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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMinutes - 11/10/04 WS MINUTES Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room--Eugene City Hall November 10, 2004 Noon COUNCILORS PRESENT: Bonny Bettman, Nancy Nathanson, Scott Meisner, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Gary Papd, Jennifer Solomon. COUNCILORS ABSENT: George Poling. Mayor James D. Torrey called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. A. ACTION: Appointments to the Planning Commission Ms. Bettman, seconded by Ms. Nathanson, moved to appoint Randy Hledik to Position 2 on the Planning Commission for a four-year term beginning November 1, 2004, and ending October 31, 2008. Ms. Bettman opined that appointing Mr. Hledik to the Planning Commission would put it "disturbingly out of balance." She felt his position with Wildish Companies and the company's contracts with the City would hinder his impartiality. She termed Mr. Hledik "very, very one-sided in his approach to issues." She recalled that the council had blocked the president of 1,000 Friends of Eugene and the Southeast Neighbors from being on the commission, someone she felt was well-qualified to fill the position. She preferred appointing Greg Ringer, who she felt would better reflect community values. She noted he had run for a seat on the Lane Board of County Commissioners and had netted 30 percent of the vote. Mr. Kelly, though he felt Mr. Hledik had interviewed well and was a "bright individual with a lot of contact with the planning process," opposed the motion because of Mr. Hledik's employment. He called the development community a critical part of the City and commented that there was nothing wrong with being a part of it. However, he asserted that the Planning Commission needed to have representation by a diversity of interests and the appointment of Mr. Hledik would not fill this need. Mr. Kelly indicated his concern also lay with a portion of the Eugene Code which dictated that no more than two members of the Planning Commission should be engaged in the purchase, sale, or development of real property. He opined that while John Lawless and Rick Duncan were both "excellent members" of the commission, both owed their livelihoods to development. He said Mr. Hledik's appointment would not be in keeping with the spirit of the code. Mr. Pap~ believed the code provision indicated that a person should be principally engaged in development. He pointed out that neither Mr. Duncan nor Mr. Lawless was principally involved with development as one was an architect and the other was an appraiser. He contended that they would not consider their livelihoods to be directly attributable to development. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 10, 2004 Page 1 Work Session Mayor Torrey expressed disappointment that in the council sessions devoted to appointments to the Budget Committee and Planning Commission there had been a couple of instances of ;;character assassination." He felt it appropriate to indicate that one did not think an individual would be the right choice in terms of his or her professional ability to deal with issues. However, he called resorting to that level of dispute a disservice to the individual and to the many citizens out in the community who might consider applying for like positions in the future. He acknowledged that Mr. Hledik held positions that some councilors might not agree with. He shared that he had many contacts with Mr. Hledik. He underscored that Mr. Hledik was an honorable person and would serve well on the Planning Commission should he be selected. Ms. Taylor disagreed that anyone had besmirched Mr. Hledik's character. She asserted that the issues at hand had only to do with the type of business Mr. Hledik conducted and how it would influence his ability to make planning recommendations. She predicted the opinions that Mr. Duncan, Mr. Lawless, and Mr. Hledik were likely to have would not be those shared by environmentalists. Mayor Torrey urged Ms. Taylor to read the Planning Commission minutes. Mr. Kelly urged the Mayor not to engage in the same %haracter assassination about councilors around the table" as he had alleged the council had done. He did not agree that anyone had said anything that could be construed as an assault on Mr. Hledik's character. He expressed disappointment that issues of character had been brought up. He said had he another option he would choose to reopen the application process in hopes of gaining a wider pool from which to choose. Mayor Torrey called for the vote. The motion passed, 4:3; Ms. Taylor, Mr. Kelly, and Ms. Bettman voting in opposition. Ms. Bettman, seconded by Ms. Nathanson, moved to appoint Phillip Hud- speth to Position 3 on the Planning Commission for a four-year term be- ginning November 1, 2004, and ending on October 31, 2008. Mr. Meisner said he was pleased to see the council balloting on this appointment. He felt this appointment would provide a true representation on the Planning Commission of a regional perspective. He thought this would be valuable to the City Council in the future. Ms. Taylor conveyed her disappointment that neither Greg Ringer nor Dan Herbert were chosen, but indicated she would support the motion. Mr. Pap~ echoed Mr. Meisner's comments. He noted the appointments would provide representation for different areas of the community. He recalled that a past council had denied an application of a worthy individual because the area of the City he resided in was already well-represented. He pointed out that the two departing commissioners were from the area south of 18th Avenue. Mr. Hudspeth's appointment would, he said, provide a representative from this area. The motion passed unanimously, 7:0. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 10, 2004 Page 2 Work Session B. WORK SESSION: Economic Development Committee Recommendations Regarding Business Facilitator/Ombudsman City Manager Taylor introduced the last recommendation from the Mayor's Committee on Economic Development. He asked Planning and Development (PDD) Director Tom Coyle to discuss the recommenda- tion. Mr. Coyle reiterated that the recommendation was forwarded from the Mayor's committee. He said one element the group looked at was permitting from a broad context of how permits moved through the system. He explained that, in response to this analysis, the committee recommended the appointment of a facilita- tor/ombudsman to fulfill three functional purposes: 1) Interdepartmental coordination; 2) Facilitation of permits, especially infill and redevelopment permits; 3) Systems improvements recommendations to senior management and recommendations on individual permitting that could be assisted. Mr. Meisner conveyed his interest in this recommendation. He recalled that he had argued for the creation of a similar position several years earlier. He asked how it was proposed to be funded. City Manager Taylor said if the position was approved, he would ask Mr. Coyle to create a decision package for consideration by the Budget Committee. He added that since the City was in the early phases of budget building, he did not have a recommendation. Mr. Meisner expressed frustration at this response, adding that he hoped to hear some ideas for how it could be funded. Mr. Kelly echoed Mr. Meisner's sentiments. He recalled that he had asked for a few funding alternatives in August. He felt the council was being asked to make a decision without fundamental information. City Manager Taylor thought it premature as the outcome of the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) case was yet unknown as were the fiscal changes resulting from the telecommunications settlement, among others. He said these elements all would change the bottom line of the budget one way or the other. Mr. Kelly suggested a different motion in lieu of these fiscal uncertainties, such as one that would direct the City Manager to return with funding alternatives for a business facilitator in fiscal year 2006. City Manager Taylor reiterated that passing the motion in every case would result in the preparation of a decision package for consideration by the Budget Committee. He said, should the motion not pass, it was unlikely it would be brought up as a recommendation from the committee or from the City Manager. Ms. Taylor said her concern lay with past reductions in the budget. She felt a %ustainability facilitator" should be appointed. She reiterated her support for the hiring of a performance auditor. She listed several areas in which more funding was needed, such as building code enforcement, neighborhood organizations, and the seismic retrofit for City Hall. She did not think another job should be created just because the committee recommended it. She indicated she would oppose the recommendation. Ms. Bettman did not understand how PDD established the need for the position, aside from the fact that it had been recommended. She saw redundancies in the services to be provided. It seemed to her the three services provided in the recommendation had been changed to shift the focus from local business. She felt expanding and locating new businesses was a function of the Metro Partnership as well as the PDD director and personnel. She thought there was no evidence that ~throwing more money at the problem" would fix it. