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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/14/1987 Meeting (2) e e e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall January 14, 1987 12:15 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Debra Ehrman, Freeman Holmer, Emily Schue, Cynthia Wooten, Ruth Bascom, Jeff Miller, Roger Rutan, Robert Bennett. The adjourned meeting of January 12, 1987, of the City Council of the City of Eugene, Oregon, was called to order by His Honor Mayor Brian B. Obie. I. ITEMS FROM THE COUNCIL, MAYOR, AND CITY MANAGER A. Activities Celebrating Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Mr. Miller said there will be many activities in the city this weekend to ce 1 ebrate the bi rthday of Martin Luther Ki ng, Jr. He encouraged the councilors to attend the events. B. One Percent for Art Ordinance Ms. Wooten asked the staff to prepare a report on the interpretation of the ordinance that indicates one percent of the cost of construction projects should be used for art. She wondered if the ordinance could be applied to public improvements. She said she is interested in art projects that are not necessarily in or on buildings. She would like to discuss the application of the ordinance to the public improvements being considered for West Broadway. C. Amateur Athletic Events in Eugene Mr. Rutan said he met with representatives of the Oregon Track Club and some legislators to discuss the Hayward Field renovation. He said he and Ms. Schue have advised Oregon Track Club representatives of City resources which may help them. He emphasized the importance of amateur athletic activities to the city and said the Hayward Field renovation must stay on schedule. Ms. Schue said a bill will be introduced into the legislature requesting State assistance with the renovation. She said the City will be asked to support the request with its lobbying efforts. Mayor Obie said Jane Holloway is collecting information about amateur athletic activities in the city. D. Appointments to Metropolitan Partnership Answering a question from Ms. Ehrman, Cathy Freedman of the City Manager's Office said interviewees for positions on the Eugene/Springfield Metropolitan Partnership Board of Directors were notified of the council's appointments. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 14, 1987 Page 1 E. Meeting with Governor e Ms. Schue said a meeting with Governor Goldschmidt about legislative priorities was initiated by the League of Oregon Cities and the Association of Oregon Counties. The governor asked several mayors to attend and Mayor Obie did so. She said the governor offered some IIdealsll to cities and the meeting was exciting and interesting. F. Council Subcommittee on Committees Mayor Obie suggested the Council Subcommittee on Committees meet soon to review appointments. Mr. Gleason said he assumes present assignments will continue until the committee reports to the council. The councilors agreed with him. G. Convention and Visitors Bureau Mayor Obie said he would like to represent the City on the Board of Directors of the Eugene/Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau. He said the City is making a major financial commitment to destination-point activities which present many opportunities. Mr. Rutan said he is interested in City involvement in destination-point activities. Responding to his question. Mr. Gleason suggested the councilors discuss the matter at the next quarterly process session. e Ms. Schue said track and field events are destination-point activities~ She discussed the financing of the Hayward Field renovation and said the Oregon Track Club needs support. Ms. Bascom said destination-point activities will affect the City's budget. H. Public Service Officer Mr. Gleason introduced Norm Lewis. who will serve as Public Service Officer in the City Manager's Office until July I, 1987. II. WORK SESSION: METROPOLITAN POLICY COMMITTEE CONSOLIDATION City Manager Micheal Gleason introduced consideration of the item. Planning Director Susan Brody gave the staff report. She said the Urban Services Policy Committee (USPC) was created to address urban transition issues. The committee is composed of two elected officials from Eugene, Springfield, and Lane County and is staffed by the Lane Council of Governments (L-COG) as well as the cities and county. The committee has adopted concept papers for most of the key urban services. Ms. Brody said the committee considered the consolidation of several metropolitan organizations because the organizations deal with related issues. She said the L-COG staff analyzed the work of the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC), the Metropolitan Area Transportation Committee (MATC), the Eugene-Springfield Cable/Television Commission, and the e MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 14, 1987 Page 2 USPC