HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 12/12/07 Work Session/Workshop
M I N U T E S
Eugene City Council
Work Session/Workshop
Bascom/Tykeson Room, Eugene Public Library
100 West 10th Avenue—Eugene, Oregon
December 12, 2007
11:30 a.m.
COUNCILORS PRESENT: Chris Pryor, Betty Taylor, Bonny Bettman, Jennifer Solomon, George
Poling, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka.
COUNCILORS ABSENT: Andrea Ortiz.
Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. She noted that 30
minutes had been added to the agenda in order to address the supplemental budget.
WORK SESSION: Discussion of Supplemental Budget #1
City Manager pro tem Angel Jones apologized for adding the supplemental budget discussion to the agenda
on short notice. She said staff were available to answer questions and hoped that the council would be able
to adopt the supplemental budget at the conclusion of its discussion.
Ms. Bettman stated that staff had responded to many of her questions and she was satisfied that the
supplemental budget was within policy. She noted there was an additional $75,000 in the Urban Renewal
Agency (URA) budget for the West Broadway project and asked how that reconciled with the $350,000
already added to the URA budget. Planning Director Susan Muir explained that the council approved the
funds on December 10 to reimburse the Planning and Development Department for expenditures on behalf
of the URA.
Ms. Bettman said she had many more issues with the transactions that did not involve General Fund moneys
and the decisions that were made regarding the allocation of beginning working capital to ongoing projects
and reserves. She concluded that there should be a review of reserve policies to assure adequate funds for
operations and appropriate levels of reserves.
Mr. Clark said he would support a work session on reserve policy issues.
Mr. Poling noted that the City had received national recognition for its financial management. He asked if
changing reserve policies would jeopardize the City's bond rating and ability to borrow money in the future.
Central Services Director Jim Carlson replied that would depend on the nature of the changes. He said the
City currently had good financial policies in place, including reserve policies, but he would support a council
review.
Mr. Poling asked if the issue should be discussed at a joint meeting of the council and the Budget Commit-
tee. City Manager pro tem Jones agreed that involving the Budget Committee in a review of policies was
consistent with the committee's role and the interest in policies expressed by its members.
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Ms. Bettman reiterated that her biggest issues were with funds such as the Telecommunications Fund and
Fleet Reserve, where decisions appeared to be very discretionary. She was concerned with how to address
the General Fund deficit projections from a policy level. She cited several perceived inconsistencies with the
adopted numbers in the FY08 budget. She questioned the accuracy of Footnote E on page 120 and said it
did not appear to reconcile with information in the capital budget. Budget Manager Kitty Murdoch
explained how the amounts were calculated and said the figures were net of all transactions.
Mr. Clark said he had no questions about the quality of staff work, but believed the council's role was to
provide oversight and it was appropriate to periodically examine policies.
Mr. Carlson said the City's fleet reserve policy was one of the best for equipment replacement and was used
for both General Fund and non-General Fund fleet equipment. He said carrying over a large amount of
money, as noted by Ms. Bettman, was necessitated by the City's efforts to implement a new fire equipment
apparatus master contract that would allow purchase of multiple pieces of equipment over a ten-year period
without having to go out for bids on each individual piece.
Mr. Zelenka arrived at 11:50 a.m.
Mr. Pryor, seconded by Mr. Clark, moved to approve Resolution 4922 adopting a
supplemental budget and making appropriations for the City of Eugene for Fiscal
Year beginning July 1, 2007, and ending June 30, 2008.
Ms. Bettman said she would support the supplemental budget with deep reservations and said she viewed
questioning the budget as her job and that should not be perceived in a negative way. She was not certain
how the new budgeting for outcomes process would impact the budget document or financial policies.
Mayor Piercy thanked everyone for their attention to the budget and looked forward to a discussion of the
City's financial policies.
Ms. Taylor indicated she was in favor of a policy discussion and had concerns about the budget.
The motion passed unanimously, 7:0.
WORKSHOP: City Council Goal - City Hall Complex
Interim City Manager Angel Jones introduced Jonah Cohen of Thomas Hacker Architects to lead the
discussion. Mr. Cohen introduced design team members Steve Simpson, Doug Macy, Ellen Teninty, and
Barry Pack who would participate in the presentation and discussion.