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 10, 2004 Page 3 Work Session She alleged that the council had recently passed a motion giving the staff of the Planning Division a %road ability" to amend the code and to make recommendations for systems changes. She questioned how this new facilitator/ombudsman's authority would interact with the authority of Mr. Coyle. Mr. Coyle stated that the new position had nothing to do with action taken by the council two weeks earlier. He clarified that the previous action related to the committee's recommendations necessitated staff's returning before the council to for approval or denial of modifications to the zoning code. Prior to this, he said actions would be enabled through a series of public hearings, reviews, consideration by the Planning Commission and its public hearing process. Regarding systems changes, he asserted that few such items were submitted to him, adding that he did not think, in a theoretical sense, such systems should be refined in a way that the director did not have to be involved in facilitating a permit. Ms. Bettman declared that the money should be used in a more strategic way by determining how much the City actually spends on different economic development initiatives and researching how best to leverage that money for maximal community benefit. Then the City Council could choose to implement those economic development strategies that could quantifiably be proven to be effective. Mr. Pap~ agreed with Mr. Kelly and Mr. Meisner that a motion should be brought back in the course of the budget process and the merits of it evaluated at that point. Ms. Solomon, referring to comments made to an alleged lack of evidence demonstrating the need for the position, pointed out that a 2003 community survey had indicated that 88 percent of the community felt the City should provide problem-solving assistance to businesses for siting, development, and permitting issues and 88 percent thought the City should take an active role helping local businesses create and retain jobs. She stressed that this was the context within which the Mayor's committee made its proposal. She thought the City ought to ~give it a try." She pointed out that there was no lack of testimony as to how the planning and land use codes did not work. She recommended that to maintain the efficacy of the position, it be kept out of the PDD and placed in the City Manager's Office (CMO). She thought the level of efficacy would be dependent on the outcomes, which she suggested should be very specifically laid out by the council, and should be reviewed after two years. She supported moving forward with the recommendation. Ms. Nathanson expressed her support. She called it a ~path through bureaucracy" rather than an additional layer, as some had asserted. She agreed with comments made by Ms. Taylor regarding other things that the council was interested in finding money for. She stated that the City had conducted performance audits and had provided reports to the council. She asserted that the facilitator position was not a way to throw more money at a problem, but how the City could rearrange its money to do something better than before. She pointed out that any action taken could be undone by the next council or the Budget Committee. Mayor Torrey called for a motion. Ms. Bettman, seconded by Mr. Pap~, moved to direct the City Manager to proceed with a service level adjustment to fund a business facilitator func- tion in fiscal years 2005-06. Regarding Ms. Solomon's comments in reference to the community survey, Ms. Bettman asserted that the City spent its resources on the Community Development Department and the Metro Partnership and if they were not getting the job done, the council needed to ask why. She suggested the City should look at shifting some of those resources to a different position to ensure that this job was done. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 10, 2004 Page 4 Work Session Ms. Bettman alleged that the motion would take the policy discussion on whether this was a good idea out of the council's purview and placed it in the Budget Committee purview. She did not believe this to be appropriate. In response to a question from Ms. Bettman, City Manager Taylor said, to date, the position had been considered to be part of the PDD, but it could be placed in a different department. He added that his instruction to department heads was to build a budget based on current level assumptions. Ms. Bettman opposed the motion. She cited other areas of the City that were enduring funding cuts and asserted the position would allocate an additional $100,000 to PDD. She also objected to the nomenclature employed by staff and opined that the position should be called a "business facilitator." Mr. Meisner conveyed his support for the motion. He expressed some suspicion at staff's inability to suggest ideas for funding mechanisms. He echoed Ms. Solomon's suggestion that the position not be ensconced in the PDD. He averred it was not a "mid-level position" in a department. Additionally, he recalled that ways to pay for this sort of function had been discussed three years earlier. He noted it had been in relation to a discussion on whether to grant an extension of an enterprise zone to a major manufac- turer not in compliance with its agreement. He related that he had opposed the extension and that much of the discussion had centered on whether the moneys could be used for economic development activities. He stated that the council at the time had decided '~to put all of its eggs in one basket" and to provide no assets and no economic assistance to anyone else. He thought PDD and the CMO could look within their department structures and