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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 07/09/07 Work Session M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room—Eugene City Hall July 9, 2007 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor, Betty Taylor, Bonny Bettman, Jennifer Solomon, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka. COUNCILORS ABSENT: George Poling. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. A. COMMITTEE REPORTS AND ITEMS OF INTEREST FROM MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, AND CITY MANAGER Mayor Piercy said she was pleased by the “perfect storm of arts and the outdoors” that occurred the previous week. She related that she had walked in the Butte to Butte run and that both the Oregon Bach Festival and Arts in the Vineyard took place. She commented that this was what the community was about and why the people who lived here like it. Mayor Piercy reported that there had been no fireworks-related injuries in the City of Eugene over the Fourth of July. She expressed sadness for the fatality that occurred in Springfield. Mayor Piercy stated that the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) was meeting later in the week. She noted that she received emails requesting that the MPC meetings be televised in order to help publicize the major transportation issues that the MPC sometimes addressed. Mr. Pryor related that the West Eugene Collaborative, the group working on transportation solutions for West Eugene, had two subcommittees working on white papers. He explained that the papers were on the issues regarding transportation and how the group could interface with the City and the Lane Transit District (LTD) in terms of the studies that were being conducted. He said they were working on scheduling two meetings so the work of the collaborative group could be brought before the council. Mr. Pryor said he had occasion twice in the preceding ten days to require the services of Eugene paramedics. He applauded the work of the Eugene Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Department. He underscored that “to a person,” every staff member was “thoughtful, considerate, professional, helpful, and just did an absolutely fantastic job.” Ms. Taylor felt the council should discuss whether it should take action to regulate fireworks. She said many people had written to her expressing their concern. She averred that there were questions on whether the time fireworks were allowed could be limited or whether they should be banned with the exception of public displays. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 9, 2007 Page 1 Work Session Ms. Taylor also related that people who live behind the Old Pad Tavern contacted her. She said they did not like the proximity of the smoking area to their back yards. She asked if there was anything the City could do to relocate the smoking area to in front of the building or another location. Additionally, Ms. Taylor noted that she had yet to receive an answer on how much the City paid for the “extra land” at Golden Gardens Park. Ms. Taylor commented that Art in the Vineyard had been very nice. She asked why the City was not watering the grass in Alton Baker Park. Ms. Taylor said someone shared with her that she had received prompt, helpful service from a Eugene Police Department (EPD) officer. Ms. Bettman stated that the disposal fee had been increased for waste haulers and the Eugene waste haulers would be raising their rates. She said she would request a work session to discuss the issue. Mr. Clark reported that he had attended a meeting of the board of directors Convention and Visitors Association of Lane County, Oregon (CVALCO). He related that they had a good discussion about some of the funding issues they were addressing and they also heard a new marketing plan for the next year. He said he attended the Eugene 2008 kick-off at the Fifth Street Public Market, at which the Mayor had spoken. Mr. Clark stated that he had attended the recent Santa Clara Community Organization (SCCO) meeting, which focused on the continuing discussion of where a park should be sited. He said a City staff person attended the meeting to discuss this as well. Mr. Zelenka announced that Tom Kemper, of KWG Development Partners, would speak to the City Club on July 13. He encouraged everyone to attend. He suggested the councilors meet with him and become better acquainted with him after that event. He also reported that the West Broadway Advisory Committee (WBAC) held an initial meeting. The next meeting was scheduled for July 11. Mr. Zelenka understood that petitioners seeking to repeal the gas tax had gathered 11,000 signatures to place it on a ballot. He opined that a repeal would be a “major step backwards.” Continuing, Mr. Zelenka echoed the positive comments on the Art in the Vineyard event. He also enjoyed the Midori concert, which was part of the Oregon Bach Festival. Mr. Zelenka stated that he had attended the recent meeting of the Lane Workforce Partnership. He reported that the group passed its budget and elected Bobby Lee to serve as the new president. Ms. Ortiz related that the Union Pacific Railroad was hosting a gathering at the office of the Red Cross at 7 p.m. on July 12; fliers were provided to the councilors. She was disturbed by the short notice. Ms. Ortiz said she would be placing a motion on the table later in the meeting to provide free parking for the Eugene Celebration. Ms. Ortiz reported that