Mr. Cohen said the recent change in the planning horizon from 2008 to 2010 raised a number of issues. He
said council would be updated on the design, public involvement process, and public opinion research in
order to inform its discussion. He referred to the project values and position statement and said the goal was
to develop a compelling vision of a city hall complex inspired by an intense public involvement process and
reflecting community values. He said four key design drivers had emerged: sustainability, sense of
welcome, efficiency and planning for the future; design options had been distilled to two and each of those
would be depicted with two variations. He said variation "a" represented immediate consolidation and
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variation "b" represented incremental consolidation. He said both options could accommodate 25 years of
growth space with expansion capability, offered underground parking and were models of universal
accessibility.
Mr. Macy and Mr. Simpson used a series of drawings to illustrate the design options for a new facility on
the current City Hall site.
Mr. Cohen stated that pursuant to council direction in October, the design team moved forward with
planning for a patrol facility on Site E, near the intersection of 2nd Avenue and Garfield Street. He said a
two-story facility would accommodate patrol function needs and preserve sufficient parking on the site for
fleet and personal vehicles. He said the site met all of the requirements for a patrol facility and could be
adapted to a precinct facility in the future.
Facilities Manager Mike Penwell reported on the status of the three potential patrol facility sites: D, E and
F. He said the owners of sites D and F were not interested in selling; Site E was owned by Lane Transit
District (LTD), which was willing to make approximately 3.5 acres of the site available, contingent on
approval by the board of directors. He said there had been discussions with General Services Administra-
tion (GSA) regarding use of a portion of the federal building for municipal courts and related offices. He
indicated that the Veterans Administration was interested in the space and GSA was expected to make a
decision in 30 to 45 days.
Mr. Cohen said the cost of immediate consolidation was estimated at $188 million and incremental
consolidation at $154 million; those costs were based on real designs and escalation to a 2010 construction
start, as well as construction to LEED silver standards for the patrol Facility and LEED GOLD or even
PLATINUM for the City Hall.
In response to questions from Mr. Poling, Mr. Cohen said an eight percent annual inflation factor was used
in the cost estimates. He said if the federal building were not available, that would require redesign of the
City Hall facility and recalculation of costs.
Ms. Bettman commented that the City would not own the federal building space and the Atrium Building
would become a liability if the City could not dispose of it to help offset the $188 million cost. Mr. Cohen
pointed out that was one option and the design team would return in March 2008 with more information
about options and variations for incremental consolidation.
Mr. Pryor indicated his preference for the symbolism and welcoming design of options 1a and 1b.
Ms. Taylor said she liked option 1 and was in favor of using space in the federal building. She thought
landscaping should consist of large trees instead of trees that could be easily removed. She asked if the
plans would transfer to another site. Mr. Cohen said it was unlikely the exact plans could be transferred as
each site was unique, but what was learned through the design effort could be applied to another site.
Mr. Clark echoed Mr. Pryor's preference for option 1a and liked the integration of the council and City
functions in one accessible location.
Mr. Poling also liked option 1a, particularly the mid-block entrance and bicycle parking against the building,
which provided better security.
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Ms. Solomon also favored option 1a and preferred the more formal urban forest landscaping approach,
instead of trying to recreate native habitat.
Mayor Piercy determined there was consensus regarding urban forest landscaping.
Ms. Bettman stated that she liked option 1a, but preferred the supporting elements in the second option. She
preferred a Northwest-inspired design instead of steel and glass. She felt that a connection to nature should
be reflected in preservation of riparian areas and access corridors as well as access in a dense urban
environment to community public spaces, instead of using urban land for plazas. She said softness should
be a part of the building design instead of being achieved through landscaping, which increased maintenance
costs. She objected to investing in renovations to a building the City did not own and felt that locating a
police patrol facility at 2nd Avenue and Chambers Street with a large surface parking area was contrary to
sustainability.
Mr. Penwell remarked that GSA had been considering separate ownership of the portion of the federal
building that might house municipal court functions.
Mayor Piercy appreciated the connection to the river and green elements in the designs and preferred option
1. She noted there was a sky bridge from the current City Hall to the Lane County building across Pearl
Street and wondered whether a similar feature would be possible in a new facility to maintain that
connection between governmental entities.
Mr. Poling commented that he would not be interested in the federal building except on a temporary basis
during construction as the intent of a new city hall facility was consolidation. He pointed out that a police
patrol facility would require significant parking as officers could not rely on public transportation or
bicycles to report to work, particularly in an emergency situation.
