting to a completed report will not be easy, said Wanichek, vice president of Sterling Savings Bank.

Under the group's rules, 12 of the 16 committee members must agree on a recommendation before it can go to the mayor and council, he noted. Committee members represent a variety of viewpoints on economic development, Wanichek said.

Some members might be inclined to support tax incentives for business recruitment, he said, while others would not favor such breaks.

Seventy-five percent member approval "is a high threshold for consensus, given that the committee comes from some very strong political points of view," Wanichek said.

Panel members are: Tom Bowerman, real estate investor; Marcia Edwards, Windermere/Jean Tate Real Estate; Jim Forbes, of Looking Glass; Bill Goldsmith; Don Kahle, Wink magazine; Kartar Khalsa, Golden Temple foods; Steve Korth, McKay Investments; Michael Phinney, Full City Coffee; Joshua Proudfoot, Good Company; Marvin Re'Voal, Pacific Benefit Planners; Rusty Rexius, Rexius Forest By-Products; Jana Rygas, Eugene Budget Committee; Kathy Smith, KJ Smith Associates; Ellen Teninty, economist; Wanichek; and Pierce.