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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMinutes - 09/27/04 Mtg MINUTES Eugene City Council Regular Session Council Chamber--City Hall September 27, 2004 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Bonny Bettman, George Poling, Nancy Nathanson, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Jennifer Solomon, Scott Meisner, Gary Papd (via telephone). Council President Bonny Bettman called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. Mayor James D. Torrey was unable to attend as he was out of the country on a Sister City trip. 1. CEREMONIAL MATTERS - Proclamation for "American Dream Campaign" On behalf of Mayor Torrey, Council President Bonny Bettman read a proclamation for the ~American Dream Campaign" into the record. Councilor Nathanson said, in her role on the Board of Directors of the National League of Cities (NLC), she had participated in reviewing information presented to the NLC for several months and in endorsing this national campaign, which would be officially launched on September 28. She stated that more than 70 cities had signed up to adopt proclamations, create resolutions, and convene special meetings to discuss the topic of achieving the American dream. She related that cities across the country were being asked to do this so that the National League could focus attention on issues of fairness, opportunity, and a chance to succeed. She acknowledged these things were becoming more difficult, improvement was needed, and the cities needed to panner with the federal government to facilitate such improvement. Councilor Nathanson cited compelling statistical information on how much the federal government used to contribute to local municipal and county governments. She stated that what was contributed today was a fraction of what had been contributed in the 1960s and 1970s. While the NLC understood that budget priorities had become more complex at all levels of government, it recognized that at the city level, attention needed to be focused on citizens and what they need to achieve the ~American Dream." She hoped this would renew the attention of Congress and the current and future administrations on what was going on in towns across the nation. While a number of policy issues were debated at the federal level, municipal governments were being left behind. She reported that, when discussions on how much money should be spent on child care, affordable housing, or education and how it was allocated, city councilors across the nation participated as best they could through state and NLC to make sure federal dollars could be maximized in local spending. In closing, Councilor Nathanson thanked the Mayor and the City Manager for placing this item on the agenda so that the City of Eugene could join the other cities across the nation in starting this new national campaign to draw attention to these issues. She wished to particularly highlight Eugene's work in MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 27, 2004 Page 1 Regular Session affordable housing over the past two decades. She said to the extent the City could help people in times of crisis and emergency and also create situations where people were in a position to purchase their first home or have security for their family, it should. She thanked Councilor Bettman for reading the proclamation and reiterated her commitment to continue to call on the state and federal partners to help the cities in the areas of fairness, equality, housing, jobs, and education. 2. PUBLIC FORUM Council President Bettman reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Matthew Shuler, 890 West 36th Avenue, spoke regarding the recommendation to classify the Crest Drive corridor as a collector street. He appreciated the work City staff had put into this and felt the final result would be improved by the involvement of the neighbors. He averred the neighborhood was already well- served by a series of three strategically located collector streets which were adequate to handle the current and projected traffic counts. He felt the need for additional neighborhood traffic capacity was mitigated by the location of this area abutting the urban growth boundary (UGB). With no Eugene neighborhoods beyond to the south and the west, he asserted that adjacent neighborhoods to the north and east were separated and served by existing collectors and this made the designation of another collector in this area redundant. He also believed further development of the Ridgeline Trail system would preclude development in the surrounding area and that the Region 2050 study did not project growth in that direction. He said designation of a new collector and improvements in the infrastructure would encourage more cut-through traffic from the County. He felt the City and its residents should not be assessed for improvements that would only encourage more vehicles to leave existing collectors for perceived shortcuts through residential neighborhoods. He noted the council had decided not to convert a two-block segment of Willamette Street into a two-way street because of neighborhood testimony that it would negatively impact them. Continuing, Mr. Shuler stressed that, without the collector designation, the Crest corridor already received priority ice and snow removal and emergency vehicles were able to traverse every street in the area. He suggested that, if the goal was to increase connectivity and balance, it could best be prioritized through the Sundial Road connection and the 40th Avenue extension projects. He