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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/10/1988 Meeting e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall August 10, 1988 11:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Freeman Holmer, Ruth Bascom, Robert Bennett, Debra Ehrman, Jeff Miller, Roger Rutan, Emily Schue, Cynthia Wooten. The adjourned meeting of August 8, 1988, of the City Council of the City of Eugene, Oregon was called to order by His Honor Mayor Brian B. Obie. 1. REPORT FROM MAYOR OBIE ON IRKUTSK VISIT Mayor Obie shared his experiences from his recent trip to Irkutsk, U.S.S.R. as part of the sister city delegation that included University of Oregon President Paul Olum and several members of the Sister City Commission. He described the trip as intense and non-stop as the six-member delegation was kept busy for often 16 hours a day. Before traveling to Irkutsk, Mayor Obie said the delegation landed in Moscow and was met by two representatives from e the sister city. Throughout their stay in the Soviet Union, Mayor Obie said the delegation was transported in limousines and fed excellent food. As part of his report, Mayor Obie had staff show the first two segments of a series on the trip by an accompanying news team from KEZI Television. Mr. Rutan asked how the trip compared with the Kakegawa trip. Mayor Obie said in some ways it was easier to communicate with the Soviets because their lifestyles are closer to those in the West. He noted that Irkutsk is the government seat for the province of Irkutsk, and counts wood products as its major industry. Mayor Obie said he was astounded to learn that City officials in Irkutsk view Eugene as their window to the U.S. Because of the nature of their system of government, he said City officials can have direct relationships with representatives from other countries. The mayor of Irkutsk, who is also active in national politics, indicated the City is interested in aggressively pursuing economic opportunities in Eugene. Mayor Obie said the mayor expressed an interest in seeking housing, food, and some clothing items from the U.S. Mayor Obie said six people and the mayor will make up the Irkutsk delegation that is scheduled to visit Eugene. The six representatives will include a university president, the equivalent of our planning director, and an interpreter. He said the Eugene delegation encouraged the Soviets to include . MINUTES--Eugene City Council August 10, 1988 Page 1 e a woman and a person to represent cultural activities. Irkutsk evidently has several other sister cities including cities in East Germany and Japan. Mayor Obie said it is important that the council be involved with activities during the Irkutsk visit. He said the sister city program with Irkutsk merits budget consideration from the council. II. ITEMS FROM THE MAYOR, COUNCIL, AND CITY MANAGER A. Olive Plaza Ms. Ehrman said the complaints from businesses on Olive Plaza about late night noise have been resolved with the help of staff mediation. The problems evidently started when employees at J. Coles Brew Pub opened their doors when the air conditioning failed. B. Minimally Revised Nuclear Free Zone In keeping with the interests of peace, Ms. Wooten said she would like to place on the council agenda a proposal to refer the minimally revised version of the Nuclear Free Zone ordinance to voters. Mayor Obie asked if there is support for further discussion of the minimally revised version. No other councilors indicated their support. e C. Airport Mr. Rutan reminded the council that two of the privately funded portions of the airport project will not be built at this time. One portion is the business me~ting room and the other is the gate/lobby/courtyard. He said the cost of the business center ranges from $300,000 to $400,000. Thus far, he said he has not been able to convince groups to commit to raising the money. He pointed out the landscaped courtyard area, like the business center, can still be built at a later date. D. Maurie Jacobs Memorial Park Ms. Bascom reported that the Maurie Jacobs Memorial Park Committee met and is pursuing $250,000 in State park funds as well as local funds. She said design is proceeding well and that the committee is tying its efforts in with the Whiteaker organization. She added the Park Foundation will be the vehicle for securing the funds. Ms. Wooten said, like everyone on the council, she has the highest respect for the memory of Mr. Jacobs. She said she would not like to see the design and planning of a memorial be reduced to a controversy over the expense and type of memorial that is selected. She said she has received numerous calls from people in the Whiteaker neighborhood, and would like to be involved in the memorial committee process. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council August la, 1988 Page 2 e E. Springfield Budget Woes Mr. Miller asked staff for a briefing on how the recent budget problems facing the City of Springfield will impact organizations in which the cities of Eugene and Springfield have joint interests. F. Port of Siuslaw Ms. Schue reported that she met with Port of Siuslaw officials on behalf of the Mayor. G. Public Contract Ordinance Mr. Holmer addressed his concerns about the proposed public contract ordinance that were raised at the August 8, 1988, meeting. He reviewed an April memo from City Manager Mike Gleason in which Mr. Gleason said he is agreeable to the public advertisement of the City's need and intentions to lease real property. Mr. Holmer recounted that the City Manager wrote: II If a publicly advertised space need will help the business community, then we can make it happen.1I Mr. Holmer said this missed his point entirely. He said his concern was not about helping the business community. He said he wanted to be sure the City is acting legally and is conducting its purchasing practices with a minimum risk of scandal or taint of scandal. I Mr. Holmer said the Aster Building lease of office space to the City, causing the space to come off the tax rolls, is a questionable action. He said he is e not aware that the Eugene Development Department's lease of space in the Washburne Building was the subject of open bidding. Mr. Holmer said he learned for the first time last Thursday that the Aster Publishing Company is not subject to the gross receipts tax that is paid by most other downtown businesses. . He reminded the council that last October the Development Department contracted with Pacific Real Estate Services Inc. to provide management services for the Development, Public Works, and PARCS departments. He said there was no request for proposal for other possible providers of this service and no competitive bids. Because these instances did not reflect open competitive bidding, Mr. Holmer said he is concerned about the council adopting the proposed ordinance. If the council adopts the ordinance in its present form, he said he has no desire to continue as council president or serve on the Audit Committee created last meeting. Ms. Bascom asked staff to respond to Mr. Holmer's comments about the Aster and Washburne Building leases. Mr. Bennett said he agrees that the City should be conducting business in the open. With regard to these charges, he said he thought the City had been acting in the open and in accordance with its stated policy, particularly with regard to the Aster Building. Mayor Obie said he agreed. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council August 10, 1988 Page 3 e On the subject of gross receipts tax, Ms. Ehrman said the fact that Aster Publishing was not subject to the tax was a separate application of the ordinance and not part of the lease agreement. III . SECOND READING: ORDINANCE REGULATING PUBLIC CONTRACTS City Manager Mike Gleason introduced the item. CB 3064--An ordinance regulating public contracts, amending Sections 2.1200. 2.1205, 2.1210, 2.1215, of the Eugene Code, 1971; and adding Sections 2.1220, 2.1225, 2.1230, 2.1240, 2.1245, 2.1250, and 2.1255 to that code; and declaring an emergency. Council Bill 3064 was read the second time by council bill number only. Ms. Bascom moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Ms. Ehrman said she regrets what conflicts may occur from the council's actions. But she said there is a strong philosophical difference and not too much can be done to remedy that. Ms. Wooten said she respects the intensity of Mr. Holmer's opinion and interpretation. She said she does not respond well to IIveiled threatsll and does not want him to leave the office of council president over this issue. e Mr. Miller said he also appreciates Mr. Holmer's intenSity in reviewing the issue and his pointing out of the vagueness between management and policy decisions. Mr. Bennett said he spoke with Mr. Holmer after the August 8, 1988, meeting. He observed that the issue can be brought before the council again. Mr. Rutan supported the ordinance. He said he read through the materials prepared for the August 8, 1988, meeting and was briefed by staff before this meeting. He said the issue is essentially one of identifying responsibility for taking certain actions on behalf of the City. He said Mr. Holmer's concerns are real; however, he said the ordinance does allow the council to be involved in the various contracting opportunities as it sees fit and still have the kind of input cited by Mr. Holmer. Mr. Holmer said he appreciates the compliments from other council members. Nonetheless, he said he has not weakened in his desire to see the ordinance fail. He said nowhere in the material is there an identification of the arguments for and against the proposal, which underscores the defective process by which many items come before the council. Mayor Obie said he views the ordinance as an improvement over past practices because it allows for greater council overview. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council August 10, 1988 Page 4 e Roll call vote; the motion carried 7:1, with councilors Bascom, Bennett, Ehrman, Miller, Rutan, Schue, and Wooten voting aye, and Councilor Holmer voting nay. The ordinance was declared passed and became Ordinance No. 19574. IV. ORDINANCE CONCERNING TRANSFER OF ELECTRIC SERVICE TERRITORY IN WILLOW CREEK AREA FROM LANE ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE TO THE EUGENE WATER AND ELECTRIC BOARD City Manager Mike Gleason introduced the item. Susan Brody, Planning Director, reviewed that the council held a public hearing on the matter August 8, 1988. Since then, additional testimony was submitted from Lane Electric Cooperative (LEC), Ed Fadeley, and other interested parties. She said staff will forward the council's action to the Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB), which will conduct a hearing August 15, 1988. Mr. Rutan said he has read the materials, was briefed by staff, and feels competent to make a decision on the matter. Ms. Schue asked if staff has information regarding the letter from the League of Publicly Owned Electric Utility Boards about its negotiating practices. Ms. Gleason said EWEB hopes to return to the negotiating table. To condition the action based on the letter would make it difficult to execute. Ms. Schue said she is interested in the fact that the membership adopted the model negotiating process. She asked how strong a process that is. e Ms. Brody said negotiations are built into the action being proposed by staff. Mayor Obie suggested it might be beneficial for the council to pass a subsequent motion that encourages EWEB to use all available negotiating opportunities. CB 3066--An ordinance authorizing the institution of proceed- ings in eminent domain for the acquisition by condem- nation of real and personal property used for render- ing electrical utility service and primarily located in the Willow Creek Area, and owned by Lane Electric Cooperative, Inc.; and declaring an emergency. Ms. Bascom moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, that the bill, with unanimous consent of the council, be read the second time by council bill number only, and that enactment be considered at this time. Ms. Schue said she would like to see EWEB serve the territory. However, she said the council can be more diplomatic about the way it is going about it. She said in her view LEe won the public hearing "hands down," although it was not a rational discussion of the issues. She said there are clearly a number of people who view the City as a bully, and she predicted that number will increase if the ordinance passes. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council August 10, 1988 Page 5 e Ms. Schue said she is in favor of exploring more negotiating possibilities. She noted there were people at the hearing who said they preferred to pay higher electric rates, which leads her to believe that people did not fully understand what they were talking about. Ms. Ehrman said the issue has been before the council for two years. She said she was not enthusiastic about the proposal at the outset, although she said she has changed her mind as new information was presented to the council. She said this is important in that it is a serious government action. In looking at the findings that support the ordinance, Ms. Ehrman said she is not persuaded in favor of it. She added there are too many uncertainties in the issue to convince her that the council should take such strong action. Mr. Miller said he agrees the boundaries should change. However, he said he is concerned that the action not be considered coercion, but rather fairness and dialogue. Mayor Obie said he does not see this as strong an action as Ms. Ehrman. The issue involves two public bodies in an area that is changing from nonurban to urban. He said it is important to refer back to the general plan and consider what the council is trying to do in other parts of the community as far as moving people and industry into the Willow Creek area. Mayor Obie reiterated that the council has spent several million dollars to e install sewer lines, and been willing to give up tax revenues to encourage investment in that area. He said the community needs to realize its investment in the area. Ms. Bascom ~aid she finds it hard to believe that the impact in the area will be of major consequence. She added she hopes the issue can be resolved at the bargaining table. Mr. Bennett said he supports the motion and agrees with Mayor Obie's comments. He said the public bodies that are serving that area need to be accountable to the general plan. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 8:0. Council Bill 3066 was read the second time by council bill number only. Ms. Bascom moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote; the motion carried 5:3, with councilors Bascom, Bennett, Miller, Rutan, and Schu~ voting aye, and councilors Holmer, Ehrman, and Wooten voting nay. The bill was declared passed and became ordinance No. 19575. Mr. Miller moved, seconded by Mr. Bennett, that the council encourage EWEB and LEC to use every available negotiating e MINUTES--Eugene City Council August 10, 1988 Page 6 e process and opportunity to come to a reasonable agreement. Roll call vote; the motion carried 7:1, with councilors Bascom, Bennett, Ehrman, Miller, Rutan, Schue, and Wooten voting aye, and Councilor Holmer voting nay. V. WORK SESSION: URBAN RENEWAL PLAN UPDATE (DISTRICT EXPANSION/DEVELOPMENT, PROJECTS/FINANCING City Manager Mike Gleason introduced the item. Bob Hibschman, Development Department, presented the staff report. He said a tentative decision today on expansion will allow staff to proceed with a redraft of the final draft of the Urban Renewal Plan. He reviewed the concept of an urban renewal reserve and said it now appears the reserve does not provide the type of advantages staff had originally thought possible. The reserve does carry the advantage of informing people that the area may expand and provides an opportunity to shorten the process. However, the City would still be held to the responsibilities under the statute such as finding blight, and making sure the City stays within the 20 percent expansion limit. Mr. Hibschman outlined the expansion options, noting that not expanding is still a possibility. Mayor Obie asked how staff arrived at the expansion options. Mr. Hibschman said the map in council's packet is a result of council discussions last December. I He said staff reviewed the alternatives and determined how they best responded to criteria devised when the council first looked at the expansion option. e Ms. Bascom said she was originally in favor of expansion. However, she said not expanding now seems to make more sense. Ms. Ehrman said the council could delay action, although she said it would probably be presented the same options at ~ later date. She said she is still in favor of including the area to the west. Mr. Miller said if the council does expand, it should be done with a vision that can excite the community. He said he favors Option D, and added it is time to reclaim the Skinner Butte area for the public. Ms. Wooten asked if Option D would allow for a parking structure to be built. Mr. Hibschman said a parking structure would be authorized under the plan, although the council would have to examine the financial feasibility of it in light of other projects in the area. In response to a question from Mr. Miller, Mr. Hibschman said it is possible to gerrymander the boundary. Mr. Miller suggested the council consider such an option. Mr. Bennett said it makes sense to try and connect 5th Avenue with the ar~a north of the railroad tracks. He said part of the area lends itself to less intensive development that might follow what the council does in another location. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council August 10, 1988 Page 7 e Ms. Wooten said she supports Option D. Ms. Bascom said she is hesitant to examine that option since it did not receive the support of the Downtown Commission or the Planning Commission. Mr. Bennett noted that Option D has received zero markings for development potential, underutilized facilities, adjacent development sites, and housing potential. Mr. Hibschman said staff felt the area does not have enough underdeveloped parcels. He said the primary basis for a zero rating at underutilized facilities was that the Hult Center Garage currently gets between 20 and 25 percent use. Mr. Rutan said the council has to ask what its strategy is. He said the council would get more money under Councilor Miller1s proposal. If the council puts a vision behind its strategy, the urban renewal district expansion will have a better chance of success. Ms. Wooten said she supports Option D because the council needs to strengthen the development from the EWEB Plaza through the 5th Avenue historic district and continue with the City's public works development of the area. Ms. Bascom pointed out that Option C does make use of the parking structure. She said she needs to know more about what has been left out in Options Band C. Ms. Wooten said the expansion outlined in Band C will take place if there are other strengths to the west. Mr. Miller moved, seconded by Ms. Wooten, that the council instruct staff to proceed with developing Option D. e Mr. Rutan suggested an amendment that the council will investigate adding certain parcels from other areas. Ms. Wooten said she accepts that as understood in the motion. Roll call vote; the motion carried 6:2, with councilors Bennett, Ehrman, Miller, Rutan, Schue, and Wooten voting aye, and councilors Holmer and Bascom voting nay. Mayor Obie said he would also like to know Lane County1s intent with regard to the area. The meeting was adjourned at 1:40 p.m. to September 7, 1988. Respectfully submitted, ~I.~ '7'''' t. J Micheal Gleason City Manager (Recorded by Todd Nissen) MNCC 081088 e MINUTES--Eugene City Council August 10, 1988 Page 8