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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/18/1986 Meeting M I NUT E S e Eugene City Council City Council Chamber June 18, 1986 12:25 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Richard Hansen, Debra Ehrman (12:25 p.m.-l:37 p.m.), Emily Schue, Cynthia Wooten, Ruth Bascom, Freeman Holmer, Roger Rutan, Jeff Miller. The adjourned meeting from June 16, 1986, of the City Council of the City of Eugene, Oregon, was called to order by His Honor Mayor Brian B. Obie. Mayor Obie changed the order of the agenda. I. ITEMS FROM MAYOR, COUNCIL, CITY MANAGER; APPOINTMENTS; AND ANNOUNCEMENTS . A. Tax Allocation BUdget for the Eugene Urban Renewal Agency Councilor Holmer said he expressed some concerns when the council, acting as the Renewal Agency, approved the Tax Allocation Budget on June 16. Subsequently, however, Finance Director Warren Wong provided him with e additional data which reconciled the printed budget with the adopted budget and satisfied his concerns. B. Pole, Pedal, Paddle Race Mayor Obie announced that Team Eugene finished first in the Pole, Pedal, Paddle race sponsored by the City of Bend. He presented the Bend Mayor's Award to Lauren Chouinard and Jenna Knight who accepted it for themselves and fellow team members Terry Smith, Bill Sloat, and John Etter. C. Appointments: Mayor1s Nomination to the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission Mayor Obie nominated Steve Duffy to the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Conmission. He said he conferred with Councilor Schue about the nomination. Mr. Hansen moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, to appoint the following to the Metropolitan Wastewater Commission: Steve Duffy, 695 West 40th. Term to expire: 2/1/88 The motion carried unanimously, 8:0. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 18, 1986 Page 1 III. ROUTINE ITEM FOR COUNCIL APPROVAL: CONSIDERATION OF CITY COUNCIL e MINUTES OF APRIL 23, 1986 (minutes distributed) Mr. Hansen moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, to approve the City Council minutes of April 23, 1986. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 8:0. III. PUBLIC HEARING: SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET #4 (memo, ordinance distributed) Assistant City Manager Dave Whitlow introduced consideration of Supplemental Budget No.4. Mayor Obie opened the public hearing. There being no requests to testify, he closed the public hearing. CB 2887--An ordinance adopting a supplemental budget; making appropriations for the City of Eugene for the fiscal year beginning July 1,1985, and ending June 30,1986; and declaring an emergency. Mr. Hansen moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, that the bill be read the second time by council bill number only, with unanimous consent of the council, and that enactment be considered at this time. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 8:0. e Council Bill 2887 was read the second time by council bill number only. Mr. Hansen moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote; all councilors present voting aye, the bill was declared passed (and became Ordinance No. 19390). IV. RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING SISTER CITY RELATIONSHIP WITH BEAVERTON (memo, resolution distributed) Assistant City Manager Dave Whitlow introduced consideration of a Sister City Relationship with Beaverton, Oregon. He presented Charlene Curry of the University of Oregon. Ms. Curry said she was accompanied by representatives of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce. She said Eugene and the University of Oregon have many friends and supporters in Beaverton who helped lobby for the University of Oregon during the last legislative session. She said Beaverton and Eugene officials have exchanged visits. She said the citizens of Beaverton are like the citizens of Eugene and have similar goals. She said Bob Fenstermacher has an office in Beaverton and will serve as Eugene1s ambassador in Beaverton and Bill Akeda has an office in Eugene and will serve as Beaverton's ambassador to Eugene. . MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 18, 1986 Page 2 Mayor Obie said he looked forward to the sister city relationship with e Beaverton with enthusiasm. He said Eugene has several sister city relationships that have not been nurtured. He wondered who would nurture the relationship with Beaverton. Bob Fenstermacher, 3505 Spring, said he will accept the role of major communicator between the two cities. He said Chamber of Commerce officials should keep the relationship active. Mr. Holmer said the City has not had a resident representative in its sister cities in Nepal and Korea. He said an ambassador in Beaverton is very important and it is appropriate for the Chamber of Commerce to accept the responsibility of maintaining relations with Beaverton. Ms. Bascom said a better term than "sister city" may be found to describe the relationship of Eugene and Beaverton. Res. No. 3986--A resolution establishing sister city relations between the cities and Chambers of Commerce of Beaverton and Eugene, Oregon. Mr. Hansen moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 8:0. Mayor Obie recessed the meeting of the Eugene City Council and convened a e meeting of the Eugene Urban Renewal Agency. IV. DOWNTOWN COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATION REGARDING BROADWAY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT (memo, background information distributed) ) f Assistant City Manager Dave Whitlow introduced consideration of the Downtown Commission's recommendation concerning improvements to Broadway from the west side of Willamette Street to Charnel ton. Jan Bohman gave the staff report. She said the council held a public hearing on the improvements on June 16, 1986. Ms. Bohman said the Downtown Commission recommended that the council approve a two phase project to improve the Broadway corridor in the downtown mall. She said the first phase will include lights, tree thinning, removal of physical obstructions, remodeling of the play area, and the addition of benches and tables. She said the relocation of the rest rooms would be considered in the second phase of the project. She said the budget for the two phases is $462,000 which will require a supplemental budget of $272,000. One hundred ninety thousand dollars has been appropriated for the improvements. Addressing issues raised by the councilors previously, Ms. Bohman said the manager of The Bon will make their rest rooms which are handicapped accessible available for public use. The rest rooms in the Parcade and Overpark are also available. She said the managers of Centre Court and the Atrium were a bit apprehensive about making their rest rooms available to the public and said e they may need help with maintenance and security of the rest rooms. They wi 11 MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 18, 1986 Page 3 -- -- --~ continue to discuss the matter. She said the rest rooms might be relocated in e a vacant store space in Centre Court and the adjacent area could be used to give information to the public and for security guards to lie heck in." She said the size of the existing rest rooms could be reduced. Ms. Bohman said the managers of Eugene Athletic and Olympic Outfitters submitted written commitments to make improvements to their properties and the managers of The Bon, The Literary Lion, the Oak Merchant, and Burch's Fine Footwear have given oral commitments that they will improve their properties. Ms. Bohman said the plan now is to remove the middle row of trees on Olive Street south of Broadway. She said the short-term work plan of the Development Department includes establishing of user fees for merchandising in the right-of-way and the City's User Fee Study will also include consideration of fees for the use of the right-of-way. She distributed three drawings to the counc il ors. They were of about one block of the remodeled playground. She said the glass pavilions and sculptures in the drawings will not be in Phase 1. She said the Downtown Commission recommended that the playground be a little smaller than indicated in the drawings. Replying to questions from Ms. Wooten, Ms. Bohman said the relocation of the rest rooms will cost about $75,000 if they are placed in an existing building and about $125,000 if entirely new construction. The $75,000 figure does not include any property acquisition cost that may be involved. She said the Downtown Commission considered the whole mall when it approved the merchant, central activity, and delineation zones. She said the improvements to e Broadway will be appropriate if Willamette Street is opened between 8th and 10th avenues, but the improvements will also be appropriate if Willamette Street is not opened. She said the improvements are not necessarily the forerunner of the opening of Willamette Street, but some improvements need to be made to Willamette Street. She said the owner of Books, Babies, and Buggies requested the removal of the bench and covered area in front of 80 East Broadway and the Downtown Commission will consider the matter. Ms. Wooten discussed the lights on the mall and said the new lights on Broadway may make the design of the mall seem uncoordinated. Ms. Bohman said the amenities in the improvements to Broadway are intended for use throughout the mall eventually. Broadway will be a demonstration project. She said the installation of new street lights in other parts of the mall will be addressed in the update of the Urban Renewal Plan. Replying to questions from Ms. Bascom and Ms. Ehrman, Ms. Bohman said the rest rooms inside the restaurant in the Overpark may be moved outside the restaurant if an adjoining business is expanded. In that case, two sets of rest rooms would be available to the public. She said she did not have specific police or security reports of behavioral problems at the rest rooms on Broadway. She said one proposal is to decrease the size of the rest room structure on Broadway, relocate the postal station, move the information booth to Broadway, and have the security guards "check in" at that location. Mr. Rutan said the cost of the improvement project will be paid from Downtown Tax Allocation funds which cannot be spent in other parts of the city. He e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 18, 1986 Page 4 --~- ----- said the project is well planned, and demonstrates a concept for the whole e mall. He said the council should consider the concept for the 'whole mall. He said he supports the concept which probably should be applied to the entire mall. He said the commitments from business owners to improve their properties are sufficient and others will be forthcoming. He said other councilors expressed concerns about fees for the use of City property which is a management issue. He said the rest rooms and play structures should be removed this year. If they