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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 06/11/07 City Council Meeting M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber—Eugene City Hall June 11, 2007 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Jennifer Solomon, Andrea Ortiz, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka, Chris Pryor, George Poling, Bonny Bettman. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Betty Taylor. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the regular meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the public forum. Jozef Siekiel-Zdzienicki , 1025 Taylor Street, understood that the City Council had given a directive to the th Lane Transit District (LTD) on October 19, 2006, that the West 11 Avenue corridor be designated the next thth EmX route. He proposed using 6 Avenue and 7 Avenue and Highway 99 instead. He asserted that the streets in question were wide enough already and had the capacity for the EmX. He thought business th owners would try and shut down the idea of West 11 Avenue route if the City tried to implement it. He asked the council to give LTD a different directive. Ruth Duemler , 1245 Fircrest Drive, said she was not surprised to see the article in the The Register-Guard regarding the filing of a labor grievance by the Eugene Police Employees Association (EPEA) over contract issues having to do with the Police Auditor’s office. She opined that the EPEA was “attempting to reduce the power” of the auditor. She stated that the citizens had voted for the formation of the auditor’s office and the citizens wanted it to be “free of the City Manager, free of the police department.” She asserted that the citizens wanted the office and the Civilian Review Board (CRB) to be able to speak up and be accountable to the citizens of the city of Eugene. She was unhappy to see this “brought up again.” She wanted another review of the past police complaints because she believed that the public had not had access to the information through the prior investigations. Donovan Burchell , 1350 Elkay Drive, stated that he had been working on a school project concerning the condition of the roads. He proposed that fines for all non-motorized vehicles be halved. He related that he had heard overwhelming support for wider bicycle lanes and for more of them. He said there were not enough bicycle lanes, especially in the downtown area. Joe Collins , Woodtique Condominiums, 2233 Hawkins Lane, recalled that he had suggested a number of budget cuts at the last council meeting. He related that he had taught English in California until his retirement in 1993. At that time he moved to his current residence. He reiterated his allegations regarding drug activity in the adjacent condominium. He said he had raised his concerns repeatedly with the Eugene MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 11, 2007 Page 1 Regular Meeting Police Department (EPD) and the Woodtique Homeowners Association but he did not feel his allegations were adequately looked into. He stated that further information was available on his Web site seethelaw- suck.com. Zachary Vishanoff , Patterson Street, commended City Manager Dennis Taylor for his work. He likened City Manager Taylor’s departure to “shooting the messenger.” He regretted that the City would be “kicked off center” at a time of key growth. Mr. Vishanoff averred that the Police Chief had done a good job. He was glad that the Police Auditor’s office was in place. He hoped that the populace would not consider the Police Auditor to be a “magic bullet” that would take care of the problems. He felt the taser proposal was going “around the back door” of the police reform and public trust. He considered the whole council to be a police review board. He urged councilors, if they had any misgivings about the use of tasers, to hold back. He did not want a controversial item like tasers, which could potentially kill people, to come into play at this time. Mr. Vishanoff passed out copies of Radical Evolution to half of the council and indicated he would bring more copies to the next meeting. He noted that he had already given a copy to Mayor Piercy. Mark Rabinowitz , PO Box 51222, Eugene, noted that the council had just been provided a presentation by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) on the Interstate 5 bridge project over the Willamette River. He understood that $70 million was allocated for the bridge construction and that $110 million was allocated for collateral projects, which he considered to be “unspecified costs.” He wanted the City to require a breakdown of the costs. He asserted that if the bridge was built to the standard of the width of Interstate 5, money could be saved and a “fancier bridge” could be built. He did not believe that traffic would increase between now and 2030. He alleged that as gasoline became more expensive and “gas rationing was implemented,” traffic would be reduced. He believed that part of the environmental impact of the bridge was its size. Mr. Rabinowitz registered his unhappiness with the basketball arena, which he asserted was erroneously proclaimed to be a carbon-neutral project. He said he had heard that LTD would spend more money on the EmX route because mistakes had been made on the original route. He closed by saying that accountability was the prerequisite for democracy. Majeska Seese-Green , PO Box 1214, Eugene, said she had been pleased by Ed Russo’s article in the newspaper regarding the City’s city manager/city council form of government. She thought the piece in the paper written by the EPEA representative complained about things having to do with the independent police auditor related to this form of government. She had sought to learn about the City’s form of government and understood it to delineate that the City Manager and the City Council had equal