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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem B1: Approval of City Council Minutes ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Approval of City Council Minutes Meeting Date: November 13, 2007 Agenda Item Number: B1 Department: City Manager’s Office Staff Contact: Beth Forrest www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 682-5882 ISSUE STATEMENT This is a routine item to approve City Council meeting minutes. SUGGESTED MOTION Move to approve the minutes of the September 10, 2007, City Council Meeting, September 17, 2007, Community Forum, September 19, 2007, Work Session, September 24, 2007, Work Session, and October 2, 2007, Boards and Commissions Interviews. ATTACHMENTS A. September 10, 2007, City Council Meeting B. September 17, 2007, Community Forum C. September 19, 2007, Work Session D. September 24, 2007, Work Session E. October 2, 2007, Boards and Commissions Interviews FOR MORE INFORMATION Staff Contact: Beth Forrest Telephone: 682-5882 Staff E-Mail: beth.l.forrest@ci.eugene.or.us F:\CMO\2007 Council Agendas\M071113\S071113B1.doc ATTACHMENT A M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber—Eugene City Hall September 10, 2007 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor, Betty Taylor, Bonny Bettman, Jennifer Solomon, George Poling, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. She stated that there would be a community forum to provide members of the community to offer comments on the selection of the new City Manager on September 17. Jean Rubel , PO Box 5102, Eugene, recounted that the councilors had spent time in the work session discussing issues of bias and conflicts of interest. She alleged that councilors claimed they could be impartial when considering McKenzie-Willamette Hospital’s proposal to relocate. Mayor Piercy interrupted Ms. Rubel and asked City Attorney Emily Jerome to address the issue. City Attorney Jerome said the public hearing scheduled for October 23 would be a more appropriate time for this testimony if the matter related to the McKenzie-Willamette Hospital application. Ms. Rubel asserted that she wished only to address the process and not substantive issues. She asked if the City Attorney was going to request that she cease testimony. Ms. Jerome reiterated that the appropriate time to speak on this item was at the public hearing. She encouraged Ms. Rubel to submit her testimony in writing and staff would respond to it. Ms. Rubel asked if she was being denied her three minutes of public comment. Mayor Piercy responded that the City Attorney was the City’s legal staff and that there were rules the council had to adhere to by law in regard to quasi-judicial issues. Ms. Rubel reiterated that her testimony had nothing to do with substantive issues. Mayor Piercy replied that it was her belief that if the testimony had anything to do with the McKenzie-Willamette Hospital application it could not be given at this time and would have to be provided at the public hearing on October 23. Ms. Jerome encouraged Ms. Rubel to call the City Attorney’s Office or the City Manager’s Office on the following day for further information. Ms. Rubel opined that the process was “flawed and biased.” MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 10, 2007 Page 1 Work Session Lisa Warnes , 5020 Nectar Way, stated that she had been with the Southeast Neighbors for four years and was now serving as the Vice President. She commended former Neighborhood Services Manager Beth Bridges for her dedication and hard work. She always found Ms. Bridges to be “warm and kind.” She predicted Ms. Bridges would be a “tough act to follow.” She conveyed her concern that the neighborhood program might now “fall apart.” She expressed her gratitude for Ms. Bridge’s hard work and said she would be missed. th Drix , 305-½ 14 Avenue, asked how many eyes were there in Eugene and said the answer was all of them. He said “we are all here in Eugene and a part of it.” He related that he had attended the Burning Man Project and the Lane County Fair. He felt they were all a slice of life. He had attended the Eugene Celebration. He averred that the city of Eugene was blessed on many levels. He reiterated that the community would build on the two holes in the downtown by pooling resources and working together. Zachary Vishanoff , Patterson Street, expressed concern regarding the older bridges around the country. He asserted that the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) had “culture problems” and things had “gone horribly wrong.” He believed that the bridges on the way to Springfield were beginning to crumble. He thought the council should talk about traffic-calming in the University neighborhood less and should talk about forming “special teams” that were not affiliated with ODOT that could give an independent analysis of the local bridges. He believed there were links between “big pork barrel projects” and transportation projects. He did not think ODOT was adequately assessing infrastructure. Joe Collins , PO Box 24411, said he had been disheartened that the first person giving comment had not been allowed to proceed. He continued his testimony in regard to his allegations that drug manufacturing was occurring in his condominium complex and his feeling that the Eugene Police Department (EPD) was not being adequately responsive. He related that he had contacted County Commissioner Peter Sorenson and Mr. Sorenson responded with an offer to arrange a meeting with two members of the EPD. He decided it would not be in his interest to meet with people he “did not trust.” He felt they would use what he said against him if they could. Paul Moore , 2586 Potter Street, read a letter from Amy Gibson. She expressed concern that her children were being encouraged to ride their bicycles to school but she feared allowing them to ride on Crest Drive. She asked that the City put its “money where its mouth is” with regard to streets. Mr. Moore read from a petition signed by residents in the Crest Drive/Storey Boulevard area. He related their support for an increase in bicycle facilities. He said they expected such facilities to be included in order to support the choice of bicycling as a transportation or recreational option. Mayor Piercy closed the Public Forum and called for comments from the council. Councilor Clark said he appreciated Mr. Collins’ dedication in bringing his concerns forward over time but asked him to refrain from impugning the character of the Police Chief. Councilor Ortiz thanked everyone who testified for coming out. She also wished to convey her gratitude to Ms. Bridges for her service to the community. She had faith in the choices that had been made for who would follow in Ms. Bridges’ footsteps. She assured those concerned that the neighborhoods were in good hands. MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 10, 2007 Page 2 Work Session 2. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes - June 25, 2007, Work Session - July 9, 2007, City Council Meeting - July 18, 2007, Work Session - August 8, 2007, Work Session B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda Ms. Ortiz, seconded by Mr. Pryor, moved to approve the items on the Consent Calendar. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. 3. PUBLIC HEARING: An Ordinance Concerning Consumption or Possession of Alcohol in Public Places, and Amending Sections 4.190, 4.990, and 4.996 of the Eugene Code, 1971 City Manager pro tem Angel Jones asked Eugene Police Department (EPD) Captain Pete Kerns to provide a brief review of the proposed ordinance. Capt. Kerns recalled that staff had presented a registration scheme to be included as an amendment to the ordinance at a work session in July. He explained that pay-per-use parking lots could be given an exemption to the public drinking ordinance on game days by registering, distributing handbills with rules, and by posting signage in the lots. He said with direction from the council, some adjustments had been made to the map so that the area for the exception was limited only to the pay-per-use parking lots. He reviewed the map and explained which areas were included. Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing. th James Cunningham , 1190 West 26 Avenue, said he was “ashamed” of the City and the EPD for “advocating for public drunkenness.” He was also ashamed of the Mayor and council for considering the exemption to the ordinance. He stressed that it was well-known that alcohol was a dangerous inebriant. He believed the exemption for the Autzen Stadium lot should be revoked rather than expanding the exemption to others. He believed such an expansion would expose the City to lawsuits by relatives of innocent victims of drunken driving. He asserted that if any public drinking was allowed, it should be allowed everywhere. He urged the council to significantly strengthen the University of Oregon enforcement, should the exemption pass, and to require every driver leaving the parking lots to submit to a breathalyzer. He submitted his testimony in writing. Dick Mower , 768 Lochaven Avenue, co-chair of the Eugene Elks Antler Committee, stated that his organization held parking lot activities at the Willamette Institute of Science and Technology (WISTEC) and the John Serbu Youth Campus and had done so for approximately seven years. He said they received around $5,000 annually, all of which went to charities such as the Boys and Girls Club, the Mission family unit, St. Vincent DePaul holiday boxes, and disaster situations such as Hurricane Katrina. He related that Elks’ charities also supported the Oregon Eye Clinic and the hearing and speech camps. He stressed that what they wanted was to have the same opportunities as the Autzen Stadium lot. He