the Police Commission convened a subcommittee to consider tasers and the policies that should govern the use of tasers should the City proceed to acquire them. She said a public input MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 9, 2007 Page 2 Work Session session, held on June 27, had been attended by approximately 50 people. She related that the room had been divided into four tables of information. The tables had been facilitated by different groups: the Human Rights Commission, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), EPD, and one other. She thought it had been well-received to a certain extent but some people did not feel they had been able to speak directly to the Police Commission. She said the Police Commission planned a public process session at 5:30 p.m. on July 12. City Manager Taylor stated that the results of the tabulation of signatures supporting placement of a referendum on the gas tax on the ballot would be in by the end of the week. He indicated that August 13 had been tentatively set aside for a discussion of what options might be considered, should there be enough signatures. City Manager Taylor agreed that it had been a “fabulous week” to enjoy the arts and outdoors. He urged everyone to take care during the upcoming heat wave. B. WORK SESSION: City Council Goal – Sustainability Initiative Action Plan City Manager Taylor stressed that sustainability was a council goal. He stated that Susan Muir, executive director of the Planning and Development Department (PDD), had served as the convener of the Sustainabil- ity Initiative Team that prepared the Sustainability Initiative Draft Action Plan. He asked her to introduce the item and the Sustainability Manager for the City of Eugene, Felicity Fahy. Ms. Muir introduced the members of the Sustainability Initiative Team. She gave special recognition to Library Services Director, Connie Bennett, who served as the staff lead for the team until Ms. Fahy was hired as Sustainability Manager. She reviewed the council discussion on sustainability that occurred in January. She underscored that it provided context for development of the draft action plan. She invited Ms. Fahy to the table to provide an overview of the draft. Ms. Fahy thanked the council for the opportunity to present the draft plan. She applauded the depth of knowledge and commitment to sustainability issues the City of Eugene demonstrated. She provided an overview of the draft. Mayor Piercy noted that a growth in businesses with sustainable practices was reflected in the language under B. City Council Goal Outcomes but she felt it was missing language regarding how to support the economic niche of businesses that produce sustainable products. She thought the City of Eugene should work with the State and other partners to try to pursue economic development that produced sustainable products. Mr. Clark concurred. He hoped the City would work to “incentivize” and help businesses that were “already wonderful examples of sustainable work.” He wanted to find ways to help the businesses succeed “even more” and also to work on how to better recruit such businesses to come to the city of Eugene. Ms. Fahy affirmed that this was part of the discussion. She said one item of discussion was an enhancement of the best practices recognition program in order to hold businesses up as a role model for good work. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 9, 2007 Page 3 Work Session Mr. Clark noted that the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce gave annual Emerald Awards in recognition of businesses that were operating in a sustainable fashion. He thought there might be an opportunity for some interaction with the City in this. Mr. Zelenka acknowledged the work that staff had done thus far to promote sustainability. He hoped that the new City Council offices would be targeted for energy efficiency measures so that they could be a model of sustainability. In response to a question from Mr. Zelenka, Ms. Fahy stated that the deadline for applications for the Sustainability Commission was September 7. Mr. Pryor expressed appreciation for the work done so far. He agreed that incentives were a great way to promote sustainability. He wanted to keep in mind the “micro things” that could be done while thinking about the “macro things” that the City wanted to do. He stressed that often the little things made a large impact. Mayor Piercy said the chamber would be focusing on sustainable economic development goals at an upcoming meeting. She noted that the she had been giving out “Bold Steps” awards to businesses that had sustainable business practices. She also reminded everyone of the Mayor’s Climate Challenge, accessible from the City’s Web site. Ms. Bettman asked if a motion to approve the draft would mean that the council was approving all of it. Ms. Muir affirmed that such a motion would approve the draft in its entirety as recommended. Ms. Bettman averred that sustainability meant having clean adequate water, clean air, adequate farm land to provide food, and a secure economic base. She felt the first final outcome measure did not provide enough detail; it did not say whether the number of sustainable businesses would increase or decrease and what it took to be a sustainable business. She pointed out that the other two final outcome measures were related to community surveys. She opined that sometimes the City was “so busy celebrating small accomplishments that [it] forgot to look at