Mr. Zelenka said he liked option 1 and suggested the addition of a water feature to the plaza area at the
entrance. He wanted to see an architectural design that was more reflective of the Northwest and less steel
and glass. He was in favor of using the federal building for court functions, but the City would need
ownership or a long-term lease of the space to justify the cost of renovations. He understood the need for
significant parking associated with a patrol facility, but felt the $24 million cost was too expensive. He
asked how much of that cost was land acquisition. Mr. Cohen said land acquisition would be approximately
$1.7 million assuming approximately $12 per square foot. He said the design was still being developed and
the facility could be more functional and modest because it was not a public building like City Hall.
Mr. Zelenka stated that the city hall and patrol facility projects needed to move forward in tandem.
Ms. Taylor said she was disturbed about building a massive parking lot and if the patrol facility were
downtown it would be easier to use public transportation. She suggested that officers could drive their
patrol vehicles home. She liked the idea of using the federal building if the space could be purchased or
leased on a long-term basis. She asked how a new building would be more linked to the river than the
current City Hall. Mr. Cohen said the intent was to begin developing 8th Avenue as a great street and a
connection between the park blocks and the river.
Mr. Clark concurred with the importance of encouraging alternate modes of transportation, but was pleased
that the police facility would have adequate vehicle parking, as that was an integral part of effective police
functions. He did not believe that individual transportation modes would ever be eliminated and should be
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accommodated in future plans. He said that consolidation was a major consideration and would support use
of the federal building as a transition tool. He hoped that some element of the city hall building could face
east to represent facing the future.
Mayor Piercy agreed that the architecture should reflect Northwest design, but it should not be expensive or
difficult to maintain. She urged that the parking lot site across 8th Avenue be considered in the great street
concept. She noted that patrol vehicles were shared from shift to shift and it would not be feasible for
officers to take vehicles home.
Ms. Bettman thought it was a mistake to equate use of wood as a design element with the problems
associated with the exterior of the current building. She cited many examples in which wood was used as a
structural or design element effectively. She objected to surface parking that was not underground or
embedded in the building because that was an inefficient use of land.
Mr. Zelenka agreed with Ms. Bettman's remarks about use of wood as a design element. He liked the
concept of using the lobby area as a multi-purpose public use space in option 1a. He was interested in how
the parking lot property across 8th Avenue would be integrated into the great street concept and linkage to
the river. He wanted to provide police with a patrol facility that met their needs in the least expensive way,
which was why it would be located outside of the downtown area and include surface parking; structured or
underground parking was several times more expensive. Mr. Penwell said that parking associated with the
patrol facility would be a subject for further discussion at the March 2008 meeting.
Ms. Teninty determined that councilors preferred design option 1 and asked for any additional feedback for
the design team to consider.
Mayor Piercy observed that buildings were always more attractive at night when they were lighted and
hoped to see daylight design drawings at the next work session.
Mr. Macy determined there was agreement with the placement of the council chamber in the design and
asked for other comments on chamber design.
Ms. Bettman said she would prefer more wood accents, but did not feel there needed to be a water feature
visible from the chamber. She wanted a simple, utilitarian space that was comfortable and provided good
acoustics.
Mr. Clark agreed that utility was important and the design should emphasize that the building and chamber
were there to serve the entire community, not elevate the council.
Mr. Poling did not feel the council chamber should be the key feature of the building, but there should be a
natural flow from the lobby area into the chamber.
Mayor Piercy emphasized that the building was the people's space and the design should reflect that. She
agreed with the need for utility, but felt the building should also be something of which the community could
be proud.
Mr. Zelenka did not feel the council chamber needed to be a separate space and liked the access from the
lobby/atrium area. He hoped that the chamber could be designed in a way that it could be available to the
community as a multi-purpose space when not being used for council functions.
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Ms. Taylor liked the features of the current council chamber, but agreed it could be used more often. She
felt that elevating the council made it easier for the audience to see it during meetings.
Mr. Clark liked the concept of surrounding the chamber with as much glass as possible to provide a sense of
transparency and reflect the close interaction between local government and its citizens.
Mr. Zelenka suggested locating the council chamber in a way that directly connected it to the lobby/atrium.
Mr. Pryor encouraged the concept of a municipally modest structure to convey to voters that the proposal
incorporated community values and was accessible, but not arrogant or self-important. He felt that was best
expressed in design option 1.
Mayor Piercy noted that the current council chamber was used frequently by both the council and
community functions. She thought a water feature with functionality such as green practices would make
sense. She hoped that the building could have a cultural connection that recognized community diversity.
The council took a short break.
Ms. Teninty reported that the ongoing conversations with the community had been very productive and the
public had been involved in developing the key design drivers and design aspects such as accessibility, visual
arts, landscaping and sustainability. She reviewed public outreach activities to date and said that public
input had been valuable in refining design options.