felt the need to repair existing roadways, create pedestrian amenities, and install some form of traffic calming could be accomplished within the existing street designation. Bruce Miller, PO Box 50968, provided testimony in writing. He suggested that Downtown Eugene, Incorporated (DE1) move its office into the Hilton Hotel. He called the number of businesses that had closed in downtown Eugene, which he estimated to be 150, ;;horrible." He thought some people should be removed from the Eugene Chamber of Commerce and DE1 because they were not doing their jobs. He felt most businesses in the downtown area were bringing in only enough income to make their payrolls. Lisa Warnes, 5020 Nectar Way, came as a representative of her neighborhood. She conveyed their deep concern regarding a 38-acre parcel that bordered Nectar Way, now owned by Joe Green. She explained that he was willing to sell it to the City for $600,000 and she hoped the City would consider purchasing it. She said the land was forested, with a large trail system, and numerous wildlife including Pileated woodpeckers, a sensitive species. She advocated for preservation of the area as it was valuable to everyone in the Eugene/Springfield area. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 27, 2004 Page 2 Regular Session John Brown, 1260 Chamelton Street, said he valued the open space in the community and encouraged the City to acquire as much as it could. He wished to address some of the open space that the City already owned, the river front. He related that the previous Saturday morning he counted four encampments and one fire between Valley River Center and Beltline Road and on Sunday morning he counted three camps and a stolen vehicle, partially stripped, parked mere feet from the river. He pointed out that the City owned a jet boat. He felt the City had the resources and the people power to enforce park violations and asked the council to help keep the river clean. Lucy Lahr, 2085 Pierce Street, believed it important that when public money was used for economic development, the City should receive the best return on its investment. She encouraged the City Council to think about what return citizens should get on its investment when tax dollars were diverted into an enterprise zone. She suggested the following standards to strengthen such a zone: 1) Good jobs that pay family wages and not poverty wages; 2) Jobs hired from the local community first; 3) Jobs that provide a career ladder, training, and promotional opportunities; and 4) Good employers who would remain neutral should workers want to form a union. Ms. Lahr advocated for refraining from supporting anti-union employers with public money. She felt there should be a provision that would allow the City to recover its money if employers do not deliver on job creation targets or leave before an agreed upon period of time. Ms. Lahr commented that the recent expensive and "ridiculous" hospital switching between Eugene and Springfield had left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. Ms. Lahr submitted written testimony from Ron Teninty, who was unable to testify at the Public Forum. Virginia Starling, 3302 Storey Boulevard, spoke as a representative of concerned citizens of the Crest Drive area. She noted the agenda for the public meeting scheduled for Wednesday, September 29, was planned to last three hours, two of which would be a design session for the proposed street classification. She related that neighborhood members had not received any information on street classification designation and the impact of various options. She said neighbors were eager to learn about it. She asked for time on the agenda at the beginning of the meeting to address exactly what street classification options were open to the neighbors and that staff provide documentation of specific parameters for those classifications. Charles Biggs, 540 Antelope Way, said he had heard on the news that the City Council was considering a tax increase to pay for the backlog of needed road maintenance and repairs. He expressed concern that citizens could not afford to contribute any more money. He cited an article in The Oregonian from the previous week documenting that expenses had risen four times faster than the median income. He was perplexed that the council was continuing to choose to spend money in a way that was not wise as far as taxpayers were concerned. He felt taxpayers expected the council to spend the tax revenue in an efficient way. He recommended the City cut spending to cover the expense of needed road repairs. Jim Borg, 677 Spyglass, president and owner of Oregon Precision Industries, spoke in regard to the work session scheduled to discuss the enterprise zone. He wished to express his support and share his positive experience as a beneficiary of an existing enterprise zone. He shared that his business had received a loan in 1995 for the sum of $110,000, which it subsequently paid back, and more recently it received a loan for MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 27, 2004 Page 3 Regular Session $250,000 which would be fully paid off in 2006. He explained that his product was shipped out of state and all of the revenue remained here. He said sales had increased from $3 million annually to $13 million annually and the number of employees had increased from 25 to 75. He credited the enterprise zone for helping his business to grow and succeed. He felt the business would have grown without it, but not to the great extent the zone had enabled. He offered to provide more information should councilors