the larger destructive practices” in which it engages. Ms. Bettman asserted that farm and forest land was being paved over and this was not being addressed; people were not investing enough in alternative modes of transportation. She said without this, the City would not “get to sustainabil- ity.” She indicated she would vote against the plan because, unless the larger issues were addressed, “we are just kidding ourselves.” She hoped the Sustainability Commission would come back with “some realistic outcomes.” Ms. Taylor thought Ms. Bettman made a good point. She suggested that the council may want to take more time to think about what was really wanted. She opined that one good example of sustainability was to “save some of the land at the Amazon Headwaters.” She declared that if the City did not protect its water source, it was not being sustainable. She did not have a lot of faith in community surveys. She wanted to make a difference in what the future would be. She recalled that a planning commissioner had opined that sustainable growth was an oxymoron. She said they had taken the “growth out of the sustainable part” and talked about sustainability alone. Mr. Zelenka pointed out that the draft contained the “first blush” for outcomes and that the Sustainability Commission would flesh the outcomes out. He believed that having staff draft the outcomes would be tantamount to placing “the cart before the horse.” City Manager Taylor concurred, adding that the work would come back before the council in the form of a commission action plan. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 9, 2007 Page 4 Work Session Mr. Zelenka said he would amend the action plan to include the original recommendations. Mayor Piercy suggested that the outcomes be removed from the draft for the present. Ms. Bettman expressed skepticism. She averred that sustainability measures had been talked about for approximately 17 years. She noted that the State adopted an administrative rule requiring that Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMTs) to be reduced from the levels of 1990 by 2010, but local officials lobbied the state to gut those standards, and they succeeded. She asserted that unless the City undertook sustainability, addressed the issues, and put “teeth” into regulation it would just be “throwing money away.” Ms. Taylor agreed that the motion should be amended to remove the final outcomes from the language. She added that building roads was not sustainable in the face of the backlog of road maintenance and preserva- tion. Ms. Ortiz, seconded by Mr. Pryor, moved to approve the Sustainability Initiative Action Plan with the removal of the Final Outcome Measures in section F. Monitoring and Evaluation. Ms. Bettman indicated that she still opposed the plan. The motion passed, 6:1; Ms. Bettman voting in opposition. C. WORK SESSION: Agate/Fairmount Transportation Study Update Mayor Piercy indicated that Ms. Ortiz would place her motion regarding parking for the Eugene Celebration on the table prior to addressing the transportation study update. Ms. Ortiz, seconded by Mr. Clark, moved to allocate $7,500 from the General Fund Con- tingency to provide for fully free event parking at all City garages and parking meters dur- ing the Eugene Celebration. Mr. Pryor noted that the amount had been the best guess at what the parking could cost. He offered a friendly amendment so that the language would read “not to exceed $9,000.” The maker of the motion and the second accepted the friendly amendment. Ms. Bettman questioned whether this would encourage people not to drive. She offered a friendly amendment to provide free bus passes for celebration goers. The amendment was not accepted by the second. Ms. Bettman, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved to amend the motion so that it would provide free bus passes for celebration goers. Mr. Clark stated that the event organizer should make the argument for free bus passes. He thought the organizer was likely to do so. He stressed that parking was a City facility but the Lane Transit District (LTD) was not. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 9, 2007 Page 5 Work Session Ms. Taylor suggested that the motion say that the passes would be provided if needed. City Manager Taylor pointed out that the motion was not a request from the Eugene Celebration; rather it had been requested by the downtown merchants. He thought a motion that went forward with free bus passes would be closer to the goals of sustainability the City was embracing. He felt the parking spaces would be taken up by the booth vendors in the downtown area first. Ms. Solomon opposed providing free parking, but she found the idea of providing LTD bus passes compelling. She was uncertain how to vote on it without knowing what LTD intended to do and what it had done in the past. She recommended that the amendment be deferred until this information was available. Mr. Pryor concurred. Ms. Ortiz withdrew her motion pending further information. Mayor Piercy ascertained that there was no objection to withdrawal of the motion. Ms. Solomon said if it was determined that the City would pay for bus passes as well as provide free parking she would expect the cost not to exceed $9,000, as previously stated. Mayor Piercy thought the City should do what it could to encourage people to walk, ride bicycles, and take the bus to the Eugene Celebration given that this year’s theme was sustainability. She said one possibility would