power but that the power was carried out in different ways. She believed that the community needed to have a discussion about the city government and that it needed to revisit the City Charter. th Eric Gran , 808 West 10 Avenue, recalled that he had come before the Budget Committee and City Council one year earlier because the situation at Monroe Park had reached a crisis. He said there had been groups of 50 to 60 “partiers,” drug dealers and users, prostitutes performing sexual acts on “johns,” and other situations that compromised the safety of people who wished to use the park for recreation. He stated that police bicycle patrol teams had been funded to improve the behavior of the park users and the improvement there had been profound. He asserted that the funding had been diverted and he was already MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 11, 2007 Page 2 Regular Meeting seeing an “upswing” in drug dealing. He urged the council to continue its support for funding for the bicycle patrols. Mayor Piercy closed the public forum and invited comments and questions from councilors. She noted, regarding Mr. Gran’s testimony, that the topic had been brought up in the preceding work session and Councilor Bettman had requested a memorandum on urban core bicycle patrols from Police Chief Bob Lehner. Councilor Solomon said she had polled her colleagues to determine if there was interest in having a discussion on the city manager/city council form of government and there were not enough votes to devote a work session to the subject. Councilor Ortiz thanked everyone for coming to testify in the Public Forum. She said she was interested in the testimony regarding fines to bicyclists. She thought there was some merit to Mr. Burchell’s suggestion. She opined that there should be some bonus to people who choose to ride their bicycles. She requested a copy of the fine structure for bicycle tickets. City Manager Dennis Taylor agreed to outline the rationale behind the fines. He noted that a transportation subcommittee tried to address concerns about widening and increasing the bicycle lanes. Councilor Ortiz also wished to underscore her support for continued bicycle patrols of Monroe Park. Councilor Bettman opined that the City was spending a lot to revitalize the downtown area and “if staff had their way we would spend over $100 million to do it.” She noted her request for a memorandum from the Police Chief regarding whether funding had changed for the bicycle patrols. Councilor Bettman commented that she was “alarmed” to read that the Police Auditor had not been monitoring investigations. She believed that the ordinance provided for the Police Auditor, in collaboration with the Police Chief to work out the protocols regarding how this would happen. She wondered what obstacle was preventing the Police Auditor from doing this job. City Manager Taylor indicated that he would have City Attorney Sharon Rudnick speak to the council about the bargaining sessions. Councilor Bettman alleged that the EPEA was undermining oversight of the complaints against officers, adding that this was discouraging to her. Councilor Poling stated, in response to testimony on the EmX, that the council did not give any direction to th use West 11 Avenue as a transit corridor. He said he had made the recommendation to consider a West Eugene route and that different possibilities be included in this initial consideration. He also clarified that businesses did not shut down the Coburg Road route, the subcommittee stakeholder group which included residents, business people, and elected officials had decided that having a route in the area would not work for the commercial or residential areas along the corridor. Councilor Poling thanked Councilor Solomon for her comments on polling the council about whether to have a work session to discuss the form of government. He wished to underscore that neither Councilor Solomon nor himself favored changing the current form of government. He said they wanted to have an open discussion in public purview on the forms of government that were out there in order to make very clear what the expectations were to the next city manager hired. MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 11, 2007 Page 3 Regular Meeting 2. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes - February 22, 2007, Joint Elected Officials Public Hearing B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda Councilor Ortiz, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved to approve the items on the Consent Calendar. Councilor Bettman noted she had submitted a correction to the minutes. Mayor Piercy deemed the corrections, without objection, approved. Roll call vote; the motion to approve the Consent Calendar passed unanimously, 7:0. Mayor Piercy adjourned the meeting of the Eugene City Council and convened the meeting of the Eugene Urban Renewal Agency at 8:03 p.m. 3. PUBLIC HEARING and ACTION: Resolution 1043 of the Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Eugene Adopting the Budget, Mak- ing Appropriations, and Declaring the Amount of Tax to be Certified for the Fiscal Year Begin- ning July 1, 2007, and Ending June 30, 2008 City Manager Taylor recommended the adoption of the budget as proposed. He noted that it had been unanimously recommended by the Budget Committee. Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing. Seeing no one who wished to speak, she closed the public hearing. Councilor Bettman said normally action would not be taken immediately after a public hearing. City Attorney Jerry Lidz clarified that the rule that prohibited taking action immediately after a public hearing pertained to ordinances and not to resolutions. Councilor Bettman averred that the resolution certified to the assessor the authority to proceed and collect taxes to support the Urban Renewal Agency’s activities. She said she would oppose it as she felt it shifted tax money from schools and general funds to what she referred to as “some pretty wild plans.” Mayor Piercy thanked the Budget Committee for all of their work. She noted that Councilor Taylor was absent because she was attending a conference. Urban Renewal Agency President Ortiz, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved to adopt Resolution 1043 of the Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Eugene adopting the budget, making appropriations, and declaring the amount of tax to be certified for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2007, and ending June 30, 2008. Roll call vote; the motion passed 6:1; Councilor Bettman voting in opposition. MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 11, 2007 Page 4 Regular Meeting Mayor Piercy adjourned the meeting of the Eugene Urban Renewal Agency and reconvened the meeting of the Eugene City Council at 8:07 p.m. 4. PUBLIC HEARING and ACTION: Resolution 4909 Adopting a Supplemental Budget; Making Appropriations for the City of Eugene for the Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 2006, and Ending June 30, 2007 Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing. John Barofsky , 2010 Hubbard Lane, thanked Kitty Murdoch, Budget Manager for the Central Services Department, for providing him with information about the supplemental budget. He said he had reviewed it and did not see much out of the ordinary. He favored most of the changes, such as the half-day seminar for creating multi-cultural alliances and the increase of funding to the Neighborhood Matching Grants. He had one question regarding $200,000 in stolen wire. He had not seen the memorandum discussing it, written by Public Works Maintenance Director Jeff Lankston, that the budget referred to and he hoped that ways to mitigate the situation were being explored. He also wondered how much of the Unappropriated Ending Fund Balance (UEFB) would be brought forward to the beginning working capital. Ms. Murdoch indicated that they would not know the amount of marginal working capital until the audit was completed in the fall. City Manager Taylor asked Executive Director for the Public Works Department, Kurt Corey, to speak about the stolen copper wire. Mr. Corey explained that 100,000 feet of copper wire had been lost to theft over the previous summer and fall at a total cost of $375,000. He said the supplemental budget request represented the amount above what the department could afford to replace. He further explained that the loss of wiring and lighting was occurring on off street bicycle paths and was not eligible for road funds. Mayor Piercy closed the public hearing. Councilor Bettman noted that $75,000 had been deducted from the Central Services Department expendi- tures on City Attorney appropriations and reassigned to other departments of the City. She asked if that was all for attorney services in those departments. Jim Carlson, Executive Director for the Central Services Department, replied that this was something the City did every year and the money was all for legal services. He explained that when the budget was developed General Fund legal services were allocated to departments based on historical trends. He stated that a contingency line item was maintained in the Central Services Department and this was the time of the year when actual expenditures for legal services were reviewed and accounting adjustments were made. He underscored that the City did this every year. Councilor Bettman asked why the City’s insurance did not pay for copper wire theft. She averred that the City had a “huge” risk reserve. Mr. Carlson replied that the basic answer to the question was that the risk fund did not cover capital improvements that were not inside of facilities. He noted that, as an example, the City’s insurance did not pay for damage to streets or to storm sewers. Councilor Bettman repeated her question, asserting that theft was theft and should be covered. Mr. Carlson reiterated that it did not cover theft of capital investments. He said if someone steals a stop sign the City has to purchase a new one with Road Fund money. MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 11, 2007 Page 5 Regular Meeting Councilor Bettman asked if it was typical for communities to allow themselves to be “that exposed to risk.” Mr. Carlson responded that it was not considered a major risk when talking about capital infrastructure systems. He stressed that it was very different from the risk associated with an automobile on the street or with a potential loss of a building subject to a fire. Councilor Bettman opined that it defied logic to transfer money that could pay for other services to cover theft. She indicated she would oppose the supplemental budget. Councilor Zelenka observed that the issue of metal theft went beyond the City of Eugene. He stressed that theft occurred because the price of metal had skyrocketed. He noted that some people were now risking their lives to steal wire from high voltage substations. He believed that a lack of process on the part of the people who purchase the scrap wire was to blame. He stated that a metal theft bill was currently working its way through the Legislature that would fix the problem by preventing purchasers from buying stolen goods, but it had not yet passed. Councilor Ortiz, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved to adopt Resolution 4909 adopting a Supplemental Budget; making appropriations for the City of Eugene for the Fiscal Year be- ginning July 1, 2006, and ending June 30, 2007. Roll call vote; the motion passed, 6:1; Councilor Bettman voting in opposition. 