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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/30/1988 Meeting ---- e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall November 30, 1988 11 : 30 a. m . COUNCILORS PRESENT: Cynthia Wooten, Ruth Bascom, Rob Bennett, Debra Ehrman, Freeman Holmer, Jeff Miller, Emily Schue. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Roger Rutan. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: E11i Dumdi, Steve Cornacchia, Bill Rogers, John Ball. COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Jerry Rust. The adjourned meeting of the Eugene City Council was called to order by Mayor Brian Obie. ,I. WORK SESSION: JOINT MEETING WITH LANE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Mayor Obie welcomed the Lane County Board of Commissioners and said this e joint meeting was overdue. He expressed pleasure that the relationship between the City and the County is a fairly positive one. He said the joint work on the homeless shelter is one example of how this positive relationship pays off and thanked Jim Johnson, County Administrator, for his leadership in the project. Ms. Dumdi said the County Commissioners have been holding meetings around the County to find out what is happening in other areas. She said the Board of Commissioners was especially pleased to meet with the City Council as there are several items of joint concern to the jurisdictions. A. Golf Course for Alton Baker Park Peter Thurston, County staff, said there has been discussion of developing a public golf course in Alton Baker Park since the 1960s. In 1988 Lane County contracted with ECO Northwest to evaluate the feasibility of developing a golf course at Alton Baker Park. The company studied several issues surrounding the development of a golf course in the park, including economic development questions related to the marketability of the site, possible tourism generated, how the golf course would improve the look of Eugene from the freeway, job creation, multiple uses of an old landfill site, and public sa fety . Other major questions were whether a golf course would fit on the site and how to deal with existing uses. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 30, 1988 Page 1 --~-- e The preliminary finding of the report indicated that a golf course will fit on the site, there is a market for the golf course, and development of the course would be financially feasible if it is done as a joint public/private enterprise. Mr. Johnson said there are three ways the City can assist the County with the project. The first has been accomplished in that Mr. Gleason volunteered staff support for the project. Mr. Johnson said coordinated staff work will be extremely important because of the number of jurisdictions with interests in the park. Second, there is a need for clarification about what governments can do with park lands. Current legislation mandates that private enterprise cannot lease City or County park lands for their benefit unless the City or County has more than 400,000 residents. Finally, the plan for the golf course will need to be consistent with land use plans for the park; this may require some changes. Mayor Obie inquired about the depth of commissioner support for the project. Ms. Dumdi said the commission unanimously supports the concept, although this consensus may erode when issues of a more technical nature are addressed. Ms. Bascom said she would like to support the project but has some reservations. She expressed concern that the development of a golf course will utilize too much park space. In addition, Ms. Bascom stressed the conflict between the proposed golf course and the existing canoe-ways and bike paths; she said these users need to be considered in the planning process. Ms. Bascom said she would support the development if issues such as e these are adequately addressed. Mr. Cornacchia assured Ms. Bascom that his support was conditional upon the successful integration of current users into the proposed plan. Ms. Wooten asked whether the proposed Laurelwood golf course was considered in the economic feasibility study. Mr. Thurston said it was taken into consideration and there was still a market. Mr. Cornacchia said even the operators of other golf courses are supportive of this one because they have trouble accommodating all of their users. Ms. Ehrman asked about access to the project site. Mr. Thurston said the main access points will be from Centennial Boulevard, down Day Island Road, to a club house and driving range. He said another potential access is off southwest "0" Street in Springfield, although this has not been discussed. Ms. Ehrman said she would like to support the project but felt it was too early to be certain. She was pleased that the existing users were being taken into consideration. Mayor Obie summarized the views of the council, saying that council members will be supportive of the development if certain conditions are met. He requested that the Board of Commissioners send a statement to the council indicating under what conditions the board supports the project and estimating a ground-breaking date for the project. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 30, 1988 Page 2 e B. Project Report on Housing for the Homeless County Administrator Jim Johnson thanked the City for its cooperation and assistance in completing the homeless shelter. Because Springfield decided to contribute to the project, Eugene's share to this date has amounted to $49,000. Mr. Gleason said the City Council authorized an expenditure of up to $70,000 on the homeless shelter. He encouraged the council not to retract the rest of its funding until the full costs of the shelter are known. Mr. Johnson said the amount of volunteer and professional labor that went into the project was phenomenal and expressed appreciation for the community's favorable response to the shelter. Ms. Wooten agreed. She suggested that the County and City consider a continuation of funding for the project beyond April because there will be a continuing need for the shelter. Mr. Cornacchia said there is currently an effort underway to analyze how money in the Joint Social Services Fund has been utilized. One option is to fold the Human Services Planning Project over the Joint Social Services Fund, and have the fund acknowledge the needs of the community rather than continually funding agencies which are currently funded. Ms. Wooten agreed but felt the jurisdictions would have difficulty agreeing on new funding priorities. Ms. Schue felt Springfield's eager and generous contribution to the shelter was