felt that if people could drink there, then those activities should be allowed in other lots. He underscored that a loss of this money would be a blow to the charity. MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 10, 2007 Page 3 Work Session th Deborah Frisch , 3003 West 11 Avenue, registered her opposition to the amended exemption and supported deletion of the exemption for Autzen Stadium. She believed Ducks fans should be held to the same laws as everyone else. She expressed contempt for college and professional sports. She asserted that sports contributed to mindless “us and them thinking” and allowed people to tolerate “the carnage in Iraq.” Lois Harvick , 1865 Parliament Street, executive director of the local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), said the council had the opportunity to send a message to the community that public safety took priority over an estimated 20 percent of the 60,000 Duck fans that consumed alcoholic beverages in and around Autzen Stadium during every home game. She said studies indicated that fear of being arrested deterred people from drinking to excess. She declared that existing problems related to excessive drinking, underage drinking, and drinking and driving would likely continue and increase but the perception that the behavior was acceptable put the community at an increased risk. She stated that MADD needed support for high-visibility law enforcement. She asked the council to seek other solutions to the drinking and tailgating proposal. She urged the council to send a “loud and clear message” that the community deserved public safety to be a priority on game days and every day. She asked the council to help MADD with its goal of adding no more names to the memorial gardens for victims of drunken driving. Anne Pratt , 42000 Holden Creek Lane, Springfield, member of MADD, the Governor’s Advisory Committee on DUII, and Crime Victims United, said she lobbied for tougher Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (DUII) bills. She agreed with Ms. Harvick. She believed what was proposed only treated the legality and not the issue, which was that people left the tailgating area and drove on streets and highways under the influence of alcohol. She stated that 200 people were killed by drunk drivers in the state of Oregon and more than 17,000 people were killed in the United States annually. She related that her son had been killed by a drunk driver on September 18, 1998. She and her husband had spent the last four legislative sessions working to strengthen intoxicated driver laws. She thought it was odd that the City of Eugene was considering expansion of the exemption zone for drinking. She believed drinking should be monitored by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) and law enforcement and not parking lot owners. She averred that expanding the exemption was a strike against public policy. Barbara Stoeffler , 2859 Tandy Turn, related that she had helped to found the Lane County chapter of MADD in Lane County 25 years ago. She was proud of local law enforcement. She said law enforcement worked hard to combat drunk driving. She felt there should be a way to use local enforcement officers to augment the officers who already worked on game days. She stated that she also worked with a group called Victims Against Drunk Driving, a Lane County DUII victim impact panel. She related that the speakers on the panel talk to groups of people who have been arrested for driving under the influence about the impacts that drunk drivers have had on their lives. She had observed an increase of persons drinking and driving which had resulted in an increase in the victim impact panels from 12 to 16 per year. Lloyd Henson , 2420 Wilbur Street, spoke on behalf of the Masonic Lodge. He related that he had helped to park cars there for 10 years and he also helped to pick up bottles and cans. He stated that the OLCC representatives had come by to check and had never found evidence of broken rules. He felt the drinking had decreased. He stressed that the Masonic Lodge had not experienced problems, most people had designated drivers, and some left their vehicles behind and called a cab. He had not experienced disorderly conduct. He said the lodge put out a number of brochures that discussed drinking and the importance of having designated drivers and they posted signs at Captain Kerns’ request. Zachary Vishanoff , Patterson Street, found it strange that the EPD complained that it had a lack of funding and that it was costly to have officers working football games and dealing with the subsequent traffic and issues. He felt the EPD was making a request on behalf of the University. He thought the University should MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 10, 2007 Page 4 Work Session come and make the request and accept responsibility for anything that might go wrong. He suggested that the University student leadership be consulted and recommended that in fairness the decision should wait until students were back on campus. David Sonnichsen , 2435 Skyline Boulevard, understood why the ordinance might be seen as expedient but he felt it was bad public policy. He had monitored the effect of games on park land and he felt that incidents of alcohol abuse had increased. He found it incongruous that football players were not allowed to drink but the followers of the games thought it was a part of the process. He wondered if fewer people would attend the games if they had to adhere to the same rules as the football players. He added that he thought it was crazy to allow people to remain and drink after games for two more hours before driving. He urged the council to oppose the ordinance. rd Bob Dougherty , 479 East 53 Avenue, supported the council’s endeavor to clean up the Autzen Stadium parking system. He noted that he also was a member of the Masonic Lodge. He said for the past two years the lodge provided an alcohol consumption policy handout to every car that came into the parking lot. He related that the lodge required that each carload of people appoint a designated driver. He underscored that many people came to the lot who did not drink but would have a hot dog and chips and that sort of thing. He believed the alcohol consumption was reasonably limited. He stated that the lodge provided security throughout the lot and they coached the people who needed coaching. He acknowledged the opposing view but he thought customers in the lodge lot should be able to have an equal access to the stadium lot experience. Dan Williams , 3544 Black Oak Drive, represented the University of Oregon. He stated that the University actively participated for over a year in meetings with a number of people who were concerned with these issues. He felt the meetings had been helpful. He stressed that the University went to extensive lengths to make sure the tailgating was lawful. He conveyed the University’s support for the proposal, including the suggested amendment to reduce the impacted area. He stated that the University was willing to work to make the ordinance successful. Mayor Piercy closed the public hearing and called for council comments and questions. Councilor Bettman thanked everyone who testified. She cited a section of the ordinance that stated that “disorderly conduct will not be tolerated.” She asked if the City had that kind of language in any other ordinance. City Attorney Jerome replied that she was not aware of such language in other ordinances. Councilor Bettman asked what it meant. Ms. Jerome replied that the ordinance would require a handbill and signage indicating the parameters for behavior. Councilor Bettman said she would pose a substitute motion that would create equity for football games by eliminating the exemption for Autzen Stadium. She felt it was in the public’s best interest to regulate drinking. She averred that the City should uphold its law regardless of an entity’s financial position. She believed that the exemption was inequitable because the City did not allow public drinking for any of the other venues in the City. She believed that to entertain adopting the ordinance meant that people would have to suspend their beliefs given that it was not a hypothetical issue that drinking and driving led to tragedy. She asserted that to think that people would drink more responsibly around a football game was “pretend- ing.” Councilor Zelenka thought Councilor Bettman raised a point regarding the other venues in Eugene for public events, which were required to obtain a license from OLCC. He asked what the OLCC requirements were and what it would take for all of the people who coordinated tailgating activities to acquire such a license. MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 10, 2007 Page 5 Work Session He wondered what the people who supervised the parking lots in which the activities occurred would have to do differently under an OLCC license than under the ordinance. He also wished to know what role OLCC played on game days in that area and what the difference in the liability that someone would have versus someone who had an OLCC license. Councilor Zelenka disagreed with the assertion that the ordinance would increase public drinking as he believed it already existed. He felt the question lay in whether the City should acknowledge and regulate it given limited police resources. Councilor Zelenka wanted to know if the ordinance could be limited to non-profit agencies. He requested statistics on the drunken driving arrests on game days versus regular Saturdays. He added his feeling that two hours of drinking after the game was likely too long. Councilor Bettman commented that people could show up four hours prior to the game and drink. She felt that once the exemption was granted the capacity to regulate the drinking was reduced. She reiterated her opposition to the ordinance, adding that if the area around Autzen Stadium was made to be consistent with the rest of the City it would make enforcement simpler. 