determine whether service improvement could be focused. Ms. Taylor asserted that should the facilitator be hired, the work assignment for the position should be delineated. She recalled that one suggestion from a symposium on sustainable economic development was to inventory existing businesses and determine how such businesses could be helped or changed. She opined that a recommendation from a committee did not mean the council had to follow through. She called some of the cuts resulting from the previous budget process "shocking." Mr. Kelly shared Mr. Meisner's questions and concerns. Mr. Kelly, seconded by Ms. Bettman, moved to amend the motion with a substitute motion to direct the City Manager to return to the City Council with funding alternatives for a business facilitator function in FY06. Mr. Kelly supported placing the position in the CMO. He did not want to support the recommendation until the budget impacts were known. Mr. Meisner suggested a friendly amendment to place the phrase "prior to the draft budget process" between the words "council" and "funding." The maker of the motion accepted the friendly amendment. Mr. Pap~ preferred the item to be in the proposed budget and highlighted by the City Manager. Mayor Torrey called for a motion to extend the time for discussion. Ms. Nathanson, seconded by Mr. Pap~, moved to extend the discussion by four minutes. The motion passed, 5:2; Ms. Taylor and Ms. Bettman voting in opposition. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 10, 2004 Page 5 Work Session Ms. Nathanson supported approval of the recommendation. City Manager Taylor preferred the motion as recommended to the council. Ms. Nathanson said this would build redundancy into the process for the Budget Committee. However, she commented that if it made the statement that there was council level interest at this time to look at this it would at least move the recommendation ahead. Mr. Pap~ asked if current staff were fulfilling what this position would do. Mr. Coyle responded that they were not. He added that the new position was interdepartmental. The motion to amend passed, 6:1; Ms. Taylor voting in opposition. The main motion, as amended, passed, 5:2; Ms. Taylor and Ms. Bettman voting in opposition. C. WORK SESSION: Overview of Approaches to Neighborhood Groups City Manager Dennis Taylor stated that the City of Eugene was "blessed with an active and engaged citizenry" and with an infrastructure that enabled it. He asked Beth Bridges, Neighborhood Services Manager for the Community Development Division of the PDD, to review the evolution of Eugene's neighborhood associations. Ms. Bridges introduced three neighborhood leaders in attendance, Charles Biggs of the Cal Young Neighborhood Association, Rob Handy of the River Road Community Organization, and Majeska Seese- Green of the Whiteaker Community Council. She noted that Mr. Biggs and Ms. Seese-Green were the co- chairs of the Neighborhood Leadership Council (NLC). Ms. Bridges provided a PowerPoint presentation on the Neighborhood Program, begun in 1973 with the adoption of the Neighborhood Organization Recognition Policy Resolution (NORP). Ms. Bettman left the meeting. Mr. Kelly expressed appreciation for the presentation. He remarked that neighborhood associations were important to him, noting his own involvement in such associations. He said there was a recurring challenge in getting additional diversity in participation. He suggested that time be set aside in the council retreat scheduled for February to consider a work plan item that would look at Attachment D, entitled IAP2 Public Participation Spectrum. He opined that neighborhoods felt that the council, at best, consulted with them and if they collaborated more it would bring out a greater diversity of people. Ms. Taylor recommended that mailings be increased. She observed that there was a direct correlation between noticing and attendance. She thought citizen involvement in decision-making made the neighbor- hoods feel their participation was important. She suggested neighbors would benefit from socializing with one another and time should be allotted for this. Additionally, she recommended that venues for meetings be convenient. Ms. Nathanson commended the presentation. Regarding Attachment D, she thought it would benefit the council to look into it and "break it down." She said, in terms of services the City offered, there were MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 10, 2004 Page 6 Work Session different approached to different service areas. She expressed concern about the relationships of neighbor- hood associations with other citizen involvement processes, such as the Budget Committee or workshops on parks or the downtown area. For problem-solving, she thought neighborhood associations were a great resource, but diversity in such associations was more difficult to achieve. She added that the social element of the associations was good in that it enabled such programs as Crime Watch and others. She called increasing neighborliness