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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/13/1988 Meeting e ~ - M I NUT E S EUGENE CITY COUNCIL MCNUTT ROOM--CITY HALL January 13, 1988 11:30 a.m. PRESENT: Ruth Bascom, Robert Bennett, Debra Ehrman (11:55 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.), Freeman Holmer, Jeff Miller, Roger Rutan, Emily Schue, Cynthia Wooten. The work session of the City Council of the City of Eugene was called to order at 11:45 a.m. by His Honor Mayor Brian B. Obie. I. ITEMS FROM THE MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, AND CITY MANAGER A. National Council on Public Works Improvements Mr. Holmer said the National Council on Public Works Improvements is meeting with its advisory council Friday. He said the council is scheduled to present its report to the US Congress and President Reagan. Mr. Freeman distributed to council members a copy of an article he wrote for a Japanese magazine that describes the council's work. B. Election Announcement Date Mayor Obie said he will make an announcement at 10 a.m., January 18, on whether he will seek reelection. II. CONSIDERATION OF MAYOR'S REQUEST TO PREPARE ORDINANCE ELIMINATING/ DIMINISHING THE SALE OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA Mayor Obie expanded on a memo he wrote to councilors asking them to forward to the City Attorney's Office a request to research other similar ordinances. He said he is not asking councilors to make a decision on the merits of such an ordinance. He said he does not believe an ordinance banning drug paraphernalia is the end to all Eugene's drug problems. He said this item has received a greater response than any other item mentioned in his State of the City address. Ms. Wooten clarified with City Attorney Tim Sercombe that there is a State law prohibiting the sale of drug paraphernalia to minors. She asked Dan Barkovic, City Attorneyls Office, how the Public Safety Department enforces the State statute. Mr. Barkovic said he does not MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 13, 1988 Page 1 ~ know how the City's Police Division enforces the statute. Vic Mann, Police Services, said the paraphernalia law is enforced on a complaint basis. Ms. Wooten said she supports requesting a draft ordinance that would restrict the sale of drug paraphernalia. She asked how the enforcement of such an ordinance would impact the City's resources. Mr. Mann said the ordinance would probably be a low priority item also handled on a complaint basis. Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Bascom, to authorize staff to research options and draft an ordinance to eliminate or regulate the sale of equipment and paraphernalia designed for the use or production of illegal drugs. Ms. Bascom said in light of recent budget constraints and the cost of a study, she appreciates the fact Mayor Obie chose to ask the council for approval of the idea. Mr. Barkovic said the City Attorney's Office has already completed an extensive amount of research from a similar request in 1984. He said since much of the legal research has been done most of the work will ~ involve updating the current information. Ms. Wooten said she would appreciate input from the American Civil Liberties Union in developing the ordinance. She said this would make for a better ordinance and one that concentrates on countering the production of drugs. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 8:0. III. WORK SESSION: FUTURE OF OUR LIBRARY COMMITTEE REPORT City Manager Mike Gleason introduced the item. Pat Decker, Planning, and Ms. Ehrman provided the committee report. Ms. Decker said the committee will be disbanding following the council's public hearing on the library report January 25. Ms. Ehrman introduced committee members and thanked them for being a dedicated group over the last two years. She reviewed the process the committee used to arrive at its report and said the two most controversial items proved to be the proposed new site and financing. She said there were no significant changes in the draft report following the committee's December 9, 1987 public hearing. e Dick Waters, the committee's principal consultant from HPW & Associates, praised the council and the committee for initiating a thorough and MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 13, 1988 Page 2 ~ professional study process. He said the proposed new library will have 115,000 square feet. The present library has 37,000 square feet or approximately .35 square feet of space per capita. Communities similar in size to Eugene generally have libraries that provide .7 to .8 square feet per capita. He said a larger library will be needed in the next 20 years if Eugene's population, education and income levels increase as predicted. Mr. Waters addressed the issue of building a major central library instead of several branch outlets. He said it is more cost effective to build a strong central library, and added that communities with branch libraries invariably invest first in a main library. He listed several cities such as Birmingham, Alabama, and Spokane, Washington, where significant library improvement programs have been undertaken despite less than ideal economic climates. In Oregon, North Bend, West Linn, and Wilsonville have funded recent library projects. Mr. Waters said the consultants have recommended a new building be constructed. He said studies indicate it would not be cost effective to renovate the existing library. He urged the council to support the committee's proposal for a new building at a time when it would be most cost efficient. e Committee member Jim Saul said the new building program has four primary components: collection space, reading and seating space, staff work space, and unassignable space such as corridors and restrooms. He told the council committee members did not plan new functions for the library. The one exception was the committee's recommendation that there be increased computer and other electronic media usage. Mr. Saul said the committee also emphasized