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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 02/25/08 Work Session M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room–City Hall 777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon February 25, 2008 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: George Poling, Betty Taylor, Jennifer Solomon, Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Bonny Bettman. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the work session 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 the next Mayor’s One-on-One event would occur the next day at the Rite Aid th Store at 29 Avenue and Willamette Street between the hours of 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Ms. Taylor would also be present. Mayor Piercy announced that the Eugene Parks and Open Space Division staff was accepting applications for the community gardens until March 30. Mayor Piercy noted some recent articles in The Register-Guard, one regarding repeat offenders who drove while their driving privileges were suspended, and called for more work on the issue. She also noted an article on a group of forest workers who were challenging the federal government on its application of fire retardants on the basis they were contaminating rivers and streams. Mayor Piercy also noted an article that quoted Representative Peter DeFazio expressing concern about the lack of federal dollars to repair local roads and calling for attention to the basic infrastructure needs of the country. Mr. Pryor reported that Ms. Ortiz had been elected his successor as chair of the Human Services Commis- sion (HSC). He characterized the HSC budget being proposed for the next fiscal year as devastating, and said the size of the reductions anticipated if the Secure Rural Schools and Safer Community Self- Determination Act revenues were not renewed would be particularly devastating to human services funding in Lane County. He suggested that the Eugene and Springfield councils should discuss the degree to which those jurisdictions would be prepared to shoulder the burden of providing support to the residents of Lane County when they began to lose services as a result of the reductions. He emphasized it was not the County’s problem, but the residents of Lane County’s problem. Mr. Clark said he attended the most recent meeting of the Public Safety Coordinating Council Juvenile Justice Subcommittee, at which members had a similar discussion about the Lane County public safety budget outlook. The public safety implications of the anticipated revenue reductions were equally MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 25, 2008 Page 1 Work Session devastating, and he advocated for a discussion of what happened to Eugene citizens when County-funded services went away, and about the City’s appropriate role. Mr. Clark said he attended the recent Fire and EMS Awards ceremony on February 24, and found it inspirational, particularly in regard to the stories of the innovation approaches the department was taking to service provision. Mr. Clark said he attended the February 24 meeting of the Cal Young neighborhood organization and was happy to see Floyd Zimmer, a resident who had worked for a long time on behalf of the neighborhood, be elected president. Mr. Clark reported that he had attended the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce’s recent Economic Forecast, which he found interesting. Mr. Clark said he attended the River Road Community Celebration on February 9 with his children and was glad to see Mayor Piercy and Ms. Ortiz in attendance. Mr. Clark reported he was attending the Police Operations Academy in his position as a council representa- tive to the Police Commission. Mr. Clark invited residents to a community dialogue on March 6 at 10 a.m. at Dani’s Coffee and Espresso at Santa Clara Square sponsored by himself and Lane County Commissioner Bill Fleenor. Ms. Taylor requested legal counsel as to whether the City could waive the assessments for road improve- ments for residents affected by the Crest Drive area street improvement project. She also asked about potential adjustments for those with long frontages but narrow lots. Ms. Taylor said she was hearing about potholes from her constituents, and was also hearing a desire to save Civic Stadium from redevelopment. She thought the City of Eugene should do whatever it could to aid in that effort. Ms. Taylor said she also heard from those wanting a park across from the Eugene Library and hoped that could be included in any Request for Proposals issued for the site. She said that commercial and residential development was stimulated by such parks. Ms. Taylor reported that the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations had completed its review of legislative proposals made in the recent legislative special session and would begin to revise the legislative policies when it met again later in the year. She also invited suggestions for legislation the City should introduce in the next session. Mr. Zelenka said that the University of Oregon basketball arena was a major issue in his neighborhood and the legislature had recently approved the bonds to pay for it. He anticipated the neighborhood would ask the City to apply the conditional use permit process in its review of the proposal. Mr. Zelenka said he attended a recent Birth-to-Three fundraiser on February 23 that raised more than $80,000, which was fantastic for the families served. MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 