4. PUBLIC HEARING: An Ordinance Concerning Municipal Court Sentencing Authority for Violations of Chapter 4 of the Eugene Code, 1971 City Manager pro tem Jones asked Wayne Allen, presiding judge for the Municipal Court, to present a summary of the topic. Judge Allen explained that Municipal Court did not have the authority to order a defendant to a more expensive alcohol education or anger management program. He believed that a judge should be able to send a person to anger management classes or a one-day class on alcohol abuse for a fourth or fifth Minor in Possession (MIP). He noted the state court had the authority and in some cases it was mandated to require it. He said Municipal Court had spoken with the provider of alcohol education and it appeared that it would be possible to add a class. Councilor Bettman interpreted the wording in the ordinance to mean that the sentence or a portion of it could be suspended. Judge Allen replied that a sentence could inherently be suspended. He felt what was intended was to reduce a portion of a sentence rather than imposing a larger fine with the requirement that a class be attended. He noted that the MIP had a maximum penalty of $250. Councilor Bettman said she had an issue with the language. It sounded to her that a judge could merely suspend the sentence without any collateral action. She asked that the wording be reviewed before the ordinance came back before the council for action. Ms. Jerome ascertained from Councilor Bettman that her intention was to clarify the language so the ordinance would give the authority to reduce or suspend a sentence only in the case where collateral action such as an anger management class was being required. Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing. Seeing no one who wished to speak, she closed the public hearing. MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 10, 2007 Page 6 Work Session Mayor Piercy ascertained that Councilor Bettman objected to taking action on the ordinance at the present meeting. 5. PUBLIC HEARING: An Ordinance Concerning Initiative and Referendum Procedures; and Amending Sections 2.972 and 2.981 of the Eugene Code, 1971 City Manager pro tem Jones stated that the ordinance would provide a process to ensure that practices were in line with the code. She asked City Attorney Jerome to speak to the ordinance. Ms. Jerome stated that the ordinance would establish the number of signatures it would take to place a referendum on the ballot. She said currently the code required that the number of signatures be equal to 10 percent of all of the votes cast for all of the candidates for mayor in the preceding election. She related that historically it included all write-in votes. She explained that recently the Circuit Court ruled that under the code language the City could only count those write-ins for people who intended to be candidates and who were eligible to be candidates. She said it was the City Attorney’s understanding that it was not the City’s intent and that it was nearly impossible to administer for that definition. She said the proposed ordinance sought to respond the Circuit Court’s interpretation of Eugene Code 2.972 and would clarify that the City should count all votes for the office of Mayor. Ms. Jerome explained that the second issue addressed by the ordinance had to do with the current code requirement that if a valid petition was filed, the City must generally hold an election at the next statutory election date. She said the current code did allow for an exception so that the council could hold an earlier election but it would not allow an exception to defer it to a later election. The ordinance would change it so that a later election would be allowed. Councilor Bettman asked why the council needed that level of discretion. Ms. Jerome replied that it could be costly to refer a petition to the next election in a case where no other local government in Lane County had anything for the ballot. She said it could also be something the council would want to balance with the importance of timeliness to act on a petition. She thought it could be the preference of a petitioner to have an item matched with other items in an election. Councilor Bettman commented that she was “astounded” to see this in the packet. She recalled the discussion about the issues with the referendum and the decision to put the gas tax on the ballot. She did not remember the latter issue coming up. City Manager Jones stated that there were a number of items to be brought before the council and this was one of them. She sought to ensure the council had options in how to respond to this type of issue. Councilor Bettman asked to see the code issues that conflict with the State. She thought that if the council could have ultimate discretion over when an election occurred it could be another way to interfere with what people see as an important process of checks and balances. She noted that there was nothing in the packet that explained or justified this change or how it compared to the state statute. She said she needed more research before she could support the ordinance. Mayor Piercy opened the public hearing. Seeing no one who wished to speak, she closed the public hearing. MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 10, 2007 Page 7 Work Session Mayor Piercy asked if it would be possible to constrain the ordinance to the item that the council had agreed upon in order to take action. Ms. Jerome replied that the council could only act at the present meeting if there were no modifications to the ordinance. Councilor Bettman said she was disappointed to see something she perceived to be substantive show up without a work session. City Manager Jones stated that she would take responsibility for this. She explained that she had thought there had been full communication with the council on the proposed ordinance. Mayor Piercy adjourned the meeting at 8:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Angel L. Jones City Manager Pro Tem (Recorded by Ruth Atcherson) MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 10, 2007 Page 8 Work Session ATTACHMENT B M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Community Forum Council Chamber—City Hall 777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon September 17, 2007 7 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor, Betty Taylor, Bonny Bettman, Jennifer Solomon, George Poling, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the Eugene City Council Community Forum to order. She under- scored the value that the City Council placed on community input. 1. COMMUNITY FORUM: City Manager Recruitment Acting Assistant City Manager Scott Luell stated that the council had convened to receive input from the community on the qualifications a City Manager should possess and for the job description. Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules for speaking and opened the Community Forum. st Bob Peters , 1444 East 21 Street, expressed confidence that those hiring the next City Manager would know what genuine qualifications that person would need. He believed that in order for the City to be truly involved it needed to make the neighborhood association program function well. He averred that it needed to be enabled so that all of the neighborhood associations would have adequate support from the City for all of what they do. He felt the City needed a City Manager who was used to working with the neighborhood associations. He also thought the City should recruit someone who was competent and able to withstand “what may seem to be unreasonable and severe criticism.” th Charles Snyder , 990 West 12 Avenue, said if the City was going to make neighborhood groups function it would need to find someone to manage it that had a proven record of doing that sort of thing. He thought there had been a “little bit of slippage” between the council’s policy decisions and implementation. He felt it would be better if the council had more sway with “some of the implementation” of policy. Betty Snowden , PO Box 5166, Eugene, related that she had received many telephone calls from the community. She shared that some of the telephone calls included input that the City Council was a “hard body to work with” and that no matter who was hired “it would probably be for naught.” She had heard input that some had lost faith in the local government. She said it seemed there were more people who were concerned with development than with who would be leading the City. Ms. Snowden said what she was looking for in a City Manager was someone who showed leadership, who knew the community, who had integrity, and who did not run from adversity. She averred that a City Manager needed to know the community in order to provide good leadership. She stated that any leader had MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 17, 2007 Page 1 Community Forum to be able to stand and make tough decisions through adverse conditions. She felt the City Manager should be someone who believed in including all citizens in the process. She declared that everyone in the community needed to part of the process. She thought the City Manager should be someone who could work with anyone regardless of a person’s belief, of how they feel or look or “what color they are.” Lastly, she said, the next City Manager should be someone who understood the “bottom line” and the intricacies of the city budgets. Councilor Solomon arrived. Lisa Warnes , 5020 Nectar Way, indicated her agreement with the previous speakers. She believed that there needed to be