and found that consolidation is reasonable. She said it is desirable to reduce the number of meetings that elected officials have to attend. ~ Ms. Brody said the US PC recommended the consolidation of the four organizations and recommended that the consolidated committee be called the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC). The US PC recommended that the new MPC develop and negotiate solutions to intergovernmental problems, serve as a forum for developing recommendations for resolving intergovernmental di sputes, i dent ify along-term agenda for i ntergovernmenta 1 efforts, and promote i ntergovernmenta 1 cooperation and coordi nat i on between and among local governments. The US PC also recommended that two elected officials from each of the jurisdictions (Eugene, Springfield, and Lane County) should be voting members of the MPC, that the Lane County Administrator and the Eugene and Springfield City Managers should be ex-officio members, and that Phyliss Loobey, Executive Director of the Lane Transit District (LTD), should be an ex-officio member when transportation is discussed. Ms. Brody said the consolidation will be presented to the council in a resolution in February if the three jurisdictions approve the consolidation in concept. Ms. Ehrman said action on the consolidation will affect appointments of the Council Committee on Subcommittees. e Answering questions from Mayor Obie, Ms. Brody said the US PC recommendation is that the ex-officio members, Lane County Administrator Jim Johnson, Eugene City Manager Mike Gleason, and Springfield City Manager Ron LeBlanc should sit at the table during meetings and participate in discussions but that they not vote. LTD Executive Director Phyliss Loobey would also sit at the table and participate in discussions when transportation issues are discussed but she would not vote. Ms. Schue said the USPC has operated very much like the recommendation and has been successful. Replying to questions from Mr. Holmer, Jim Carlson of the L-COG staff said the by-laws of the US PC require a favorable majority and at least one vote from each jurisdiction to pass motions. Answering a question from Ms. Bascom, Ms. Schue and Mr. Rutan (Eugene representatives on the USPC) said Springfield representatives have participated as much as Eugene and Lane County representatives on the USPC. Ms. Bascom said Eugene provides more funds than other jurisdictions to the Joint Social Services Committee. Therefore, she did not think the Joint Social Services Committee should be considered for consolidation into the MPC. She said consolidation of the MATC is appropriate because it has not been very active. Ms. Wooten said she does not support including the Cable/Television Commission in the consolidation. She asked for additional information. Mr. Carlson said the cable industry has been deregulated and the responsibility and activity of e MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 14, 1987 Page 3 e the Cable/Television Commission have been reduced. He said the commission has citizen and staff members as well as elected officials. He said the consolidation was intended to ensure that elected officials provide policy direction on cable issues. He said the franchise re-evaluation every three years, as well as several other issues, will be considered by the MPC. Mr. Gleason said each of the organizations to be consolidated must make recommendations to the governing bodies. Sometimes the coordination is awkward and work has to be duplicated. He said the staff support for the USPC was streamlined to replicate the policy system so that one staff position is presented to the elected officials on the committee. He said governing is done by the elected officials and coordination through one policy committee works very well. Therefore, he supports the consolidation. Ms. Bascom said she thought the council would discuss the PEG (Public, Education, Government) public access channels when it discussed the Cable/Television Commission. She said it might be better to form another organization to consider the PEG channels. She said some people who applied for positions on the Cable/Television Commission were interested in the PEG system. Mayor Obie said the council should decide if it wants meetings televised on a PEG channel. e Ms. Wooten said issues relating to the cable franchise, the PEG channels, the cable system, and telecommunications are complex and volatile enough that citizen representation on a separate body is necessary. She said she supports streamlining and coordination but she favors maintaining the Cable/Television Commission as a separate body. Ms. Schue said the remaining regulatory functions and franchise evaluation duties of the Cable/Television Commission could be consolidated into the MPC. She suggested that community television issues should be handled separately and should