25, 2008 Page 2 Work Session Mr. Zelenka said the Metropolitan Policy Committee continued to work on transportation planning and local criteria for the selection and prioritization of projects. The committee was also investigating having its meetings televised. Ms. Ortiz said she was happy to have been elected chair the HSC, which was an important committee to the community. She said the HSC was provided with statistics about Project Homeless Connect, which confirmed her perception that many of the volunteers involved were ordinary people. Many personal connections had been made at the event, which she found very heart-warming. Ms. Ortiz recalled the recent Joint Elected Officials meeting and said she was glad all councilors were able to be present. She anticipated a bumpy future given the County’s lack of Road Fund dollars in addition to its budget woes, but believed it was a positive thing for the elected officials to talk to each other about community values. She thought more such opportunities should be created. Ms. Ortiz said she had been invited to a presentation at the new River Bend campus which was hosted by her boss, Mel Prine. Mr. Prine had shared the hospital’s vision of the future of its site with local elected officials. That vision included low-income housing. Mayor Piercy said that Commissioner Faye Stewart had committed to speaking to the council about the impacts of the loss of the Secure Rural Schools money, and she thought that an opportunity to begin the discussion mentioned by councilors in their remarks. She suggested the council should consider developing an emergency plan to respond to the gaps in service that would exist when those dollars were no longer available. Ms. Ortiz noted that Council Bonny Bettman was absent on a medical mission to Ecuador. Mayor Piercy welcomed City Manager pro tem Angel Jones back from her recent illness. City Manager pro tem Jones reported that Beth Forrest had accepted the position of Council Coordinator. Ms. Forrest had been serving in the position on an interim basis. City Manager pro tem Jones welcomed Ms. Forrest. B. WORK SESSION Sustainability Initiative Update Mayor Piercy welcomed members of the Sustainability Commission who were present for the item. Sustainability Manager Felicity Fahey joined the council for the item. Ms. Fahy introduced Will Shaver and Tim Laue, chair and vice chair of the Sustainability Commission. Ms. Fahy provided an update on the Sustainability Initiative, noting the establishment of the commission in 2007. She said it had been highlighted to her that the City needed to focus more on the role of social equity, and she suggested there was “a great deal of capacity’ to broaden the discussion and include the three aspects of sustainability in everything the City did. Ms. Fahy believed the City could play a role in bringing the many players who had a role in sustainability together and noted the interest being expressed by other communities in the work the City was doing. MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 25, 2008 Page 3 Work Session Ms. Fahy reviewed the work that she and the commission had done to date and forecasted the activities of the Sustainability Commission for the upcoming year. Mr. Shaver discussed the commission’s meetings, noting the high level of public involvement and the sense of urgency expressed by both the commission and community at large regarding social and environmental issues that the initiative was trying to address. The commission was working on its work plan and would hold a work plan retreat later that week. The council would receive the work plan later in the year. He said there was a wide array of topics for the commission to consider. Mr. Shaver noted commission members present: Josh Bruce, Shawn Boles, Dave Funk, Howie Bonnett, and Brian Erickson, and reminded the council that Mr. Zelenka served as its representative on the commission. Mr. Laue reported the commission had developed its mission statement. He shared the mission statement: The Sustainability Commission works to create a healthy community now and in the future by proposing measurable solutions to pressing environmental, social and economic concerns to the City of Eugene, its partners, and its people. Mayor Piercy expressed appreciation for the work of the commission and said that much had been accomplished in the time since Ms. Fahey joined the organization. Ms. Solomon arrived. Mayor Piercy asked if the Lane County Homebuilders Association had been asked to participate in the conference the City was co-sponsoring. Ms. Fahey indicated she would follow up on the question. Mayor Piercy expressed strong support for the sense of urgency felt by the commission, because everything she heard indicated much more needed to be done in a short time frame. Anything Eugene could do locally seemed important to her. Mayor Piercy said as she was reading the initiative action plan, she recalled former councilor Gary Papé’s commitment to green building policy and moving us toward the LEED standard. She did not want to lose sight of that. Mayor Piercy recommended the council use the City’s sustainability policies as a filter for all that it did to ensure that it was going in the right direction with its activities. Ms. Ortiz thanked all the commissioners present. She said according to Popular Science magazine’s rankings, Eugene had done well in regard to sustainability-related issues. While the community could challenge itself in many areas, she thought the community should know