wish to contact him. Gary Gillespie, 790 East 23rd Avenue, spoke on behalf of the Program Committee of the Eugene/Springfield Solidarity Network (ESSN). He said ESSN was the ;;Jobs With Justice" affiliate working on the establishment as a critical component of economic development. He strongly encouraged the council to include the following concepts as an integral part of any enterprise zone designation: 1) There should be a required threshold of number of jobs per investment; 2) The jobs should be markedly above the County median and should pay benefits markedly above the County median; 3) The publicly subsidized jobs should have the opportunity for promotion and a career ladder; 4) All publicly subsidized employers should agree to union neutrality and card check recognition clauses; 5) No public funds should be used by employers to wage anti-union campaigns; 6) Contract negotiations not completed in six months should be subject to binding arbitration; 7) Hiring practices should include affirmative action and should stress the hiring of locals and this money should not be used to move businesses from Eugene to Springfield or other parts of Lane County; and 8) Should benefactors of this public funding fail to deliver, they should have to reimburse the City. Bob Cassidy, 1401 East 27th Avenue, felt vandalism on campaign signs had reached excessive levels. He asked the City Council to raise the visibility of this issue prior to the next election. He asserted it could not be treated as a student prank and advocated for taking a more proactive stance. Rob Handy, 455-½ River Road, asked for council support for a comprehensive public process for planning future uses of the Union Pacific rail yard. He recommended this planning be supported in the next Planning Commission work plan. He averred that Eugene had benefited from such public process in previous planning endeavors, citing in particular the work on downtown planning. Sharon Banks, 1010 Main Street, Springfield, thanked the City of Eugene for continuing to use 20 percent biodiesel, a renewable resource, to fuel the City's diesel vehicles and equipment and for the recent decision to replace the 80-percent fraction with ultra-low sulfur diesel with an Environmental Protection Agency- approved catalyst. She stated that this blend of diesel was cleaner and more cost-effective. She said the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority (LRAPA) secured a grant to reimburse Eugene five cents per gallon to offset the cost. She averred this fuel would improve the air quality of Eugene by reducing diesel particulates by up to 25 percent, reducing oxides of nitrogen by 10 percent, and by reducing carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons, as well. Ms. Banks wished to especially thank Carlos Davis, Keith Nicholson, and the staff at Fleet Services for helping to make this change. She said LRAPA would continue to work with public fleets and then would focus on private fleets to implement to this new fuel. In closing, she lauded Eugene for leading the way. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 27, 2004 Page 4 Regular Session Councilor Bettman closed the Public Forum and called for council comments. Councilor Pap6 said, regarding the availability of acreage south of town, he would appreciate a memorandum from the City Manager. He recalled that the City had an opportunity earlier on to buy the property for $325,000. He thought purchasing it for $600,000 would be a misuse of public funds. Councilor Pap6 appreciated that Crest Drive neighbors came to testify. He said he would like more information on whether there were other neighborhoods on the periphery of the City that had arterials or collectors running through them. Continuing, Councilor Pap6 thanked Mr. Borg for speaking about enterprise zones. He felt the testimony to be very valuable as it spoke eloquently about the benefits of such a zone. Regarding the rail yard, Councilor Pap6 said the City would like to conduct updated planning for all of the city. He welcomed Mr. Handy's input in the Budget Committee process to see if funding could be found for such planning. Councilor Kelly thanked everyone who came before the council and testified. He noted that one thing he heard in the Crest Drive statement was that current standards could be disregarded because they were about to be revised. He asked the City Manager to provide a memorandum in order to clarify what standards were being used. Councilor Kelly said as he understood enterprise zones, they were entirely based upon the forgiveness of property taxes. He asked staff to clarify that for him as Mr. Borg's testimony had indicated he received loans through the zone. Councilor Kelly noted that The Register-Guard had called the property that bordered Nectar Way one of the most distinctive natural areas remaining in Eugene. He hoped the City would give every attention to its importance as part of the Ridgeline Trail system. Regarding the political lawn sign vandalism, Councilor Kelly suggested looking to the City Recorder's office to issue a clear statement regarding such signs. City Manager Dennis Taylor felt this was the appropriate response. Councilor Kelly said much time was spent talking about available land supply and land development. While he realized that the rail yard carried significant challenges, he also felt it carried tremendous opportunity over the long haul as it was approximately 400 acres and centrally located. He expressed distress at staff's response that the City had no money to do planning for the property and that