5. PUBLIC HEARING and ACTION: Resolution 4910 Electing to Receive State Revenue Sharing Funds Pursuant to Section 221.770 of Oregon Revised Statutes; Resolution 4911 Certifying that the City of Eugene Provides the Municipal Services Required by Oregon Revised Statutes Section 221.760; and Resolution 4912 Adopting the Budget, Making Appropriations, Determining, Levying and Cate- gorizing the Annual Property Tax Levy for the City of Eugene for the Fiscal Year Ad Valorem Beginning July 1, 2007, and Ending June 30, 2008 City Manager Taylor stated that the budget before the council had been recommended by a unanimous vote of the Budget Committee. He said the $498,300,000 budget spoke largely to the recommendations he had made and included approximately $430,000 in one-time expenses that matched council priorities and a $15,000 increase to improve the Sister City program. He believed it was a sound budget and the product of hard work on the part of the Budget Committee. Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing. Zachary Vishanoff , Patterson Street, asserted that the backlog of street repairs should have been part of the normal budget process. He did not think that traffic calming elements should be “mixed” with the backlog because he felt it was new construction. Mr. Vishanoff expressed concern that the “congress of new urbanism” was having a negative impact on planning activities. He commented that some people felt like it was becoming an “architectural cult.” He thought the public should have a conversation about it. MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 11, 2007 Page 6 Regular Meeting John Barofsky , 2010 Hubbard Lane, thanked the City Manager for his hard work during his tenure with the City of Eugene. He also wished to thank everyone on the Budget Committee for their hard work. He added his endorsement to the budget, noting that he had missed the last two meetings of the Budget Committee. Mr. Barofsky said he was glad that the Council Committee on Transportation Funding was moving forward, though he had been dismayed to see the garbage hauler fee eliminated from the equation. He hoped that sort of funding mechanism could be revisited. He believed that the cost of doing the garbage service business was subsidized by taxpayers. He suggested that the percentage of profit given to the garbage haulers be decreased and the extra reallocated to the preservation and maintenance of infrastructure. Majeska Seese-Green , PO Box 1214, Eugene, said if the funding for the bicycle patrols of the neighbor- hood parks had been reallocated it should be restored. She noted that she was the “point person” for Scobert Park and she had been assured that they did not need to worry about lobbying for the bicycle patrols because the funding was there. Ms. Seese-Green reiterated her support for funding allocated to neighborhood-related issues and the Neighborhood Empowerment Initiative. She believed it was very important to keep the neighborhood leadership infrastructure in place and funded. She related that she had recently attended a conference called “Re-Localization.” She related that one of the ideas in the conference was to begin having more things happen at a local level such as food production. She stated that this also included enhancing governance at a local level. Mayor Piercy closed the public hearing. Councilor Bettman thanked everyone for their testimony. She noted that she had been assured that the urban core park patrols were intact as intended by the previous budget approval. Councilor Bettman stated that the council would have to request a work session in order to review the policy regarding the garbage hauling contracts. She thought she could support having the garbage haulers pay a portion of their profits to help pay for road maintenance. Councilor Zelenka thanked those present who testified with regard to the transportation system funding proposal. He stated that the proposal was for pedestrians and bicycles as well as for cars and trucks. He said it took into consideration the effects of traffic on neighborhoods and this was why it included money for traffic calming as well as potholes. Councilor Zelenka noted his disappointment in seeing that the Oregon Petroleum Association was collecting signatures to repeal all of the gas tax, including what had been previously enacted. City Manager Taylor clarified that the Fiscal Year (FY) 08 budget did not include any of the elements recommended by the Subcommittee on Transportation Funding. Councilor Ortiz, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved to adopt Resolution 4910 electing to receive state revenue sharing funds pursuant to Section 221.770 of the Oregon Revised Statutes. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 7:0. MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 11, 2007 Page 7 Regular Meeting Councilor Ortiz, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved to adopt Resolution 4911 certifying that the City of Eugene provides the municipal services required by Oregon Revised Stat- utes Section 221.760. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 7:0. Councilor Ortiz, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved to adopt Resolution 4912 adopting the budget, making appropriations, determining, levying and categorizing the annual ad valorem property tax levy for the City of Eugene for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2007, and ending June 30, 2008. Councilor Clark, seconded by Councilor Poling, moved to amend the Resolution 4912 to al- locate up to $170,000 to complete the buildable lands inventories specified in the Lane Council of Governments scope of work, specifically the commercial/industrial demand study and the residential supply and demand studies. This amount would be offset by the Reserve for Revenue Shortfall. Councilor Clark believed this work needed to be done in order to provide the council with better information and to provide the ground work for better planning. He said while the City may be in technical compliance with the law, it was not in compliance