more balance in the City Manager’s position. She opined that she had seen things in the past be “heavily slanted” toward development interests. She wanted more of a focus on community and environmental issues. She averred that a City Manager should, when given a task by the City Council, do it regardless of whether he or she agrees with it. She advised the City Council not to tolerate it if the City Manager did not follow through. Majeska Seese-Green , PO Box 1214, Eugene, hoped the City would find a City Manager who was willing to have a city government that was “really” a City Manager/City Council form of government. She recalled hearing about that structure of government at a City Club meeting at which Ken Tollenaar spoke. She understood that the form of government did create some tension in the community, adding that this was how she thought it should be. Ms. Seese-Green said she wanted the next City Manager to understand the necessity of the neighborhood associations having a relationship with the City and being supported by the City. She averred that the City Manager also had to be independent and autonomous from the City. She believed that a lot of the people who were involved with neighborhoods felt that the relationship with neighborhood associations was of high importance for a City Manager. David Hinkley , 1350 Lawrence Street, #1, declared that the next City Manager needed to have a thick skin and the “backbone to say the truth even when people did not want to hear it.” He underscored the importance of public participation to the citizens of Eugene. He said the new City Manager needed to enthusiastically embrace the concept of public participation and this participation must happen before a decision was made and not afterwards. He averred that a City Manager needed to “have a strong hand on the reins.” He said if the City Manager needed to “replace one of the horses” the City Council must back the manager. He thought a City Manager should plan on tenure of four to five years. He opined that having a long-term City Manager created a situation whereby City employees had not experienced a transition to different management and this created difficulties with that situation. Rich Gaston , 2281 Wisconsin Street, stated that he had served on the Budget Committee. He shared his impression that the City Manager carried a lot of weight in the budget process. He advocated for having a financially conservative person to guide the City through that process. He averred that deficits should only be brought forward because of special needs. He also wished to advocate for the institution of some kind of independent performance auditor for the City of Eugene. He believed that it would be good to have someone who had worked with that kind of system and appreciated the checks and balances. He shared his great respect for City staff. He said if projections were correct, the City was in for tougher fiscal times. Jan Wostmann , 2645 Riverview Street, noted his service as co-chair of the Neighborhood Leaders Council. He said the first characteristic he hoped those hiring the City Manager would look for was someone who was comfortable with the idea that Eugene was composed of neighborhoods that had distinct needs. He felt MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 17, 2007 Page 2 Community Forum the delivery of services was best tailored to the individual neighborhoods. He did not believe it was a given for a City Manager to think along those lines. He added that as a part of that, the next City Manager should have some experience with neighborhood associations as part of the structure of the community. He believed it important to maintain an open style of communication with ordinary citizens. He averred that the City should be open for inspection and willing to operate in a transparent manner. He reiterated that the City Council sets policy and the City Manager implements it; it is critical for the candidate for City Manager to understand this. He added that the City of Eugene was reaching a point in the scope of its government that it needed a performance auditor. Mayor Piercy called for a short break at 7:24 p.m. She reconvened the meeting at 7:35 p.m. Moshe Immerman , 2590½ Washington Street, thanked the council for holding the community forum. He believed it was a privilege to have the job as City Manager and that Eugene deserved someone that was extraordinary. He thought the interim City Manager would make a good candidate. Mr. Immerman said candidates for City Manager should know the Toxic Right-to-Know ordinance. He believed that Tasers could be used for torture and asserted that the current version of the Eugene Police Department (EPD) draft guidelines allowed it. He averred that any candidate should be asked to weigh in on this issue. He also suggested that the New York Police Department had an “international intelligence unit” that had come to the Eugene Police Department in order to “invade certain public groups” to try to prevent “something from happening.” He wanted to know what potential candidates for City Manager thought about this. Mr. Immerman thought a new City Manager should be asked in some detail how he or she felt about holding the current pattern of keeping the City Council “externalized.” He believed that having an external process created conflicts of interest. Mayor Piercy closed the Community Forum and thanked everyone for their testimony. Councilor Ortiz thanked everyone who spoke. She noted that there would still be opportunities to provide input Mayor Piercy adjourned the meeting at 7:39 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Angel Jones City Manager Pro Tem (Recorded by Ruth Atcherson) MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 17, 2007 Page 3 Community Forum ATTACHMENT C M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Work Session Council Chamber—Eugene City Hall September 19, 2007 Noon COUNCILORS PRESENT: Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor, Betty Taylor, Bonny Bettman, George Poling, Jennifer Solomon, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene Urban Renewal Agency to order. A. WORK SESSION: West Broadway Advisory Committee Recommendations Mayor Piercy thanked the West Broadway Advisory Committee (WBAC) for its work. She commended the co-chairs, Greg McLauchlan and Harriet Cherry, for facilitating the committee. City Manager pro tem Angel Jones commended the community members who participated in the process, and thanked the staff of the Planning and Development Department (PDD) for their “tremendous effort.” She considered it to be a great example of teamwork. She stated that the action to be taken at the meeting was to receive the committee’s report. She said there would be another public information opportunity from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. later in the day, at which comments on the process and recommendations could be given. Mr. McLauchlan thanked everyone for their participation and, in particular, Ms. Cherry. He also thanked Mr. Zelenka and Mayor Piercy for their input. He echoed Ms. Jones in thanking the PDD staff, calling their work “extraordinary.” He stated that staff provided support, research, and assistance in a timely way sometimes working weekends and evenings to do so. In particular, he commended Nan Laurence, Commu- nity Development Planner, for her work. Mr. McLauchlan provided an overview of the process and the committee’s report. He underscored that the recommendations had been supported by 70 to 90 percent of the people who provided input, depending on the recommendation. He said the community had largely not been supportive of building a large Cineplex in the downtown area, preferring instead a smaller one-to-four screen theater. He noted that a larger cinema would require large amounts of parking. Mr. McLauchlan related that community sentiments also ran in opposition of a larger 50,000 square foot store; the committee had passed along a recommendation to include a grocery that was 25,000 square feet or smaller. He stressed that this was a cap and not a mid-range estimate. He reported that the committee supported the development of a dense, energetic, multiple- use neighborhood that was active 24 hours a day and wished to emphasize pedestrian, transit, and bicycle access. He thought there may be a need for 500 more parking spaces, noting the committee’s recommendation that parking be built on level floors for possible future conversion. MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 19, 2007 Page 1 Work Session Regarding open space, Mr. McLauchlan related that the committee overwhelming preferred a smaller plaza. He underscored that many considered large, deep sidewalks to be a form of open space. Mr. McLauchlan stated that the committee wanted high-quality sustainable buildings to be built that were esthetically attractive and that represented the historic buildings that were there when possible. He said the committee wanted development to achieve the highest level of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification possible. Continuing, Mr. McLauchlan indicated that the committee developed a proposal for the business transition plan that went beyond statutory requirements. He averred that some businesses would be able to relocate to new development and others could move to other areas of the downtown. He hoped businesses would prosper as a result of the project. Ms. Ortiz thanked the committee for their work. She had been impressed by the amount of energy that went into some of the public sessions. She looked forward to advancing the project. Mr. Poling noted his skepticism when the WBAC first convened. He said he now felt very pleased by the end product. He commented that he had never seen anything like the level