that it was doing well. Ms. Ortiz emphasized that being green was much more comprehensive than recycling. Ms. Ortiz noted the nomination of Eugene resident Lorraine Kerwood of NextSteps Recyling, a home-grown nonprofit, for the Volvo for Life Award, and said that demonstrated one person could make a difference. Mr. Pryor thanked the Sustainability Commission and Ms. Fahy for the work they had done. He said that Eugene could not be excellent and green unless it backed that commitment up with willingness and resources, and he thought the commission demonstrated the City’s commitment. He liked that sustainability MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 25, 2008 Page 4 Work Session was a trend that the nation and planet was moving toward. People did not have to be convinced that green was good. The commission was a resource for those who were seeking to be more “green” and could provide them with the assistance they needed to achieve that goal. He said the commission could provide residents with practices and incentives to move the City from word to the deed. Mr. Zelenka commended the commissioners and said it was a pleasure working with them. He also commended Ms. Fahy for her staff work. He said the commission was now moving into the substance of its work, and wanted to get going to respond to the urgency both the members and the public felt to place Eugene on the forefront of what he anticipated was a huge social, environmental, and economic movement. Mr. Zelenka noted that Ms. Kerwood was a finalist for the Volvo award and as a finalist had already received $25,000 to donate to her favorite charity, which was Next Steps Recycling. If Ms. Kerwood won the award, she would receive another $125,000 and a Volvo for life. Mayor Piercy said that Ms. Kerwood was a good example of the ‘triple bottom line.’ She recycled every element of computer equipment and employed people at a living wage to do that work. Mayor Piercy spoke to the subject of partnerships in the broader community, noting a recent meeting of local government agencies convened by University of Oregon President Dave Frohnmayer to talk about what those agencies could accomplish together in regard to sustainability. She thought the recognition the City received in Popular Science magazine was largely due to the work of the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB). She noted the recent international recognition LTD had received for its EmX system. Such things worked together to help the community reduce its carbon emissions. Ms. Solomon noted that Ms. Kerwood was the guest speaker at the February 28 meeting of the Active Bethel Citizens on February 28 at Petersen Barn. Ms. Solomon suggested it made sense to give EWEB a seat on the Sustainability Commission given its contribution to Eugene’s green image. Ms. Fahy indicated that EWEB had committed to send a non-voting liaison to commission meetings. Ms. Taylor endorsed Mayor Piercy’s remarks about using sustainability as a filter for council decisions. She asked how a living wage ordinance fit into the commission’s work. Ms. Taylor was encouraged by the good people who served on the commission, and was optimistic about what would come out of the work of the commission. She hoped that the City did not focus on taking credit for achievements and on how good it was but on what it was doing. Mr. Clark also thanked the commission for the hard work it did. He supported the commission’s vision and goals and thought it was doing a good job of quantifying how the City could be more sustainable. Mr. Clark agreed with the remarks of Ms. Solomon in regard to a position for EWEB on the commission. Mayor Piercy suggested the ordinance establishing the Sustainability Commission would need to be amended for EWEB to participate on the commission. MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 25, 2008 Page 5 Work Session Mayor Piercy agreed that Eugene should not just take credit for its success and needed to show action, not just talk, but she suggested that such successes gave people the motivation to keep going. She did not think such praise for just “praise for praise’s sake,” but acted as a building block to help people move forward. Mr. Laue spoke to the concept of the triple bottom line—economic, social, and environmental—and said that those were very large topics. He said the commission had discussed the need to measure its progress on its work plan in definable ways; there was no way to do that without partnerships with the community and City organization. Mr. Laue said that while sustainability seemed to be a relatively new concept to some, the City of Eugene had been working on many sustainability practices for a long time, and he said it should receive credit for the work it had done long before sustainability became the “issue du jour.” He emphasized that the topic was huge and recommended the council pay close attention to what the commission did and remember it could not do it all but wanted to do what it could well. Mr. Shaver invited the council’s input in the future. B. WORK SESSION Railroad Quiet Zone Tom Larsen, Public Works Transportation, provided the staff report, reminding the council of past work sessions about the topic, where staff was directed by the council to monitor the train crossing situation in the central area and investigate the success of other quiet zones. Subsequently, staff learned of the availability of some federal funding in the form of Section 130 dollars, safety money administered the by State. In order to qualify for those dollars, crossings must be closed, with a focus on redundant crossings. The federal government indicated that the six crossings in six blocks likely constituted redundant crossings. He said that the council had a policy against closing streets and the council directed staff to solicit public input on the topic. Mr. Larson emphasized it was possible to have a quiet zone without any street closures. The closures could vary in cost from $25,000 to $400,000; many crossings were not appropriate for the lower cost supplemen- tal safety measures. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the railroad strongly supported closures but there was limited funding. He said that closing at least one closures helped in regard to the negotiations and diagnostic process. Rob Inerfeld of Public Works Transportation overviewed the community outreach done in regard to the topic. He reported there was strong residential support for quiet zones, while businesses were supportive or noncommittal. People favored quiet zones with no street closures but a majority of those who attended expressed support for one street closure. Staff had recommended that street be Madison Street. Mr. Larson called attention to information in the AIS regarding costs, noting the single street closure was reflected in Table 1. Mayor Piercy solicited council comments and questions. Ms. Ortiz commended the staff work but found none of the staff-prepared motions sufficient. She noted that a group of people had been identified to serve on a Citizen Advisory Group (CAG) charged to work on railroad-related issues and she thought the topic was one of the topics that groups should be assessing. MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 25, 2008 Page 6 Work Session Ms. Ortiz noted the council’s receipt of an e-mail message from resident Brian Obie, who had suggested the City, through the United Front effort, request federal money to underwrite the costs of a quiet zone. She endorsed Mr. Obie’s suggestion. She thought Mr. Obie was correct and given his huge investment in the community, the City could, on its part, work to get a quiet zone, which affected his business. Ms. Ortiz said the Whiteaker Community Council took a position that, while it did not prefer street closures, affected residents should not have to pay for it. Mr. Larson said the City had not decided on a local improvement district, although it had been discussed. He noted there were quiet zones based on a downtown business tax and on revenue bonds; it was up to the community to decide how to pay for it. Ms. Ortiz did not want to see the neighbors assessed for the street closures given that all residents would benefit from the quiet zone. Mr. Clark said if pushed, he would accept the manager’s recommendations, but he too was not satisfied with any of the options. He supported a quiet zone in concept but pointed out that whistles were designed to keep people safe at the crossings. He noted that Coos Bay was considering facility improvements that could substantially increase rail traffic going through Eugene, further increasing the opportunities for accidents at railroad crossings. He had some concerns about creating a quiet zone in advance of that because it could create safety challenges for the City. Mr. Clark said that $1.4 million for a quiet zone was quite a bit of money given the City’s budgetary challenges. While he would like to support the zone, he would have to say, “not at the moment, but we’ll keep working on it.” He agreed that the City should look to its federal representatives for assistance. He did not favor placing the item in the budget right now. Mr. Pryor said in principle he supported such a zone as residents wanted it. However, Mr. Poling stressed, the crossings must be safe; that must be the overriding consideration. He agreed the City should seek federal funding. He pointed out that the physical improvements associated with the zone would be a one-time expenditure. He thought that fact created more opportunity if the council was willing to take it. He acknowledged the council would have to find a source of funding. Mr. Pryor confirmed with Mr. Larson that the needed improvements must be made to an entire area to achieve quiet zone status. Mr. Larson said that there were about two miles involved overall. Speaking to the issue of safety, Mr. Larson said the anticipated reduction in vehicles and the safety measures to be installed would produce a safer situation. Mr. Pryor said that safety and a quiet zone were not mutually exclusive. He wanted to keep moving forward with a quiet zone in a realistic manner. He said if the council decided on a one-time capital commitment, he believed it would need to decide what other project would be dropped. Mr. Pryor reiterated that he wanted to continue to move forward on the process. Ms. Solomon was unclear as to why the City needed a consultant to do work she thought could as easily be done by staff. She did not favor closing streets as she envisioned that would create ghetto-like qualities in the residential areas affected and harm to the businesses involved, and the other side streets nearby would be stressed by the additional load from cars avoiding the area. Ms. Solomon asked the costs of installing quad gates. Mr. Larson said that it was $400,000 to $500,000 per gate. There were likely to be associated maintenance costs of about $10,000 annually. MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 25, 2008 Page 7 Work Session Ms. Solomon recalled hearing at a