a ~laudable goal." Mr. Pap~ concurred with comments made by Mr. Kelly and Ms. Nathanson. He appreciated the presenta- tion and subsequent discussion. Regarding Attachment C, he asked how the City ensured there were four meetings annually with a minimum attendance often. Ms. Bridges responded that she placed a request with all neighborhood leaders at the end of the year for attendance records and, additionally, a staff member attended all of the general meetings and a majority of the NLC meetings. In response to another question from Mr. Pap~, Ms. Bridges stated that she considered the fourth perform- ance measure under the Definition of an Active Neighborhood, requiring that neighborhood associations submit an annual report to the City, to be met if she knew that the neighborhood had an annual goal- planning session and subsequently met at the end of the year to assess how goals were met. She said there was not a common ability for neighborhoods to achieve the measure because the NLC had stopped doing an annual report. Mr. Papd recommended that the council '~tweak" the language to accurately reflect the council's directives. Mr. Papd asked how many neighborhood associations' memberships exceeded the recommended percentage of population. Ms. Bridges replied that three of them had membership greater than eight percent of the neighborhood population. The Active Bethel Citizens and the Cal Young Neighborhood Association were double the recommended level. Ms. Bridges, in response to Mr. Meisner, stated that one way neighborhood residents could find out about meetings was to look at the public meetings schedule on line. She added that a future service enhancement staff was researching was a way for residents to sign up for online newsletter delivery. Mr. Meisner thought it unlikely that much of the citizenry was aware that they could participate in the neighborhood associations for neighborhoods they worked in. Mr. Meisner agreed that the council should look at the Public Participation Spectrum. He underscored the importance of maintaining consistency for all associations and not elevating the status of one neighborhood group over another or neighborhoods over other citizen engagement efforts. Mayor Torrey commented that neighborhood associations, when they worked, were great. He observed that neighborhood matching grants brought people together around programs about which they were excited. He remarked that the worst element he had witnessed coming from neighborhood associations were that small portions of such associations had become opportunities for small groups of people to self-select and advocate their personal opinions to the Eugene City Council. He felt such people turned off other members of neighborhoods from attending the meetings. He advised the council and staff to find a way to overcome this. He cited the Cal Young Neighborhood Association as an example of an association whose leadership was not representative of the organization. He said the newsletter paid for by the City of Eugene was used as a personal "bully pulpit" to express one person's point of view and the neighborhood did not know how to address this. He suggested the neighborhood in question be broken into four areas. Mr. Kelly asked the City Manager to consider ways to move the discussion forward. He felt many good MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 10, 2004 Page 7 Work Session ideas had been expressed around the table. He surmised that part of the reason the City did not receive annual reports from such associations was that they felt they were receiving less from the City. He noted that neighborhoods used to be able to submit a list of neighborhood needs for prioritization in the City's capital budget. Regarding attendance, he asserted that if the percentage of the City's population attending City Council meetings was the same as the percentage of neighborhoods attending neighborhood meetings, 500 people would be at every council meeting. Mr. Pap~ was impressed with the energy and commitment exhibited in the NLC meeting he had attended. He conveyed his congratulations to them. He added that the Public Participation Spectrum merited continued consideration. City Manager Taylor agreed that one of the most important strategic issues was how to get involved in civic engagement activities. He suggested that neighborhood associations should be part of the larger strategy and was linked with the whole strategy of community building. He noted that he and Police Chief Bob Lehner regularly used the 21 neighborhood associations for learning about the community. He thought by engaging the council, staff, and neighborhood groups, the city could come up with a multi-year action plan that would strengthen its civic engagement capacity. Mayor Torrey adjourned the meeting at 1:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis M. Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Ruth Atcherson & Kim Young) MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 10, 2004 Page 8 Work Session