that any new library structure should retain a maximum capability for future adaption and expansion. One of the current library's problems is that the second floor and portions of the first floor cannot sustain an adequate amount of stack weight. He said the recommended size of 115,000 square feet was arrived at by calculating two primary variables: population and ratio of volumes per capita. He said the committee has made a judgement call in predicting that in 20 to 25 years the Eugene metropolitan area will have a population of approximately 200,000 people. The committee also recommended that the current volume per capita of 2.5 be maintained. Mr. Saul said the committee recommended that the new building not be built in phases. The rationale behind this was that it would not be cost effective to build a 90,000 square-foot library to last ten years when a 115,000 square-foot building can be constructed to last 20 to 25 years. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 13, 1988 Page 3 e e e Jim Robertson, of Roberton/Sherwood Architects, reviewed the process the architects used to develop the site recommendation. Mr. Robertson said one of the committee's first tasks was to set up a scoring method to evaluate all aspects of a new library. The seven categories were size, access, parking, traffic impact, land use and urban design, public support and ease of acquisition, and cost considerations. He said the committee accepted his recommendation to separate building cost concerns from the best possible location for a new library. He said his consultant's team was directed by the committee to inventory the potential sites in the downtown core area. Nine sites were identified, and four finalists were selected. After more review and site ranking, Site 3 at the corner of Broadway and Charnel ton was the winner, receiving 12 percent higher score than Site 2 on Eighth Avenue between Willamette and Olive streets. The advantages of Site 3 include: 1) enough space to accomodate both the library building and parking; 2) proximity to retail and commercial activity; 3) proximity to the downtown employment center; 4) good transportation access; 5) minimum impact on existing traffic and parking patterns; 6) good potential for enhancing the downtown area; 7) increased library usage through downtown activity; 8) existing City ownership under the urban renewal district; 9) compatibility with which a three story library and adjacent parking would fit into the downtown density. Julie Aspinwall-Lamberts, committee member, said parking discussions took up a significant amount of the committee's time. She said after often heated debate the committee decided that a parking structure on the current site would have to be constructed on what is now privately-owned land on Olive Street. Another conclusion is that a multi-story parking structure is needed to keep with the City's goals of intensifying the downtown land use density. Ms. Aspinwall-Lamberts said the committee anticipates the need for 536 parking spaces. Some of the factors involved in decreasing that number from an initial projection of 700 spaces were 1) the current use of parking at the present library; 2) the under use of parking lots at Broadway and Charnelton; 3) the possibility of shifting current long-term lease parking to other underused areas; 4) the potential of library patrons combining their visits with other trips to the downtown area; 5) the potential of staff using alternative modes of travel; 6) the addition of several spaces to accomodate seasonal and special event parking peaks. She noted that the library committee1s parking recommendations are consistent with the draft Urban Renewal Plan. Ms. Ehrman reviewed the committee's work regarding the cost and financing of the proposed library. She said committee members were suprised at the high cost of the library project. She said parking should be considered a City responsibility, and added there are reasons, in addition to a new library, to expand downtown parking facilities. Mr. Robertson stressed for council members that the cost information MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 13, 1988 Page 4 e included in the report represents only preliminary budget estimations. He reviewed the process used for estimating the costs and said one of the methods was to look at other similar structures such as the new Eugene Water and Electric Board office building. To build the library proposed on Site 3 will cost approximately $16,989,000. The parking structure cost, which Mr. Robertson said was more difficult to predict, will range from $4,348,000 to $7,277,000. He said those figures represent a parking structure similar in quality to the Parcade and Overpark. The overall project will cost between $21 million and $24 million, which includes $1,750,000 in assessed land value. Mayor Obie thanked committee members and the consultants for their work over the last two years. Mr. Miller clarified that the total parking cost would be significantly less if only surface-level parking was provided for. Mr. Gleason said surface parking significantly impacts the size of the structure it can support. e Mr. Miller asked about the anticipated expansion of the main library in light of the potential for constructing satellite libraries. Mr. Saul said information presented to the committee indicates that other communities utilize storefront locations instead of building branch offices. He said future branch libraries, according to the information available, would not impact the projected size requirement for the recomended new library. Ms. Wooten said she is most concerned about how the council will cope with the operating costs. She said the council needs to develop a plan to meet the costs of the proposed library. Ms. Bascom asked if the recommendation for the library site can be separated from the parking recommendation. She also asked if placing the library in the Broadway right-of-way is a realistic proposal. She said she would like to see the possibility strengthened in the final report. Mr. Rutan asked what the City's portion of the current tax would be on the sample $55,000 home cited on page 39 of the committee's report. Mr. Gleason said the City's portion is approximately $10 per thousand while the total rate $33.54. Mr. Bennett asked about adding wings as viable options for phasing construction. Mr. Robertson said the committee tried to stick to Mr. Water's recommendation that library floors should be restricted to 50,000 square feet. He said there is the possibility of creating a basement since construction will have to go into the ground to support the building. Another advantage of a basement is the possibility for additional parking space. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 13, 1988 Page 5 e Ms. Ehrman said the committee estimated it would save $3.8 million of the total cost by phasing, but would lose that amount when the building size is increased. Ms. Schue asked for a clarification regarding the location of the children's section and parking lot on the presentation drawings. Mr. Robertson said the drawings should not be viewed as final and only represent testing schemes to achieve space relationships. Mr. Holmer asked about the market value for site acquisition on page 31. Mr. Robertson said the figures are the current assessed value on the property. Mr. Holmer asked if there is a built-in cost for future building expansion. Mr. Robertson said the numbers have not been inflated to account for additional floors. Mr. Holmer asked if the committee considered other local libraries such as the University of Oregon's when it compared Eugene with other communi ties. Mr. Waters said the committee did include the assets of the University of Oregon, Lane Community College and other facilities. He said there is some duplicated use in the community. However, he said the presence of university libraries in other areas of the country traditionally enhance a community's need and use for a strong public library. e Mayor Obie asked council members for their input on how to process the report. Ms. Schue said the whole council should consider how it would like to incorporate the library recommendation in its long range budget plan. She said a subcommittee might not be needed because of the thoroughness of the library committee's report. The council decided it would have one more work session regarding the rep ort before deciding on procedure. Ms. Schue said she is happy with the progress so far and the extensive background work conducted by the committee. Ms. Bascom said she would like the summary recommendation to stress the importance of the library to the government and cultural aspects of the City. She suggested consulting Senators Hatfield and Packwood for possible funding to reduce the cost to the local taxpayers. She asked about the relationship of the Bookmobile. Ms. Ehrman said the committee did not consider including the Bookmobile in the draft report. Ms. Decker said the Bookmobile serves as a way of addressing community needs for satellite branches. She said a new central library will not eliminate the need for a Bookmobile in the outlying neighborhoods. e Ms. Bascom said she is not satisfied with the parking requirement MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 13, 1988 Page 6 - recommendations. She said the issue should be looked at more carefully at a later date. She asked Mr. Gleason if the City is still pursuing a policy to encourage downtown employees to find alternative ways of transportation to lessen the parking needs. Mr. Gleason said the City is continuing to work on the various parking programs that have been put in place for different user groups. Ms. Bascom said the City should retain its commitment to keeping downtown parking available to visitors when considering the library parking issue. Mr. Gleason said the current parking program does not separate users into distinct groups. He said he is not aware of any City policy that excludes one user group over another. Ms. Decker said the committee assumed that library staff will not all be parking at the site. However, she said if the City wants a strong downtown with a high amount of office space, there will have to be adequate parking for those workers. Mr. Rutan said the council needs to establish goals for the process. He said he hopes the council can lay the foundation for a new library that will meet the needs of the community. Mr. Bennett said the council should uphold the community's expectations to thoroughly address the issues raised in the committee's report. e Ms. Ehrman said she is glad that no one asked to be convinced of the need for a new library. She said that although the committee was biased toward an expanded library, it did not receive any comments that the present library is satisfactory. Mr. Holmer thanked the committee, staff, and consultants for providing the council with an extensive basis of the issues involved. Mayor Obie said he would like the council to suggest an alternative to the committee's recommended funding mechanism. He said he does not see the first choice as a viable option. Mayor Obie said he would like to have more definitive material on why a strong central library is needed before a quality branch system can be developed. Mayor Obie said he wants to readdress the issue of storefront or satellite libraries. He said he is primarily interested in the quality of material and the ability to distribute information. He said the library should be in step with the latest information technology. In addition, he said the council should consider the new library in relation to the City, Lane County, and the metropolitan area. He stressed that he is supportive of contributing the City's resources. However, he said it should be done in the most efficient way possible. - MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 13, 1988 Page 7 e e - The work session was adjourned at 1:30 p.m. to January 20, 1988. Respectfully submitted, ~~, City Manager (Recorded by Todd Nissen) MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 13, 1988 Page 8