Mr. Pack reviewed the results of a follow-up poll conducted in November 2007, which gathered public
opinion in three areas: perception of the council's job performance, location of the police patrol facility and
support for a city hall and patrol facility bond measure and sequencing of other bond measures and election
issues.
Ms. Bettman asked if there was a qualitative difference between rating the City and rating the council on
issues and whether the public regarded serving on the council as a "job." Mr. Pack replied that the poll was
geared toward potential viability of a bond measure and one of the aspects of voters' support was how the
measure was referred to them. He said the council was used in the poll because it was the council, not the
City, which would refer a bond measure. He felt the term "the City" was too general and would have
produced different results as each person would have a different interpretation of what that meant; the public
had a common understanding of the specific term "City Council."
Mr. Clark said that the general public did not draw a distinction between the council and City staff; the
council was considered to be responsible for what the organization did.
Continuing, Mr. Pack said poll results indicated a majority of the public did not trust the council to make the
right decisions about downtown development and revitalization, which remained the number one concern and
contributed to an unfavorable assessment of the council's performance although there did not appear to be a
common definition of revitalization. He said the location of the police patrol facility was not a concern as
long as community-based policing continued to be pursued.
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Ms. Bettman observed that questions about a bond measure only referenced a city hall and did not include a
patrol facility. Mr. Pack replied that while that was not shown in his presentation, the bond measure
questions asked of the public always referred to both facilities.
Mr. Clark asked what level of confidence was needed for a ballot measure to pass. Mr. Pack said that sixty
percent or more was realistic, but cautioned that the poll did not represent an in depth analysis of the issue.
Mr. Pack concluded his presentation by noting that voters' trust had eroded and the perception of the council
continued to be an obstacle to passing a bond measure, downtown revitalization and street maintenance were
top priorities although voters were not certain how to address them, location of a patrol facility was not a
concern as long as there was a police presence in City Hall, and efficiency, safety and fiscal responsibility
remained important.
Mr. Pryor remarked that research represented a perception, not reality, but should not be dismissed because
people voted based on their perceptions. He said the data brought up as many questions as it answered and
the council needed a better understanding of the lack of voter confidence in its performance.
Ms. Bettman thought the survey should have asked if it make a difference to voters whether a proposal had
unanimous council support and why people thought the last three patrol facility bond measures had failed.
Mr. Zelenka agreed there was a concern about lack of confidence in the council and while that had some
basis in the council's performance, it also was related to decades of relentless government bashing across the
country that created an environment of general distrust.
Mr. Pack felt the council had an opportunity to change the public's opinion because it shared top priorities—
downtown revitalization and street maintenance and preservation—with the community and finding solutions
to those problems would gain community support.
Mr. Clark said the council had an opportunity to gain the community's trust by identifying smaller scale
problems that it could demonstrably solve before referring a larger solution to the transportation funding
problem.
Mayor Piercy remarked that the poll results confirmed the wisdom of extending the planning horizon and
providing the community with more information about the proposal. She agreed there was a perception that
the council could not work together, but pointed out that the council had successfully passed earlier bond
measures related to parks and the library. She said there were a number of short-term actions that could be
taken to improve the downtown area to illustrate the council's ongoing commitment.
Mr. Penwell said that delaying the bond measure until 2010 effectively extended the planning horizon but
there were some issues that could not be delayed, including the deterioration of the current City Hall
structure and lack of space. He said staff and the design team would return in March 2008 with recommen-
dations for completing the planning process and intermediate steps over the next two years.
Mayor Piercy expressed her appreciation for the community involvement process and the information that
had been collected. She felt that information would be valuable in other council endeavors and help to
inform the council's decision-making. She said it would be a challenge to determine how much repair and
renovation should be done to current buildings while waiting to put forth a bond measure.
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Ms. Taylor asked to have a discussion of what type of repair should be done to the current building included
in the next work session.
Ms. Bettman asked if councilors were interested in reconsidering the Sears site.
Mr. Poling commented that the site had been considered and rejected because locating the City Hall there
would not contribute to revitalizing the area and increasing evening activities.
Ms. Taylor said people were told that site was not available because it was already committed to another
use.
Mayor Piercy suggested the council could consider the possibility of using the Sears site.
Mr. Penwell said that the council would need to provide that direction to the design team in another work
session because it was contrary to current council direction.
The meeting adjourned at 3 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Angel Jones
City Manager pro tem
(Recorded by Lynn Taylor
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