CC Minutes - 02/09/09 Work Session

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Mr. Zelenka, seconded by Mr. Clark, moved to direct the City Manager to report back to the council by August 2010, following the development of a community energy action plan in conjunction with the community climate action plan that will aim to reduce total, community-wide fossil fuel consumption 50 percent by 2030 (as an absolute not a per capita reduction) by (1) establishing targets for achieving that goal; (2) identifying strategies to achieve those targets; (3) identifying neces- sary adaptations; (4) developing measures for tracking success; (5) identifying fi- nancial impacts, and (6) including periodic progress reports back to the community with annual reports of progress to the Sustainability Commission. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Mr. Zelenka, seconded by Mr. Clark moved to direct the City Manager to under- take a scoping and resource plan for the development of a food security plan in con- junction with community partners and report back to the council by January 2010. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. C. WORK SESSION Use of Facility Reserves – Next Steps on Police Patrol Facility Mr. Ruiz referred to the extensive discussion over many years about a City Hall complex and police facility. He said the council’s last policy guidance in 2007 was for staff to develop a patrol facility concept design for the Lane Transit District (LTD) site on Garfield Street and continue to explore acquisition of other potential sites in the area. He said last year the Budget Committee had made recommendations about the use of Facility Reserve funds, but the council did not act on those. He requested policy guidance prior to spending any money from the Facility Reserve. He introduced Facilities Manager Mike Penwell to discuss a patrol facility. Mr. Penwell said concerns related to the current City Hall had been studied and well documented, including space, aging systems and seismic vulnerability. He said there were a number of decisions to be made about the City Hall facility, but staff recommended proceeding with a police patrol facility in order to get first responders into a safe, adequate space. The Facility Reserve had been established for just such a purpose. He said progress had already been made with the move of 9-1-1 and property and forensics to other facilities and a patrol facility seemed to be the next logical step in moving public safety services out of the building. Ms. Piercy felt the best outcome for the council’s discussion was taking the time to obtain all of the information necessary to make a good decision before taking sides on the issue and passing a motion. She wanted to know how dangerous City Hall was to all those who worked in the building, not just patrol functions. Mr. Penwell said the types of earthquakes that occurred in Western Oregon were subductions where one plate slid beneath another. He said based on geological and historical records those earthquakes occurred every 300 to 600 years and subduction zone earthquakes tended to be 9 to 9.5 on the Richter scale and last four to six minutes; the City Hall building would not withstand such an event. He said codes established two safety levels for structures: one was a life/safety level that meant people could get out of a building after an earthquake even if the building had to be demolished later; the second was a central facility level applicable to fire stations, police facilities, schools and hospitals. He said that level was intended to increase the likelihood that the building was operational after a seismic event. An analysis of City Hall by several engineers indicated it would not withstand even a moderate earthquake. He said it had been slightly over 300 years since the last subduction zone earthquake and the State estimated the risk of another one at approximately two-percent per year. MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 9, 2009 Page 5 Work Session