it was waiting for someone to offer to buy it. He encouraged staff to be proactive. Councilor Meisner thanked everyone who testified. He shared that he walked along the river path and that Mr. Brown was correct: there were continuing and escalating problems. He noted that the Budget Committee approved and the council ratified fee increases to restore the river bank clean-up program. He requested a memorandum providing a status report as well as information on what is currently not working. Councilor Meisner said, with respect to the River Road/Santa Clara area, that it was an opportunity site and required the City's interest in planning. He acknowledged there were many steps to take, including MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 27, 2004 Page 5 Regular Session annexation. He related that he worked constantly with Union Pacific Railroad, mostly on passenger rail issues. He stated that all of the delays in passenger rail were attributable to freight use. He commented that Union Pacific Railroad reported monthly in Salem that one of its continuing problems, in hindsight, lay with its decision to abandon the freight yards of Eugene. He felt there was no absolute assurance that Union- Pacific Railroad would not restore some of its activities there, nor would it likely ever entirely vacate the rail yards. He also thought it was unlikely that the area would ever be easily accessible. Councilor Taylor thanked all those who spoke in the Public Forum. She expressed hope that the City could act hastily on the 38-acre parcel, adding that it could be obtained through condemnation if necessary. Councilor Taylor asked the City Manager if it was possible to provide the information Ms. Starling requested at the beginning of the public meeting with Crest neighbors on September 29. Councilor Taylor felt that the City needed to make it clear that vandalizing political signs was a crime. Continuing, Councilor Taylor shared her skepticism regarding enterprise zones. She thought the suggestions made by ESSN were very important as the community should receive something in return for their investment. She was also curious about the loan program. She opined that making loans to small businesses was a good idea, but could be done without an enterprise zone. Councilor Bettman thanked those who testified. She noted that testimony from the Crest Drive neighborhood indicated they had not received all of the answers they were seeking. City Manager Taylor responded that, to his knowledge, all questions asked at the previous meeting had been answered in writing prior to seven days before the next meeting, as requested. Councilor Bettman was encouraged by information that neighbors would be able to participate in a design charette. While she recognized there was still the issue of street designation as local or connector, she encouraged the participants to select a section of street and design it just the way they wanted it. She affirmed she would be attending the meeting. Regarding the enterprise zone, Councilor Bettman conveyed her appreciation for Mr. Borg's testimony. She asked staff to take the comments from everyone who spoke about economic development and respond to them. She alleged that community standards had been brought before the Economic Development Committee and staff had ~veered" committee members away from them. Councilor Bettman agreed with Mr. Brown that crime and litter along the river front was a big issue. She said the larger issue was that there were not enough places for homeless people to live. She predicted that the council, with a new mayor and two new councilors, would be able to address the issue more ~holistically." 2. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes - September 13, 2004, Work Session - September 13, 2004, City Council Meeting B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 27, 2004 Page 6 Regular Session C. Approval of Resolution 4812 Amending Eugene City Council Operating Agreements and Repealing Resolution Number 4777 Councilor Poling, seconded by Councilor Nathanson, moved approval of the Consent Calendar. City Manager Taylor pointed out that staff had provided copies of the corrected Operating Agreements to the council. He added that it was not necessary to vote to amend the resolution as the corrections were not substantive. Councilor Pap6 offered the following correction to the minutes of the Regular Session of the Eugene City Council held on September 13, 2004: · Page 8, paragraph 10: ~Councilor Pap~ wanted to know what the people property owners thought prior to voting. He opined that the repercussions would go far beyond this street project. He suggested that it was not the highest priority safety item in the City and it would mm back some of the good will of the residents the City had worl~ed hard to establish should the City force annexation." No one objected to the correction. Councilor Kelly noted he had submitted corrections to the minutes via email. Councilor Bettman said that, without objection, they were approved. Councilor Meisner also submitted a correction via email. Councilor Bettman deemed the correction, without objection, approved. Councilor Bettman said she submitted corrections to the minutes by email. Seeing no objections, she deemed them approved. Roll call vote; the Consent Calendar was unanimously approved, 8:0. The meeting adjourned at 8:28 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis M. Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Ruth Atcherson) MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 27, 2004 Page 7 Regular Session