are not removed, he said the council will indicate that it does not accept the concept of the mall. He said there are enough other rest rooms available, but the council should direct the staff and the Eugene Downtown Association to monitor the result of removing the rest rooms on Broadway. He emphasized the need to support the design and concept of the mall indicated in the Downtown Plan. Mr. Miller said he agreed with the concept of the downtown mall expressed in the proposed changes. He said the Tax Allocation funds are pUblic moneys and should serve the entire public. He said handicapped people especially enjoy the mall and should have accessible rest rooms available on Broadway between Willamette and Charnel ton. He said he might like to have all the improvements made this year and rest rooms at The Bon and the Overpark could serve on an interim basis if there is sufficient notice of them. He said the rest rooms are important to the general public. He emphasized that the downtown mall is a public area. Answering a question from Mayor Obie, Dave Dillman, manager of The Bon, said the rest rooms in The Bon can be reached by elevator and can be used by people e in wheelchairs but the rest rooms do not meet existing standards for handicapped accessible rest rooms. He said The Bon is spending $17,000 this year to make the rest rooms meet the standards. He reviewed the operating hours of The Bon. Ms. Schue said she accepts the concept of the mall and she would like to finish phase 1 this year. However, she would like alternative rest rooms to be designated before phase 2 is begun. She said the estimates of cost have been general and she would like specific figures. She suggested the council approve phase 1 and continue the time schedule which indicates phase 2 will be finished in the summer of 1987. Mr. Holmer said he will vote to approve the recommendation of the Downtown Commission because of the unanimity of the support for it. He said changes are needed in the downtown, and he will support the ones proposed with high hopes and deep misgivings. He said it is essential that the merchants take responsibility for making the changes effective by improving their properties and maintaining the "street scape." He said he would like a guarantee that businesses will expand their operating hours to justify the cost of new $4,000 street lights. He said the tax increment device results in general public support of the project because there is investment in the public right-of-way. He said the money in the Tax Allocation fund would be property taxes if the Tax Increment District had not been created; therefore, the public is sUbsidizing the improvements on Broadway. He said fees should be charged when the public right-of-way is used for merchandising and private gain. He praised the work on the project of the Downtown Commission and the e downtown merchants. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 18, 1986 Page 5 Ms. Wooten said she supports Phase 1 in general, but she is concerned about e the tree thinning which may result in a very bleak appearance in the winter. She also is concerned because there is no comprehensive plan for the whole mall. She agreed with Ms. Schue that Phase 2 should not be approved now. Ms. Wooten said she would approve removal of the postal station and the overhangs. She would like an analysis of the need to remove the rest rooms and firm estimates of the cost of relocating them before approving Phase 2. She said merchant participation in the revitalization of the mall is important. She said no commitments to improve their properties were received from merchants on the south side of Broadway between Olive and Charnel ton which may be the most unappealing part of the mall. She said people are beginning to appreciate the mall and its park-like atmosphere should not be eliminated entirely. She said the mall is important in Eugene's attempts to encourage destination point activities. Ms. Bascom said the tree trimming will enhance the appearance of the trees. She said the trees that are being planted will be attractive in the winter and appropriate for hanging lights. Answering her question, Ms. Bohman said the Downtown Commission considered recommending that both phases be completed this year but did not do so. Ms. Bascom said rest rooms are important but they do not seem appropriate in the middle of the mall and the postal station should be inside a building. She would like to complete both phases this summer if possible. Ms. Ehrman said she shared Mr. Holmer's concerns about a partnership with the private sector. She said she will approve the new street lights because she e would like to encourage longer retail operating hours. She favored decreasing the size of the playground and the overhangs. She asked staff to monitor the cost of managing the moveable furniture. She does not favor umbrellas. She said the downtown is not only a retail area and the Downtown Plan recognizes that. She said it is Eugene's City Center. She said she favors approving Phase 1, but she needs more information about moving the rest rooms. She said the council should not avoid discussion of the opening of Willamette Street from 8th to 10th avenues which she does not favor. She said the Downtown Commission should get the opinions of people who use the mall about opening Wil1amette Street. Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to adopt Phase 1 (cost: $342,000) of the Broadway Improvement Project. Ms. Wooten moved, seconded by Mr. Miller, to amend the motion to include removal of the postal station and unnecessary overhangs or obstructions surrounding it. Mayor Obie suggested the council authorize the Downtown Commission to approve the removal of the rest rooms, but the councilors did not accept his recommendation. The amendment carried unanimously, 8:0. Mr. Rutan moved, seconded by Ms. Bascom, to amend the motion to direct the Downtown Commission and the staff to present to the - council a proposal which addresses the issues involved in the removal of the existing rest rooms and a plan to appropriately replace them as soon as possible. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 18, 1986 Page 6 --- - - Mr. Rutan said much work has been done on replacing the rest rooms and the e removal and replacement may be included in Phase 1 if the council approves the proposal presented. He said Phase 1 can proceed as planned. Ms. Wooten said she will support the motion, but her support for the amendment should not be construed as support for removing public rest rooms from the mall. The amendment carried unanimously, 8:0. Mr. Hansen said the cost of Phase 1 and Phase 2 should not exceed $462,000. Ms. Bohman responded that the Downtown Commission recommended approval of $462,000 for the whole project which includes removal of the rest rooms, but funds to replace the rest rooms will have to be allocated separately. Ms. Ehrman clarified that her motion is to approve $342,000 for the first phase of the project only. Mr. Holman pointed out that the council approved the removal of the postal station and overhangs which is not included in the $342,000 estimate for Phase 1. He suggested an amount sufficient for the removal of the postal station and overhangs be added to the motion. Mr. Whitlow suggested the amount be $40,000 which will cover the work authorized. Mayor Obie accepted Mr. Holmer and Mr. Whitlow's suggestions as the intent of the motion and the approved amendment. e The motion carried unanimously, 8:0. Mayor Obie adjourned the meeting of the Eugene Urban Renewal Agency and reconvened the meeting of the Eugene City Council. v. CONSIDERATION OF WATER RESCUE PROGRAM Assistant City Manager Dave Whitlow said a motion was made on June 16 and postponed to today. The motion was: Mr. Hansen moved, seconded by Ms. Wooten, to increase the public safety budget by $20,000 for a water rescue program and to decrease the Contingency Fund by the same amount. Because other councilors did not indicate support for the motion, Mr. Hansen withdrew the motion with the approval of the second. Mr. Hansen moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, to approve $9,500 from the Contingency fund for training Police, Fire and Emergency Department personnel for water rescues. The motion carried unanimously, 8:0. . MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 18, 1986 Page 7 - - ----- VI I. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING ISSUANCE OF TAX ANTICIPATION NOTES (memo, e resolution distributed) Assistant City Manager Dave Whitlow said the proposed resolution is needed to authorize issuance of tax anticipation notes. Answering a question from Ms. Bascom, Finance Director Warren Wong said the City will earn interest on the notes. Res. No. 3984--A resolution authorizing issuance of tax anticipation notes. Mr. Hansen moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 7:0. Ms. Ehrman had left the meeting. VIII. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING SHORT-TERM BORROWING TO FUND LOCAL IMPROVEMENTS (memo, resolution distributed) Assistant City Manager Dave Whitlow said the proposed resoiution authorizes the continuance of the Bancroft program. Res. No. 3985--A resolution authorizing short-term borrowing in the amount of $1,500,000 to fund local improvements on an interim basis. e Mr. Hansen moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 7:0. IX. ORDINANCE CONCERNING EWEB REVENUE BONDS (memo, ordinance distributed) Assistant City Manager Dave Whitlow said the proposed ordinance will implement a bond sale approved by the voters in March. CB 2888--An ordinance providing for the issuance and sale from time to time by the City of Eugene, acting by and through the Eugene Water & Electric Board, of not exceeding $25 million aggregate principal amount of revenue bonds or other evidences of indebtedness of said City, payable solely from net revenues or any portion thereof of the electric utility system, of said City, or from any other moneys lawfully available therefore, for the purpose of financing improvements to the electric utility system; providing for certain other matters in connection therewith; and declaring an emergency. Mr. Hansen moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, that the bill be read the second time by council bill number only, with unanimous consent of the council, and that enactment be considered at this e time. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 7:0. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 18, 1986 Page 8 Council Bill 2888 was read the second time by council bill number only. e Mr. Hansen moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote; all councilors present voting aye, the bill was declared passed (and became Ordinance No. 19391). Mayor Obie adjourned the meeting at 1:39 p.m. to June 25, 1986. ~1~ ~ - Mic eal Gleason Ci ty Manager (Recorded b1 Betty Lou Rarick) BLR:kb/MINS 3 e e MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 18, 1986 Page 9