workshop on the subject that a quiet zone did not guarantee train horns would stop. Mr. Larson concurred. He said that generally, the zone quieted only routine horns, but train engineers could still sound the train horn for a variety of safety-related reasons, including work crews, people on the tracks, and when they left the yard or station. Ms. Solomon wanted people to understand a quiet zone would only silence routine horns. Mr. Zelenka supported the establishment of a quiet zone. He agreed that safety was the paramount issue and it appeared a quiet zone would improve safety. He did not favor the establishment of a local improve- ment district to fund the street closures. He also agreed with Ms. Solomon about the need for a consultant. He wanted the affected neighborhood to be involved with any street closures. Mr. Zelenka advocated for seeking funding through Representative DeFazio, suggesting that the cost be included on the City’s list of federal funding “asks.” Intergovernmental Relations Manager Brenda Wilson indicated that while the United Front priorities had been sent, an item could be added; however, federal transportation funding was appropriated in cycles, and the next appropriations would not come out until 2010. She said that the federal dollars mentioned by Mr. Larson were available only for quiet zones with 50 percent street closures, and the deadline for other federal dollars had passed. Mr. Poling agreed there was a need for a quiet zone but he was also concerned about safety issues, including the response times by police and fire, which would be affected by the closure of streets. He favored the quad gates as the best approach, even with the cost involved. He acknowledged the costs of maintaining the gates. He recommended that the City’s representatives to the United Front broach the topic with the federal delegation. Mr. Poling opposed street closures for the reasons mentioned by Ms. Solomon. City Manager pro tem Jones indicated that staff recommended a consultant be hired due to work load issues. If staff did the work involved, another work task would have to be postponed. Ms. Taylor also did not support closing streets, hiring a consultant, or forming a local improvement district to pay the costs, although she found it no more unfair here than in other situations where people were asked to pay for facilities that other people used. Ms. Taylor confirmed with Mr. Larson that the City could install one or two quad gates that would have an overall affect on safety. Mayor Piercy suggested the council needed to decisively convey its interest in the quiet zone, and recom- mended the City start the conversation with its federal delegates now even if the zone was some time away. She said the council could direct staff to work with Representative DeFazio’s Office on ways to fund a quiet zone because she was not convinced the City was aware of all the funding sources available. Mayor Piercy agreed about not closing streets for the reasons mentioned. Mayor Piercy reiterated that the council needed to contact Representative DeFazio about what it had in mind. MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 25, 2008 Page 8 Work Session Ms. Ortiz, seconded by Mr. Pryor, moved to direct the City Manager to continue to pursue options for creating a quiet zone as a council priority, including directing staff working with the United Front to start a conversation with Representative Peter DeFazio’s Office about funding for a quiet zone of the magnitude set forth by staff with quad gates at every cross- ing. Ms. Ortiz thanked staff for the information and hoped the council considered it a priority for the sake of things like safety and downtown development. Mr. Zelenka supported the motion. At his request, Mr. Larson described a quad gate. Mr. Zelenka asked if the railroads and ODOT supported quiet zones. Mr. Larson said that ODOT was generally neutral, and the railroads tended to believe there was an increase in their liability because of their experience in Florida. The railroads had tended to be against such zones. The railroads were more comfortable with the risks they were familiar with. Mr. Zelenka perceived a railroad quiet zone as a quality of life issue for residents and endorsed the mayor’s recommendations regarding initiating the conversation with Representative DeFazio. Mr. Pryor supported the motion because he thought it demonstrated the council’s commitment to such a zone while providing it with a level of flexibility. He thought the council needed to embark on the discussion now. Mr. Clark agreed with Mr. Pryor. He indicated, for the purpose of legislative intent, the purpose of the motion was to get the “ask” in line and begin a conversation, but not for the item to jump up in priority over other United Front priorities. Ms. Ortiz and Mr. Pryor concurred. Ms. Taylor expressed concern about the maintenance costs of quad gates, and noted that she personally liked hearing the sound of train whistles. The motion passed unanimously, 7:0. City Manager pro tem Jones confirmed that the council was directing the staff to begin the discussion about funding, but no other work would occur. Ms. Ortiz recommended that staff consider returning at later time with a proposal that included a consultant if that was considered necessary for work load reasons. Mayor Piercy adjourned the meeting at 6:54 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Angel Jones City Manager pro tem (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 25, 2008 Page 9 Work Session