of public involvement that had gone into the report. He thanked everyone for participating, both the committee members and the citizens. Ms. Bettman felt there were good recommendations in the report in terms of “rearticulating the new urbanist concepts.” She hoped the City could utilize the recommendations as a basis for a Request for Proposals (RFP) to redevelop vacant property “after the ballot measure fails.” She questioned why the council was having the discussion. She believed that if the recommendations were “tweaked” by the council and “sent off to the developer” there would be “obvious financial implications.” She predicted that developers would return to the council with a much higher project cost. She asked if the City would then bring back another spending increase for the Urban Renewal Agency and whether this would happen regardless of whether the ballot measure passed. Mayor Piercy underscored that the council was trying to respond to the specific recommendations from the committee. She said she discussed with City Attorney Glenn Klein prior to the meeting what elements of the conversation should not be brought up given the pending election and the legal parameters that governed it. Mr. Klein said the council was not, in the opinion of the City Attorney, at risk of violating elections law. He underscored that between the attorneys they had over 30 years of experience in advising state agencies and they had a great deal of familiarity with this. In regard to the specific question from Ms. Bettman, he stated that if the developers returned in March with a need for $35 million more it would be an issue with which the City Council or Urban Renewal Agency would have to deal. He stressed that this would not be a staff decision and also that it was unrelated to the ballot measure. Ms. Bettman averred that the ballot measure was “inexorably” tied to the recommendations because all of them would cost money. She felt the recommendations had not been factored into its financial implications. Mr. Clark thanked the committee for its work and also expressed appreciation for the high integrity of the work. He recalled that 70 to 80 percent of the people who participated in the first public forum indicated they wanted the council to act and move forward on downtown revitalization. He said he originally was skeptical of Mr. Zelenka’s motion to bring in more public input. He felt that sometimes too much public process slowed a larger process down. He had come to understand that the community placed a high value MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 19, 2007 Page 2 Work Session on participation; if there was going to be a public investment in a project the public would have to weigh in on it. He underscored that without public investment there would not be the opportunity for the project. Mr. Pryor was pleased with the process. He said he was always interested in ways to better interact with the public. He averred that if the council was going to create a body and assign it “this much work and this much research and go through this much of a process” it was imperative that the council listen to what they had to say. He appreciated all of the work and believed that the recommendations were sound. Ms. Taylor opined that it was inappropriate to discuss this at this time as the project depended on the increase in the debt limit of the Urban Renewal Agency. She said the election on November 6 will indicate whether the public supported the project. She asserted that people who did not approve of the project had not “bothered to go” to the public workshops. Ms. Solomon thanked the committee members for “giving up their summer.” She was also thankful for the level of public participation that the committee had brought to the process. She felt there had been “squeaky wheels” that attempted to derail the process and she commended the committee for remaining focused on its assigned task. She said the report represented a “strong and thoughtful set of recommendations.” Mr. Zelenka said he had attended all of the meetings. He thanked the WBAC, Mr. McLauchlan, and Ms. Cherry for the work they had done in a “short period of time.” He called the community input “tremendous.” He thought urban renewal financing was interesting as it allowed development to be financed by the property taxes developers would pay. He believed the measure would pass on November 6 and the result would revitalize the downtown without raising taxes. Mr. Zelenka thanked the WBAC for being respectful of both the City Council and the developers and for not being too prescriptive. He indicated that he would bring back verbiage to the next meeting that would make the language stronger and clearer. Mayor Piercy related that she also attended all but one of the WBAC meetings. She had observed “very strong” participation from people with different points of view. Ms. Ortiz thanked staff for the work that had gone into the committee process and report. She commended Ms. Laurence for being a hard worker. Ms. Bettman remarked that the “ultimate public input” would be the vote in November. She averred that the project would also receive low-income housing money, Multiple Unit Property Tax Exemption (MUPTE) “money,” general fund money, “DRLP”(Downtown Revitialization Loan Program) money, and HOME funds, for a total of $29 million. She called this money “additional subsidies and incentives.” She opined that the discussion created the illusion that the recommendations would influence the final product. She declared it to be a “lot of public relations or… even propaganda.” She believed that if the ballot measure failed, very different projects would move forward and if it did pass the money on the ballot would not be enough. Ms. Bettman postulated that the Mayor and the proponents on the council would take a passed ballot measure as a “thumbs up for subsidies for private development” and would return and ask for a further increase in the debt limit. She was certain that if the proponents could interpret the passage of the ballot measure as support for the project it would be “no holds barred.” Ms. Ortiz, seconded by Mr. Pryor, moved to extend the discussion by five minutes. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 19, 2007 Page 3 Work Session Ms. Solomon observed that there seemed to be some assumptions at the table that the developers could “care less” about the report. She understood that the developers had attended every meeting and asked Mr. McLauchlan to speak to this. Mr. McLauchlan confirmed that the developers involved were supportive of the process and wanted to know what the City thought with regard to their proposals. He noted that representatives and principals of the two developers had attended many of the WBAC meetings and had spoken to the committee, indicating that they were impressed with the recommendations and perceived it as Eugene’s challenge to them to do the very best development they were capable of. He felt the committee gained an appreciation for the development side as much as the developers had gained an appreciation for the public input side. Ms. Solomon said this was consistent with her understanding of the process. She felt optimistic about the process. She felt the developers wanted to be in Eugene and wanted to make a difference in the community. She trusted they would work within a budget. Mr. Zelenka believed that good ideas had come out of the WBAC, such as a smaller grocery store and smaller movie theater. In response to a question from Mr. Zelenka, Mr. Klein stated that ultimately, financing would be the council’s call. He said if the spending limit passed, the council would decide how much of it to spend on the downtown project, and the council had the option to spend it on other projects. He stressed that no one’s taxes would be raised simply because of this project; in order to raise taxes the council would be required to place a measure on the ballot, such as a levy. He added that money could be used from the General Fund but it would not increase taxes. Mr. Zelenka declared his intention to “stick to that amount of money.” He felt that no downtown projects would go forward without subsidies. He remarked that there was “no magic dust to sprinkle on downtown to have redevelopment happen within the city without City investment.” He said redevelopment had not happened on its own in 20 years and he was mystified by people who thought it would. Ms. Taylor did not agree that the developer would pay for the project through property taxes. She opined that the council did not know whether the development would succeed. She thought services might have to be reduced or property taxes would have to be increased. She averred that if money was diverted from other places it may indirectly raise taxes. She added that no one had discussed compression, which she believed to be a possibility. Ms. Taylor, seconded by Ms. Ortiz, moved to extend the discussion by two minutes. The vote was a tie, 4:4; Mr. Zelenka, Ms. Bettman, Ms. Ortiz, and Ms. Taylor voting in favor and Mr. Pryor, Ms. Solomon, Mr. Poling, and Ms. Clark voting in opposition. Mayor Piercy voted for the motion and the motion passed. In response to a question from Ms. Bettman, Senior Development Analyst Denny Braud stated that any information on whether property taxes would increase would have to come from Finance Division staff. Ms. Bettman thought the council had received a memorandum that indicated that raising the urban renewal debt limit could in some cases raise taxes. Mr. Klein stated that the council had received a number of memoranda from Financial Analysis Manager, Sue Cutsogeorge, and he was uncertain which one contained the information Ms. Bettman was seeking. He MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 19, 2007 Page 4 Work Session ATTACHMENT D M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Work Session Council Chamber 777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon September 24, 2007 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Andrea Ortiz (by telephone), Chris Pryor, Betty Taylor, Bonny Bettman, Jennifer Solomon, George Poling, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka. 