with the spirit of periodic review. He opined that it may hurt the City and likely had already done so. He was bringing forward the motion at this time because the Oregon Legislature had now voted to ask the City of Eugene to conduct this review. He underscored that the bill had been backed by the Land Conservation and Development Commission, The Register-Guard, and 1000 Friends of Oregon, among others. Mayor Piercy said she supported passing the budget as it was presented. She averred that the City had always intended to do the buildable lands study as required. She stated that the City would comply if and when the legislation was signed into being. Councilor Bettman opposed the amendment. She said she would not support the budget if the amendment passed. She estimated the cost of the bill to be more than $1 million. She did not think the allocation suggested in the amendment would accommodate the cost. Councilor Bettman registered her objection to “politicizing” the budget. She averred that the legislation had been submitted on behalf of the Lane County Home Builders Association and that the association had lobbied for the bill. She believed that the home builders association opposed densifying businesses but supported densifying residences. She alleged that the association was after an unlimited supply of “raw land.” Councilor Bettman, seconded by Councilor Ortiz, moved to table the amendment to a date certain. Roll call vote; the motion failed, 4:3; councilors Bettman, Ortiz, and Zelenka vot- ing in favor. Councilor Ortiz indicated she would oppose the amendment. She felt very frustrated by the bill in the legislature. She had, in particular, taken umbrage to comments made on the House floor referring to the Eugene City Council as a “4:4 split.” She stressed that she tried to represent her constituency in all votes. Councilor Zelenka observed that the legislation had not been signed into being. He understood that the City Attorney was preparing a memorandum on the ramifications of the legislation. He averred that it was important to consider the information prior to moving forward with a motion for a land supply study. He MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 11, 2007 Page 8 Regular Meeting commented that he would support the amendment in order to bring a motion to reconsider it at the next meeting. He believed that bringing such an amendment before the council when the majority had shifted, given that Councilor Taylor was not present, was an inappropriate way to move something controversial forward. Councilor Pryor said he intended to vote against the amendment for procedural reasons. He stated that he supported conducting a land supply study. He did not want the council to engage in “malicious obedience,” in which the council would delay action for as long as legally possible. He said if the law passed and was legally binding the City would have to abide by it in a way that was timely and respected that it had been signed into law. Councilor Clark asked legal counsel if the legal memorandum had anything to do with the buildable lands inventory or other issues related to HB 3337. Mr. Lidz was uncertain of the answer. Councilor Clark believed that there may be other issues related to the requirements placed on the City by HB 3337. He stressed that the amendment did not intend to politicize the budget; he stated that it was an issue that he had brought up before. He said his intent had been clear about why he felt it was important to conduct a buildable lands inventory. He noted that he had not supported HB 3337, but he believed that it had resulted from the City of Eugene’s unwillingness to work cooperatively with the City of Springfield. He thought it would be wise to consider doing the inventory in the next year, especially given the requirements of the bill. City Manager Taylor said the estimate in the amendment was based on a “quick and dirty” scope of work estimate made by the Lane Council of Governments (LCOG). He related that the estimate of $100,000 covered the residential lands only. He requested more time to come forward with a mature estimate of what it would cost to conduct a full inventory. Mayor Piercy expressed frustration at the implication that some of the councilors might have the intention to never conduct a buildable lands inventory. She said this was not true. She added that according to the charter, a 4:4 vote counted. Councilor Zelenka said he intended to obey the law. He did not think it was prudent to enact the amendment at this time. Councilor Bettman asserted that the home builders association would not “rest” until the urban growth boundary (UGB) extended “from Mount Pisgah to Coburg.” She believed that the real motivation was to have unlimited access to farm land and forest land for development. Councilor Clark underscored that the amendment was not “spur of the moment.” He said he had made four motions in the last six months along the same lines. He had thought that since the Legislature had spoken clearly it was the opportune time to take the action. He disagreed with the idea that the home builders association or City of Springfield was forcing Eugene into an uncomfortable position. He stated that the truth was that the discussion had been underway for a long time. He reiterated that a land use study would be the way to find out whether or not there is enough buildable land within the City of Eugene’s UGB. Roll call vote; the amendment failed, 4:3; councilors Clark, Solomon, and Poling voting in favor. MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 11, 2007 Page 9 Regular Meeting Roll call vote; the main motion passed unanimously, 7:0. The meeting adjourned at 9 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Angel Jones City Manager pro tem (Recorded by Ruth Atcherson) MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 11, 2007 Page 10 Regular Meeting