be to consider not ticketing people for parking violations during the Celebration as this would be more “friendly.” Ms. Taylor noted that there were people who did not live close to a transit stop. City Manager Taylor indicated that staff would summarize the discussion and determine what the costs would be and what LTD intended to do. City Manager Taylor recalled that the council adopted the Fairmount/University of Oregon Special Area Study several years earlier. He said Transportation Planning Manager for the Engineering Division, Rob Inerfeld, would present one of the outcomes of the study, which was how to address traffic that cuts through the area. Mr. Inerfeld reviewed the previous council direction on the issue. He provided a summary of the transporta- tion studies that had been completed and reviewed the public participation that had taken place, as outlined in the Agenda Item Summary (AIS) on the topic. He provided an overview of the proposed plan as agreed upon by the Fairmount Neighbors Traffic Calming Committee and the University of Oregon. He asked for council direction as to whether staff should proceed with the proposal. Ms. Bettman favored traffic calming. She asked if the University had offered to contribute to any of the proposed capital improvements. Mr. Inerfeld replied that the University offered to contribute to the potential enhancements to the traffic calming devices on the streets that went through the campus area. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 9, 2007 Page 6 Work Session Ms. Bettman asked why the whole proposal would not be included in the traffic mitigation package for the arena. Mr. Inerfeld responded that the source for funding the second phase of the traffic calming project and th changes to the 14 and Agate crossing had not been identified at this point. Ms. Bettman did not want signalization and that type of element to be paid for out of the neighborhood traffic calming budget. Mr. Inerfeld said if the arena was built soon, it was possible that the changes to the th 14 and Agate crossing would be paid for out of that project. Ms. Bettman observed that the first phase of the traffic calming elements would cost $45,000 and this was almost half of the budget. Mr. Inerfeld responded that the City had $30,000 left from the previous year. He said that there was approximately $85,000 available in the FY08 budget. Ms. Bettman averred that the remainder of the traffic calming budget for 2008 should go to other neighborhoods. Mr. Clark asked if the list of traffic calming projects had been prioritized. Mr. Inerfeld replied that staff would work on prioritizing the list in the next “month or so.” th Mr. Zelenka commended Mr. Inerfeld for his work with the neighborhood on the plan. He said the 14 Avenue and Agate Street crossing was a dangerous spot. He felt that people trying to avoid that spot created the issues of people cutting through the neighborhood, thereby increasing traffic on residential streets. Mr. Zelenka related that he had asked the athletic director for the University of Oregon about his willingness to commit to a public process regarding the impacts to the neighborhood from the arena project. He commented that he had not been satisfied with the answer and said he would follow up on it. In response to a question from Mr. Zelenka, Mr. Inerfeld explained that the criteria for traffic calming projects scored them on speed, traffic volume, proximity of schools and bicycle routes and then the projects were ranked based on their scores. Ms. Bettman requested a memorandum on what the differences were in the prioritization scoring. Ms. Taylor emphasized the importance of taking into consideration what impacts placing speed bumps on one street would have on other streets around it. Ms. Ortiz, seconded by Mr. Pryor, moved to direct the City Manager to direct staff to pro- ceed with traffic calming improvements in the Fairmount neighborhood using FY08 traffic calming funds up to $45,000, with the remainder of funds to be dispersed in other parts of th the community, and to identify funding for pedestrian improvements at 14 Avenue and Agate Street in the development of the next six-year Capital Improvement Plan. City Manager Taylor noted that $45,000 was an estimate. He asked if the council wished for the City Manager to come back with it, should the cost actually be higher. Ms. Bettman had been surprised by the “$45,000 price tag.” “Mr Inerfield said that $2,500 is the basic speed hump cost that staff has been using.” She had thought speed bumps cost approximately $2,500 apiece and speed tables were slightly more than that. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 9, 2007 Page 7 Work Session Mr. Zelenka supported providing other neighborhoods with traffic calming features but he had some concern about tying a cost to the motion, given that $45,000 was a good faith estimate. He asked if the maker of the motion if she would accept a friendly amendment to change the language to “about $45,000 with the understanding that if the total was substantially different it would be brought back before the council.” Ms. Ortiz thought a change in the amount could be placed on the Consent Calendar without any trouble. The motion passed unanimously, 7:0. Mayor Piercy adjourned the meeting at 6:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Angel Jones City Manager pro tem (Recorded by Ruth Atcherson) MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 9, 2007 Page 8 Work Session