involve community participation. Mayor Obie agreed with Ms. Schue. He said another body could make recommendations about the franchise to the MPC. He said decisions about the cable franchise fee and levels of service are one issue and decisions about the allocation of the franchise fee are another issue. He said the Budget Committee should decide about allocating the franchise fee. Ms. Bascom said the U.S. Congress may change the legislation concerning cable systems and, if so, the council could change its position. She said she will support the consolidation as long as she knows the council will discuss the PEG channels later. Replying to questions from Mayor Obie, City Attorney Keith Martin said the MPC could consider television issues that affect the franchise and make recommendations to the elected bodies which will decide the scope of negotiations. Some ordinance changes will be required because the Cable/Television Commission is an intergovernmental organization. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 14, 1987 Page 4 Mr. Carlson said the MPC and USPC were formed by resolutions and the MATC was formed by the L-COG Board of Directors. e Mayor Obie said he is bothered by the ex-officio status of the administrators on the new MPC. He said he is concerned that the balance between setting policy and administering policy may be upset. He said the proposed composition may be too cozy. He said administrators should propose programs. Responding to Mayor Obie, Mr. Gleason said Mayor Obie's delineation of roles is very important. He said the term "ex officio" in Oregon means that the person participates in the discussion of the agenda. It does not mean that the person presents specific items. He said his position or the position of his designee on the Planning Commission and the Downtown Commission are consistent with that tradition. Replying to a question from Mr. Rutan, Mayor Obie said he is concerned that the admi ni strators may have too strong a voi ce in the MPC di scussi ons, particularly because there are three of them and only six elected officials. He said he favors consolidation but he is bothered by the proposed composition of the MPC. Ms. Schue said the USPC members worked as units and, occasionally, caucused. She said all the administrators know that the elected officials make the decisions. e Answering questions from Ms. Ehrman, Ms. Schue said the US PC members discussed the lay members and Planning Commission members of some of the existing organizations. Mr. Gleason said the new MPC is a precursor to decisions that must be made by the governing bodies. The MPC discussion should concern how proposals will operate and whether they are politically responsible. He said discussions become too fragmented if extraneous points of view from non- decision makers are added. He said the public does not have much knowledge about many of the issues discussed. He emphasized that all decisions of the MPC must be acted upon by the governing bodies. Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Mr. Holmer, that the staff be directed to prepare a resolution for the creation of a new Metropolitan Policy Committee as outlined. Responding to a suggestion from Mr. Holmer, Mayor Obie said the PEG channels issue will be considered separately. Ms. Wooten said her vote on the motion on the floor will depend on a following motion. Ms. Ehrman said she will suggest a council subcommittee be formed to consider public access channels. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 14, 1987 Page 5 e Ms. Wooten moved, seconded by Mr. Bennett, to amend the motion to form a consumer subcommittee of the MPC which will represent the public and make recommendations on telecommunication and cable issues. Ms. Schue said the subcommittee is a good idea but it should not be included in the consolidation. Answering a question from Mr. Bennett, Ms. Schue said the MPC should not consider televising Eugene City Council meetings, for example. Ms. Wooten said she suggested the subcommittee make recommendations to the MPC because the issues it should address are county-wide and it should have county-wide representation. The amendment failed 2:6 with Councilors Wooten and Bennett voting aye and Councilors Ehrman, Holmer, Schue, Bascom, Miller, and Rutan voting nay. The motion carried 7:1 with Councilors Ehrman, Holmer, Schue, Bascom, Miller, Rutan, and Bennett voting aye and Councilor Wooten voting nay. Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Mr. Holmer, that a council subcommittee be formed to address cable access issues. The motion carried unanimously, 8:0. Ms. Wooten left the meeting. e III. ORDINANCE CONCERNING DISPOSITION OF REAL PROPERTY City Manager Micheal Gleason said the State law was changed two years ago to require procedures for City acquisition and disposal of real property. He said the council held a public hearing on the procedures. Answering a question from Mayor Obie, Mr. Gleason said the proposed procedures do not change City practices very much. He said the procedures set standards for procurement and review procedures which were handled administratively in the past. Referring to pages 2 and 3 of the proposed ordinance, Mr. Holmer said the City Manager is requi red to notify the council of pri vate di sposa 1, property subject to development plans, and surplus property. Mr. Holmer said the ordinance indicates that the recommendtion of the City Manager is implemented automatically unless the council acts. Answering his question, City Attorney Keith Martin said the City has not disposed of any surplus property recently, although the City will do so soon. He said the procedures continue current practices and indicate that the council will be apprised of actions. Mr. Gleason said the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) Board of Directors did not want every right-of-way transaction to go before the council. He said the council will be notified of significant actions. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 14, 1987 Page 6 ,e Mr. Holmer said there is a potential for political IIfall-outll in the disposal of real property and the council should act affirmatively on each transaction. He suggested the wording in Sections 2.862 and 2.864 be changed to: Within 10 days after receiving notice the council shall decide whether to review the proposed transactions. Mayor Obie said he shares Mr. Holmer's concern because the council has responsibilities. Ms. Schue said she agreed with Mr. Holmer1s suggested wording because the council should decide about transactions. Mr. Martin said Mr. Holmer's suggestion changes only IImay" to IIshallll in two sections. Mayor Obie said the councilors seemed to agree to the change by consensus and it will be assumed the change in the ordinance will be made. CB 2926--An ordinance concerning real property disposal procedures, amending and renumbering Section 2.019 of the Eugene Code, 1971; adding a caption and Sections 2.860, 2.861, 2.862, 2.864, 2.866, 2.868, 2.870, 2.872, and 2.874 to that code; and declaring an emergency. e Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Mr. Holmer, that the bill as amended be read the second time by council bill number only, with unanimous consent of the council, and that enactment be considered at this time. The motion carried unanimously, 7:0. Council Bill 2926 was read the second time by council bill number only. Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Mr. Holmer, that the bill be approved and given final passage. All councilors present voting aye, the bill was declared passed (and became Ordinance No. 19447). Mayor Obie adjourned the meeting of the Eugene City Council and convened a meeting of the Eugene Renewal Agency. IV. EUGENE URBAN RENEWAL AGENCY RESOLUTION CONCERNING REAL PROPERTY DISPOSITION PROCEDURES City Manager Micheal Gleason said the Renewal Agency must act on all property transactions. He said the procedures were adopted by resolution some time ago. Referring to Sections 4 and 7 of the proposed resolution, Mr. Holmer and - MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 14, 1987 Page 7 e -- - Ms. Schue asked about a 20-year lease signed by the City Manager if a person petitions the council to review the City Manager's decision. City Attorney Keith Martin said the City would be bound by the lease but, during the appeal, the council could direct the City Manager to act differently another time. Mr. Martin said most of the processess are public. The appeal process provides a way for a person to challenge the City Manager's decision before court act ion. Mr. Gleason said the council would not want to review each lease in the urban renewal area. He said the appeal process provides a check on the City Manager's decision-making delegation. Mr. Holmer suggested Section 7 be deleted from the resolution. Ms. Ehrman said she would like to retain Section 7 because council action might avoid court action. She asked why the council would not want to review leases in the urban renewal area when it wanted to review the disposal of property in other parts of the city. Answering a question from Mr. Bennett, Mr. Martin said a person might appeal before a lease is signed. Replying to a question from Mayor Obie, Mr. Gleason said the Renewal Agency has authorized the disposal of all properties that are for sale. Mr. Miller suggested the resolution be approved except for Section 7, which could be presented to the council later. Responding to Mr. Gleason's suggestion, Mayor Obie postponed action on the resolution. Mayor Obie adjourned the meeting at 1:30 p.m. ~Respectf ~~y sub.at d #~ -- Mi heal Gleaso City Manager (Recorded by Betty Lou Rarick) mncc01l4 MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 14, 1987 Page 8