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 announced that her one-on-one meeting would be held in Mr. Pryor's ward on September 27 at Big Town Hero. She said that the 25th anniversary celebration of the Hult Center would occur on September 28, 2007. Mr. Pryor reported that the West Eugene Collaborative had a workshop scheduled in October and he would provide the council with information following that event. He had met with concerned parents in the Churchill High School area to discuss traffic concerns on Bailey Hill Road. He said those efforts were being coordinated with Churchill Neighbors and thanked staff from Public Works and the Eugene Police Department for meeting with those groups. He was encouraged that a long-term, effective solution would be reached. Mr. Zelenka noted the lack of applicants for the Planning Commission and the Budget Committee. Mr. Zelenka, seconded by Ms. Bettman, moved to go forward with the appoint- ments to the Human Rights Commission, Sustainability Commission and Toxics Board as scheduled, but to delay and reopen the appointments for the Planning Commission and Budget Committee until after the selection of the Human Rights Commission, Sustainability Commission and Toxics Board members. Mr. Clark clarified that application would be reopened to other members of the public in addition to those who had already submitted a board and commission application. The motion passed, 7:0. Ms. Solomon arrived at 5:35 p.m. MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 24, 2007 Page 1 Work Session Mr. Zelenka indicated that he wished to clarify the intent of the motion to award funds to neighborhoods. He said that while the application rules associated with matching grants would apply, the grants themselves would not require a match; they would be outright grants. Ms. Bettman said she was unwilling to agree to an interpretation of the motion without the opportunity to review the motion and determine legislative intent. Mr. Zelenka asked staff to provide clarifying information. Ms. Taylor reported that the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency (LRAPA) did not meet last month. She referred to efforts to designate Civic Stadium as an historic structure, but said that it could still be demolished under current law. She asked if the law could be changed to prohibit demolition and redevelop- ment if there was a historic designation. Relating to Willakenzie Park, Mr. Poling said there had been a number of requests to convert to park use the three acres purchased with Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and set aside for housing. He noted that he had originally proposed purchasing the entire eight acres for a park but had not received any support and consequently three acres had been landbanked for low-income housing. B. WORK SESSION: Meeting with Recruiter for City Manager Position Acting Assistant City Manager Scott Luell introduced Robert Neher of Bennett Yarger and Associates, and Alana Holmes, Human Resources, to provide an update on the city manager recruitment process. Mr. Neher reviewed drafts of the profile and position description that would be used in the city manager recruitment process. He said that a section relating to management style and personal traits was included in the profile, but not the position description, as that was inconsistent with the City's current format for job classifications; however, it could be added if the council wished. He hoped that the work session would result in a review of the documents and agreement on language, specifically the content of pages 5 through 9 of the profile. He asked for feedback from councilors. Ms. Taylor stated that a four-year degree should be required, with preference for a master's degree. Mr. Neher said that the draft language was based on the council's indication that it did not want to eliminate any potential candidates on the basis of education if they had significant experience. Ms. Taylor said she wanted to eliminate applicants who did not have a bachelor's degree and indicate a preference for a master's degree, although not rule out applicants without one. She wanted the nine years of experience to specify that a certain amount of that time be as a city or county manager with comparable responsibilities. Mr. Neher said that requirement could be imposed, but it would further narrow the field of candidates and he understood that the council was interested in recruiting "outside of the box" from business, education or other areas. He explained the various levels of screening applications would go through before a slate of candidates was identified. Ms. Taylor felt that the council's goals did not need to be included in the profile. Ms. Bettman said she preferred requiring a master's degree and her understanding was that there was consensus that the ideal candidate would have a master's degree, but applicants highly qualified because of MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 24, 2007 Page 2 Work Session experience would not be ruled out. Mr. Neher said that the council would need to specify exactly what type and extent of experience would warrant a waiver to the master's degree requirement. Ms. Bettman said there should be a statement that the compensation level was under review and not yet established. She pointed out that the council, not the mayor and the council, hired the city manager. She asked that the profile indicate Eugene was the second largest city in the state. Ms. Bettman, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved to make a master's degree a mini- mum requirement and direct the recruiter to bring forward applicants that were deemed qualified but did not have a master's degree. Mr. Neher pointed out that people without a master's degree would be unlikely to apply if that requirement was stated. Mr. Poling said his recollection of the council's earlier discussion was that a master's degree was preferred, but not required. Mr. Pryor supported requiring a bachelor's degree, with a strong preference for a master's degree instead of requiring a master's but waiving that requirement, which he felt was confusing. Mr. Clark concurred with Mr. Pryor's suggested language. He said there were different approaches to the information that would be used to promote the position and invite applications and the criteria to be used by the recruiters for screening those applications. Mr. Zelenka agreed with requiring a bachelor's degree and stating a preference for a master's, but did not want to screen out applicants without a master's degree. Mr. Neher clarified that the qualifications would be changed from a combination of education and experience to requiring a four-year degree with strong preference for a master's degree. He asked how the council wished to address the experience requirement. Ms. Bettman favored language that required a minimum of a bachelor's degree and described the ideal candidate as possessing a master's degree or comparable experience. City Attorney Glenn Klein summarized Ms. Bettman's proposal as requiring a bachelor's degree, with the ideal candidate having a master's degree or experience that would equate to a master's degree. He said that would not preclude qualified applicants who did not have a master's degree. Mr. Neher concurred with Mr. Klein's summary and stated that the new language would require a four-year degree and specify that the ideal candidate also have a master's degree or experience and training that would provide the required knowledge and abilities equivalent to a master's degree. Mr. Pryor suggested modifying language in the profile to eliminate the reference to a master's degree in the first bulleted item under Education and Experience and adding a third bullet as follows: In addition, a master's degree in public administration, business administration or planning is strongly preferred in selection. A commensurate experience in (to be determined) will also be considered. Ms. Bettman restated her motion to state: The ideal candidate will also have a mas- ter's degree or experience and training that would provide the required knowledge MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 24, 2007 Page 3 Work Session and abilities equivalent to a master's or other advanced degree. Ms. Taylor agreed to the restated language. Mr. Zelenka said the combination of experience and training should be required and not a guideline. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. In response to questions from Ms. Bettman, Mr. Neher explained that the current language related to experience indicated that a candidate would have at least nine years of management experience, with at some point during that time experience working with government. Ms. Bettman asserted that the intent was to broaden the search by not ruling out applicants who were not government employees. Based on Ms. Bettman's suggestions, Mr. Neher offered the following amended language: A minimum of nine years of increasingly responsible administrative and managerial experience of which five years is preferred in public or private agencies involving responsibility for strong management and administra- tion. Experience as a city/town/village manager or as an assistant/deputy manager is preferred. The ideal candidate should have experience in a similar size or larger organization. Ms. Bettman suggested adding the phrase "but not required" to the end of the sentence first sentence. Ms. Piercy determined there was general agreement to the language changes as set forth by Mr. Neher. Mr. Neher asked for feedback on the section related to knowledge, skills and abilities. Ms. Bettman pointed out that the references were all to public management and administration and the intent was to broaden the pool of applicants by considering applicants from the private sector. Mr. Clark said the profile should be clear that a candidate would need strong skills to address conflict resolution. Mr. Neher said that conflict resolution was referenced throughout the document. He said that candidates could also be referred to news articles about Eugene that would highlight issues on which there was considerable community or council disagreement. Mr. Clark reiterated that the candidate should have the skills to help the community and the council bridge those divides. Ms. Bettman and Ms. Taylor expressed a number of concerns about the profile and candidate qualifications. Ms. Piercy suggested that the council subcommittee reconvene to incorporate councilors' input into the profile and position description. Mr. Clark commented that the Eugene Weekly had reported that the City Council made a decision to keep the city manager hiring process secret. He stressed that the council had not made any decision about the secrecy of the process at this point. Ms. Piercy adjourned the meeting of the City Council. Ms. Piercy convened the meeting of the Eugene Urban Renewal Agency (URA). MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 24, 2007 Page 4 Work Session C. WORK SESSION: West Broadway Advisory Committee Recommendations Denny Braud, Planning and Development Department, referred to the proposed motion and recommended next steps, which included working with Beam and KWG to develop detailed proposals by mid-November. He said there would be a level of detail in the proposals that would allow the council to determine their consistency with the West Broadway Advisory Committee (WBAC) recommendations and evaluate project financing. He said that other steps involved working toward binding agreements and continuing public involvement in downtown development. He anticipated returning to the URA in January with an outline of possible terms that could be included in the binding agreements. Mr. Pryor, seconded by Ms. Solomon, moved to accept the recommendations pre- sented in the WBAC final report, and to direct the Agency Director to work with Beam and KWG to develop project proposals as consistent as possible with the WBAC recommendations. The Agency Director shall bring the project proposals to the URA for review, including financial details. If a proposal is not completely consistent with the WBAC recommendations, then the Agency Director, when pre- senting the proposal for URA review, shall identify which WBAC recommenda- tions are not met, why not, and what the cost or development implications would be to change the proposal to make it consistent. Prior to the URA's approval of pro- ject proposals and financial details that would be included in agreements with Beam and KWG, the Agency Director shall create opportunities for the public to provide input on the project proposals and financial details, including a public hearing be- fore the URA. Following input from the public, the Agency Director shall bring terms to be included in agreements with Beam and KWG for approval. Mr. Zelenka offered a friendly amendment to insert the phrase "as amended by the changes presented by Councilor Zelenka at the September 24th council work ses- sion" at the end of the first sentence and strike subsequent uses of "WBAC" in the motion. Mr. Pryor and Ms. Solomon accepted the friendly amendment. Mr. Klein clarified that the motion as amended referred to a revised version of the WBAC recommendations distributed by Mr. Zelenka at the meeting. Mr. Zelenka reviewed his amendments to the WBAC recommendations and explained that his intent was to clarify roles and responsibilities of the City and developers throughout the document, strengthen language by using the word "shall" instead of "should" and assure that the City had maximum flexibility to negotiate the agreement. Ms. Piercy thanked Mr. Zelenka for adding an option for a "pocket park" and requiring an analysis of the historic significance of certain buildings. Ms. Taylor stated it was premature to be discussing any details before the election. Ms. Taylor, seconded by Ms. Bettman, moved to postpone discussion of the rec- ommendations until after the election. MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 24, 2007 Page 5 Work Session Ms. Bettman remarked that the process was creating the illusion that pitfalls of the West Broadway project would be alleviated. She was concerned that the City was using resources to advocate for a ballot measure and pointed out that the City Manager had postponed discussion of the transportation funding issue. The motion failed, 2:6; Ms. Taylor and Ms. Bettman voting in favor. Mr. Pryor expressed appreciation for Mr. Zelenka's clarification of the recommendations. He emphasized that the preferred mix of uses would maintain flexibility in the negotiations. He stressed the importance of recognizing that the City's relationship with the developers was a partnership and not an employer/employee arrangement; both sides would be making a significant investment in the project. He would support the amended motion. Ms. Bettman asked if any of the recommendations ruled out the possibility that the development would have a 50,000 square foot grocery store, a $16 million parking structure or displace local businesses or ensure relocation of those businesses. Mr. Klein replied that that proposals must be as consistent as possible with the recommendations and if a proposal did not comply with a recommendation, the agency director must provide an explanation and the council had the authority to reject the proposal. Ms. Solomon asked how Mr. Zelenka had determined the need for at least 300 residential and hotel units. Mr. Zelenka said that clarified the need for a significant number of residential and hotel units in downtown by establishing a threshold. Ms. Solomon asked if Mr. Zelenka would consider establishing the LEED bronze criteria as the minimum for buildings instead of the silver criteria. Mr. Zelenka replied that was a WBAC recommendation and consistent with City standards. Mr. Solomon asked for staff comments on the revised recommendations. Mr. Braud replied that it was unlikely a developer would be able to meet all 23 recommendations but every effort would be made to meet as many as possible. Mr. Poling thanked Mr. Zelenka for his revisions. He said the recommendations were another building block in the revitalization of downtown and West Broadway. He said a great deal of work had gone into establishing a process that assured the public's wishes for downtown development were reflected and the final decision would rest with the council. He felt it would be ludicrous for the council to turn its back on what the people had requested. Mr. Clark agreed that the amendments gave the developer further clarity on community expectations of the partnership. He was pleased with the amount of community consensus and thoughtful consideration that the process brought to the City's partnership with developers. Mr. Zelenka reiterated that his intent was to clarify and strengthen the recommendations. He recognized that the WBAC was respectful of the council's authority and did not attempt to tell the council what to do. He noted that the initial investment of funds was $25 million; the $40 million was available over the next 20 years of urban renewal; the investment of $25 million would leverage up to $200 million on private investment. He said it was unfortunate that the election would occur before there were concrete proposals to discuss. He said the recommendations would be used as a matrix to evaluate proposals for downtown development criteria. MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 24, 2007 Page 6 Work Session Ms. Ortiz and Ms. Piercy indicated their support of Mr. Zelenka's revisions. Ms. Piercy commented that a pocket park should be situated so it could be observed from offices and residences. Ms. Bettman pointed out that the recommendations did not rule out less than 300 housing units or clusters of national retail chains. She commented that while proposals would come back to the council, the council could change its own criteria. She said $10 million of the $40 million urban renewal spending increase was for administration and did not include all of the expenditures such as interest, grants, and tax incentives. She said that adopting the recommendations would only increase the price tag. She stated that $1.25 million in General Fund money was also included and there was no plan for pedestrian amenities or parks. Ms. Taylor asked what the legal status would be if the motion passed and the ballot measure failed. Mr. Klein responded that the status with respect to the motion was the same whether the ballot measure passed or failed; the motion directed the agency director to work with developers to prepare proposals for the council and failure of the ballot measure would mean there were no tools to implement those proposals. Ms. Taylor asked if developers were willing to continue to prepare proposals if the council adopted the motion. Mr. Braud said developers would be given direction to prepare proposals and he had no indication that the developers would not be responsive. In response to a question from Ms. Taylor, Mr. Braud said the Atrium was not part of the development proposals. Mr. Poling suggested the possibility that there could be underground parking