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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/07/1988 Meeting e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council Hilton Conference Center November 7, 1988 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Cynthia Wooten, Freeman Holmer, Jeff Miller, Debra Ehrman, Emily Schue, Rob Bennett, Ruth Bascom, Roger Rutan. The adjourned meeting of the Eugene City Council was called to order by Mayor Brian Obie. 1. STORM SEWER MASTER PLAN A. Introduction City Engineer, Les Lyle, said the purpose of this item was to review the results and issues surrounding the Storm Sewer Master Plan. As a result of increasing economic development, the City's funding sources for e infrastructure improvements are becoming depleted. The City is limited in its ability to share the costs of these improvements because of its dwindling resources. Mr. Lyle said storm sewers are one component of the total infrastructure needs. Staff has identified $18 million worth of needs in storm sewers alone over the next 20 years. This figure includes only the major network components of the storm sewer system. Mr. Lyle said there will also need to be improvements in the sanitary sewer system and streets. During the next year, the Public Works Department will be identifying financing options for projects that address these needs. Bob Hammitt, Public Works Maintenance Division Manager, showed slides illustrating the types of storm water drainage problems that have occurred in the City over the past few years. Mr. Lyle said annexations of areas outside Eugene contribute to the City's drainage problems. The standards used in those areas are typically rural, preserving natural drainage ways. As the system is expanded gaps are created and capacity problems are generated when additional flow runs into those natural drainage way systems. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 7, 1988 Page 1 e B. Creation of a Master Plan Mr. Lyle said it is necessary to develop a master plan to plan for future expenditures and to help in policy implementation. He said a master plan is also helpful to the City in working with developers. Mr. Lyle said there are four basic ways in which to control storm water: natural drainage, a pipe system, detention systems, and no system. Mr. Lyle showed several slides depicting the types of improvements identified in the master plan. He said staff will probably explore the concept of detention basins and natural drainage in the Willow Creek area. Detention basins are appropriate for the Willow Creek area because it is undeveloped and because they allow for a reduction in network size both in terms of diameter and systems costs. In the River Road/Santa Clara area, staff is trying to preserve the open channels where possible, and will attempt to preserve existing dry wells. In the Willakenzie area, staff is also looking at using channels. Glenwood will require construction of major pipe systems. In the Greenhill area, additional pipe systems will be needed and some open channels may also be constructed. C. Issues Mr. Lyle said there are currently several gaps in the storm sewer system in e developing areas. Typically the department waits to correct gaps in the system until development occurs or the street is improved. He said the City needs to be concerned about liability issues in areas where there are gaps in the system. Mr. Lyle said if the City allows the capacity of the existing natural drainage way to be exceeded, it may be liable for any property damage that occurs. In response to a question from Mr. Rutan, Mr. Hammitt said some claims have been filed against the City around this issue but he did not think the City has had to pay any claims. Public Works Director Christine Anderson said in order to receive an award, a property owner must provide documentation of damage to their property; this is hard to demonstrate and probably contributes to the fact that the City has not routinely had to pay claims. Mr. Lyle showed slides of natural drainage ways which the City has not maintained. He said staff would like to clean many of the channels but is unable to do so because there are no access easements. The City is liable for damage caused under these conditions (even where access is not possible) because it contributes to and allows storm water to go through those natural drainage ways. Mr. Lyle said even though there are maintenance problems, the City will increasingly try to use open channels because of the reduced costs. Mr. Gleason said a classic problem with natural drainage ways occurred last summer when the City was constructing a sanitary sewer in the River Road/Santa Clara area. The City had to remove water from the sewer trench when excavating for the sanitary sewer system. This water was discharged e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 7, 1988 Page 2 e into the natural drainage course which has been overrun by development filling the channel and caused water problems in several residents' backyards. Mr. Gleason said the water was really in the natural drainage course, but property owners have encroached on that channel and many of them were upset by the water. He said the City needs to establish the legal right of use to those water courses. If this is not done soon, the public's access to those water courses will be restricted by adverse possession. Mr. Lyle showed slides of detention basins that have been developed in the Portland area. These detention basins were developed in conjunction with the Public Utility District and can serve as multi-use facilities. Mr. Lyle said there are several dry wells in the River Road/Santa Clara, Willakenzie, and Bethel Danebo areas. The benefit of a dry well is that a large pipe system is not necessary for connection. Dry wells are more maintenance intensive, however. Mr. Lyle said the relationship between wetlands and the storm sewer system will need to be taken into account. Storm sewer systems cannot impact wetlands when they are constructed. Two benefits of using detention basins are that natural resource areas can be preserved and detention basins may be used as wetland banks. Mr. Lyle said another issue to be considered is that the DEQ will eventually require the City to look at discharge permits for storm water systems. e Mr. Rutan asked about the possibility of piping the excess drainage to the wetlands mitigation areas. Mr. Lyle said staff will be exploring this possibility. Mr. Gleason said by developing a master plan for improvements to the storm sewer system, it will be possible to integrate solutions of this type. He said this would not be possible if the City reacts to storm sewer problems as they occur. Ms. Anderson agreed, saying she views the development of a master plan as an opportunity to solve multiple problems surrounding wetlands, storm sewers, and floodways. Mr. Rutan said he has a hard time judging how large of a problem this is. He questioned whether the problem occurs often enough to warrant spending $18 million to solve it. Mr. Rutan stressed the need to balance the capital outlay for these improvements versus the level at which the community feels its storm sewer systems should operate. Mr. Gleason agreed, saying he would like to see an infrastructure subcommittee of the council set the public standard for storm sewer systems. Mayor Obie asked for volunteers to serve on the infrastructure subcommittee. Mr. Holmer and Shawn Boles agreed to serve on the committee. The council decided to let the new mayor appoint the balance of the subcommittee. Mr. Boles suggested that in addition to systems development charges, there should be systems enhancement bonuses. A developer who enhances the storm sewer system could have some of his/her systems development charges reduced. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 7, 1988 Page 3 e The meeting was adjourned at 6:40 p.m. /~ ~e~p~~G;t:fuJJ.~. o~4b!TI.i.~~o~' 0" r -........,-- r . Micheal Gleason, City Manager (Recorded by Tanya Northman) MNCC 110788-530 e e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 7, 1988 Page 4