beneath the pocket park. Mr. Zelenka said he understood that the developers were encouraged about moving forward with proposals and were pleased with the results of the WBAC process. He explained that once the motion passed, staff would ask developers to prepare proposals and work with them on a development agreement for the council's consideration. He felt the reference to interest expense as a part of the project cost was misleading. He used the example of asking someone how much they paid for their home; the answer did not include the interest on mortgage payments over the next 20 years. He was optimistic that the recommendations would inform the developer so they could prepare proposals that were responsive to council and community interests in a revitalized downtown and building on the other urban renewal agency successes. Ms. Bettman remarked that the recommendations did not reflect community wishes. Ms. Piercy hoped that developers would make efforts to blend any historically significant architectural features in downtown with the new construction. The motion passed, 6:2; Ms. Taylor and Ms. Bettman voting in opposition. The meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Angel Jones Interim City Manager (Recorded by Lynn Taylor) MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 24, 2007 Page 7 Work Session said one could not answer a question about how urban renewal affects taxes or overlapping tax districts in “ten seconds.” He averred that the memoranda spoke “for themselves” and if Ms. Bettman needed another copy of them he would arrange for Ms. Cutsogeorge to reissue them to her. Ms. Bettman asserted that there was a memorandum that said there were instances in which the urban renewal would increase taxes. She added that she hoped the City Attorney’s Office would release its confidential memorandum to the council to the public so that the attorneys could justify why it was “okay” to have the present discussion but not allowable to have a discussion regarding transportation funding. She believed the council was at a point where it would be deliberating and taking action but could not ask questions of the attorneys except by making a public records request. She averred that the councilors could only make those requests for “what the [attorneys] deemed permissible information.” Ms. Ortiz, seconded by Mr. Pryor, moved to receive the report and direct the Agency Direc- tor to gather comments at the Mayor’s September 19 Community Forum and to distribute those comments to the Urban Renewal Agency for review; and to further direct the Agency Director to return to the Urban Renewal Agency on September 24, 2007, with options, rec- ommendations, and a proposed motion. The motion passed, 6:2; Ms. Bettman and Ms. Tay- lor voting in opposition. Mayor Piercy stated that the whole community had an interest in revitalizing the downtown and she had a great interest in “getting to a win-win for all of us.” Mayor Piercy closed the meeting of the Eugene Urban Renewal Agency at 12:55 p.m. and convened the meeting of the Eugene City Council. B. WORK SESSION: Street Design Standards for the Crest Drive Neighborhood Ms. Jones asked Public Works Executive Director Kurt Corey, to introduce the item. Mr. Corey commended the efforts of all of the people in the Crest Drive neighborhood and the staff who worked on the street design standards. He underscored that the team agreed on almost all of the street design standards. He stated that the purpose of the present meeting was to give the council information to assist in its decision to move ahead in a public hearing process. He introduced Planning Director Lisa Gardner. Ms. Gardner introduced the Crest Drive Community Team members that were present and they were received with a round of applause. She explained that the council directed the group to move forward with the context sensitive solution process in a collaborative manner. She also recognized the contributions of David Roth, Transportation Engineering Technician, Emily Proudfoot, Landscape Architect, and Jenifer Willer, Civil Engineer. She said they attended all of the meetings. She underscored that the target of the collaborative process was to gain agreement among most of the people participating on most of the elements of the design. Ms. Gardner provided an overview of the context sensitive solutions process. She reported that the issue of street width was as yet unresolved. She related that staff had not been able to resolve it administratively; it would have to be resolved legislatively. MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 19, 2007 Page 5 Work Session Mr. Corey explained that TransPlan Goal #2 delineated transportation systems characteristics. He said the challenge was to find the best fit that would balance the needs of the neighborhood and the needs of the transportation system. He related that the concept of “skinny streets” had a minimum recommended street width standard of 20 feet. He noted that the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) also upheld that standard for street design. Mr. Corey stated that a low volume street typically had an average of 400 vehicles or less traveling on it in a day. He said the range of volume values ran from a low of 860 vehicles on the southern part of Storey Boulevard to over 3,600 vehicles per day on Crest Drive by Morse Ranch. He noted that there was some disagreement as to the origin and destination of the vehicles. He believed that the traffic data resulted in an initial recommendation for something more than 20 feet of width. He added that a wider street was indicated when a diversity of travel modes exist, such as bicyclists, pedestrians, and a variety of vehicles. He reviewed the criteria for exceptions to the street width criterion. He stated that the Crest Drive Community Team was seeking to be relieved from having to adhere to that criterion. Fred Lorish, representing the Crest Drive Community Team, reiterated that the issue was street width. He declared an 18-foot width to be the best option for what the neighborhood was trying to accomplish. He believed it was a quality decision as the neighborhood wished to maintain certain qualities that currently existed there. He recalled that when the City let the neighborhood know that their streets were slated to be rebuilt, the neighborhood was informed that the main streets would be classified as neighborhood collectors. He related that residents remained convinced that the majority of traffic was people who cut through the neighborhood. Mr. Lorish conveyed the neighborhood’s belief that a 20-foot road would not fit because it included more than just the street, such as sidewalks. He related that the neighborhood thought a thin road was safer because it slowed traffic. He pointed out that the neighborhood had steep topography and averred that the streets were narrow “for a reason.” He acknowledged that street standards were necessary but reiterated the neighborhood’s feeling that a wider street would not fit. He averred that not every street needed to look alike. Mayor Piercy asked the council to consider a motion to extend the time for the meeting or a motion to table the item for further discussion. Ms. Bettman advocated for extending the time for discussion. Ms. Ortiz, seconded by Ms. Solomon, moved to table the item to allow for a full discussion given the time. The motion passed, 5:3; Ms. Bettman, Ms. Taylor, and Mr. Zelenka voting in opposition. Ms. Taylor thanked Mr. Lorish for speaking on behalf of the Crest Drive Community Team. The meeting adjourned at 1:31 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Angel Jones City Manager pro tem (Recorded by Ruth Atcherson) MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 19, 2007 Page 6 Work Session ATTACHMENT E M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Interviews for Boards and Commissions Council Chamber—Eugene City Hall October 2, 2007 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Jennifer Solomon, Chris Pryor, Andrea Ortiz, Betty Taylor, Bonny Bettman, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka COUNCILORS ABSENT: George Poling Council President Andrea Ortiz called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. A. INTERVIEWS FOR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS The council interviewed Jon Belcher, Lisa Arkin, Rachel Burr, Patrick Driscoll, Therese Brand, Howard Bonnett, Josh Bruce, Doug Heiken, Shawn Boles (via telephone), Dave Funk, Brian Erickson, and Kip Much for positions on the Sustainability Commission. Ms. Ortiz greeted each candidate and explained the interview process. At the conclusion of each interview, she informed the candidate that the council would make its appointments at the October 22, 2007, council meeting. All candidates for the Sustainability Commission positions were asked the following questions: 1. What prompted you to apply for the Sustainability Commission? Based on what you know about the role of the Commission what do you consider are the most important skills you bring to help the commission be successful? 2. Please tell us about any experience you have had working collectively with a group. 3. What do you consider are the most important issues to address in Eugene to enable the commu- nity to become sustainable? 4. How can the Sustainability Commission be most effective in its role as a policy advisory body to the City Council? 5. Please share you views on how the Sustainability Commission can foster involvement of the whole community in long range changes to become more sustainable. The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Angel Jones City Manager Pro Tem (Recorded by Ruth Atcherson) MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 2, 2007 Page 1 Boards and Commissions Interviews