gratifying. Mr. Cornacchia agreed, saying that this was a hard decision for Springfield to make. He said the City of Springfield has an ongoing debate about allocating money for agencies and programs located in Eugene; e this feeling had to be overcome before they agreed to donate to the shelter. Ms. Ehrman felt the Joint Social Services Committee has been sensitive to this feeling. In the past, the committee has gone out of its way to fund agencies located in Springfield and elsewhere in the county. C. Proposal for Youth Development Consortium Commissioner Ball said that two years ago Commissioner Rogers asked for a review of the County's youth services in anticipation of passage of Senate Bill 780 giving the County direct policy authority for juvenile services (starting in early 1988). During the middle of the review process, Governor Goldschmidt decided that children's issues would be a high statewide priority. As these two efforts came together, many youth service providers throughout the county urged the consolidation of the County's youth services and planning functions. Mr. Ball said this request has been given serious consideration and Lane County's Children's Task Force (CTF) is recommending that the Juvenile Services Commission, Student Retention Initiative, and allocations to other youth service agencies be merged into a Youth Development Consortium. Mr. Ball said the governor has indicated that the County will be the primary focus for the new children's agenda and that significant revenues allocated for children's issues will be allocated through the County. The new consortium will be the allocating body for these funds as well as the e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 30, 1988 Page 3 - planning and allocating mechanism for the new Great Start Program. Mr. Ball said he anticipates continued involvement from City staff, and Eugene's non-profit and private sector agencies. Ms. Bascom asked about the possibility of integrating the City's Youth Commission into this process and eliminating the body as it currently exists. Mr. Ball said the County would be interested in pursuing this possibility. He stressed the need to proceed carefully with such a course of action, so that the City's internal objectives for the commission continue to be met. Mr. Cornacchia felt these plans have good potential, but remained skeptical because the Governor's agenda represents a mandate to the County and yet no additional resources have been granted to comply with the mandate. Mr. Cornacchia said local control is needed in making decisions about the community's needs and how to allocate resources. D. Regional Interest Event At Legislature Jody Miller, Intergovernmental Relations, gave the staff report. She said a proposal has been made that the Lane County Metropolitan "United Front" group sponsor an event in Salem for the entire legislature which would be hosted by members of the Lane delegation. A staff group representing the University of Oregon, the Chamber of Commerce, Lane Community College, Eugene, Springfield, and the County has been tentatively formed to coordinate the event. It is expected that these organizations would be the core group and that others, such as the Metropolitan Partnership and other public and private interests, e may be interested-in joining the effort. Ms. Miller said the anticipated cost of the event is approximately $2,000. It is expected that private interests from Lane County would be willing to contribute a portion of the cost so that the cost to public agencies would be minimal. Ms. Miller said the staff group has tentatively scheduled the event for February 2, 1989. Mayor Obie said the Eugene legislative delegation is very enthusiastic about this opportunity which they view as a chance to increase internal cohesiveness among delegation members. Mayor Obie announced that he will be trying to raise private funds to sponsor this event. Mr. Rogers said he will support the event if the other board members want to be involved, but he did not feel the event would be very successful. He felt it would be difficult to get legislators to attend the event. Mr. Rogers said the most successful meetings would be one-on-one or small group encounters with individual legislators. Mr. Holmer felt that the event could potentially be very beneficial. Ms. Ehrman and Ms. Bascom both supported the concept and felt it could be particularly beneficial if it helped delegates agree on a list of shared priority issues. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 30, 1988 Page 4 - -~- e Ms. Dumdi said the commissioners would discuss the issue among themselves and make a recommendation based on the group's consensus. E. Metro Plan Update Pat Decker, Planning Department, gave the staff report. She said the Eugene City Council expressed strong reservations at its meeting on November 28, about the Metropolitan Policy Committee's recommendations regarding amendments to the Metro Plan. Ms. Decker said staff felt this would be a good opportunity for the Board of Commissioners and the City Council to exchange ideas about MPC's recommendations, before MPC meets again on December 16. Ms. Decker added that after the council raised concerns about the proposed changes, staff met and developed alternatives to the approach the council had reviewed. Mr. Bennett said he strongly believes that the jurisdictions should conduct a major update as has been done in the past. He said his understanding is that the council is being asked to consider alternative procedures because of a lack of desire and/or funding to proceed with the update on the part of the County and Springfield. Mr. Bennett said part of the reason the community has been successful in its past development ventures has been the General Plan, which includes a combination of technical expertise and community input. He said the existence of a General Plan with broad public support makes the best possible development environment. W~thout a plan, people do not know what type of e development to ex~ect next, so they must be constantly on guard. Mr. Bennett added that while he feels the plan must be dynamic, he does not feel continued progress toward land use and economic development goals will be possible if the planning process is compromised. Mr. Cornacchia stressed the importance of separating the update process from the amendment process. He said whether or not the update is conducted is an issue of resources, which are currently extremely limited. What to do with the amendment process is an issue of cost and time efficiencies. Mr. Cornacchia said the majority of the Board of Commissioners believes that a rural comprehensive plan which is constitutional and will be recognized by the State is more important than an update of a currently existing plan. Springfield has similar budgetary priorities. Mr. Cornacchia agreed that the Metro Plan must be a dynamic document that is open to change, but questioned whether it is imperative to change the plan this year. Mr. Cornacchia said he believes the amendment process needs to be changed and feels the community agrees with this position. He said the current amendment process costs the local governments too much money and requires too much time both for developers and for staff. In addition, Mr. Cornacchia said the minority veto situation that currently exists between the three jurisdictions makes it very difficult to accomplish goals. Mr. Bennett agreed that the opportunity to review the amendment process is valuable. He said he still believes, however, that an update should occur. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 30, 1988 Page 5 e The three jurisdictions have common interests and should agree on a time line for updating the General Plan. Mr. Bennett said he respects the fact that the County wants to look seriously at the rural lands issue, but felt it would be a mistake to pursue this at the expense of a comprehensive plan. In response to a point made by Mr. Cornacchia, Ms. Wooten pointed out that originally the amendment process was not separated from the update process. She said it was only in trying to be accommodating that a policy allowing for infrequent, singular amendments was established. Ms. Wooten said she believes the update process is the key element of the entire plan and that amendments should occur in batches when the update process occurs. Ms. Wooten expressed concern that the County and Springfield may not experience an improvement in their financial situation soon. This means that the update, a process which is extremely important to the metropolitan area, will not be completed. Mr. Cornacchia said that he would want to find a way to proceed with the update if he felt that all jurisdictions are partners in the Metro Plan. He does not perceive that the jurisdictions have any desire to cooperate with one another, however. Mr. Cornacchia said as long as this is true, he feels the jurisdictions should drop the facade and concentrate on their own planning interests. Mayor Obie said that since the General Plan was put together there has been good cooperation between the jurisdictions. He felt that "hostage holding" between the jurisdictions has only been a recent development. e . ' Mayor Obie asked Mr. Cornacchia and Mr. Bennett to meet on an informal basis to discuss their concerns and to generate possible solutions to the problem. Ms. Schue urged that a Springfield representative be included in this discussion. F. Shelton McMurphey House Ms. Ehrman said the rehabilitation of the Shelton McMurphey House has not progressed lately because of the need to raise funds in order to meet code requirements. She said the house was open during the Eugene Celebration and in excess of $1,000 was raised. Ms. Ehrman said people who toured the house were very appreciative, which convinces her that the house would receive numerous bookings if it were open for meetings. She felt this would be very good for downtown Eugene. Ms. Ehrman said some renovation work on the housekeeper's apartment in the basement has begun, but there is not currently enough money to bring the house into compliance with building codes. One of the requirements is that the ground floor of the house be accessible to the disabled. Ms. Ehrman said the cost of installing a lift would be approximately $15,000. She suggested that the City meet the costs of installing a lift, conditional upon the County providing enough funding to meet other code requirements. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 30, 1988 Page 6 e Ms. Wooten inquired about the potential for a grant from the Tourism Commission to help meet renovation costs of the house. Mr. Ball said this is possible but it may not be the fastest funding option. He said Mr. Johnson is currently trying to identify other possible funding sources. Mayor Obie was supportive of Ms. Ehrman's suggestion. He felt the Shelton McMurphey House will be an important asset to downtown Eugene when renovated. Mayor Obie said he would also like to explore the potential for using tax increment funds to renovate the house, even though it lies outside the tax increment district. II. ITEMS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL, MAYOR, AND CITY MANAGER A. Police Patrols of the Mall Ms. Ehrman said there is a widespread perception among community members that the downtown mall is unsafe. She requested that two police officers be reassigned to patrol the mall during the last two weeks before Christmas as a way to alleviate these perceptions. Mr. Whitlow indicated that it would be possible to do this, although he felt a longer term commitment would be required to really have an effect on the community's perceptions. Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Ms. Bascom, that two police officers be reassigned to patrol the mall during the final two weeks before Christmas. The motion passed unanimously. - B. Council Policy Regarding CIA Recruitment at the University Referring to an article in the November 30, 1988, edition of the Oregon Daily Emerald, Mr. Holmer said Ms. Wooten had attended an anti-CIA rally at the University of Oregon. He said the newspaper represented Ms. Wooten's views as representative of the sentiment of the entire council, but that the council had taken no official position. Ms. Wooten stated that it was her intent to represent her own views. C. Riverfront Research Park Ms. Wooten said she was disappointed to learn that the Carley Capital Group has withdrawn as developer for the Riverfront Research Project. She said she has always supported the research project in the past and remains supportive, but feels the City Council should pause at this point and ask some questions about its involvement in the project. The major question Ms. Wooten felt the council should consider is how much money it has spent thus far. She fe 1t the council also needs to consider what its role should be in infrastructure development for the project. Ms. Wooten did not feel it would be wise to proceed with infrastructure development until there is a developer committed to the project with known tenants. Mayor Obie did not understand the impetus behind Ms. Wooten's comments. He said the withdrawal of the Carley Capital Group is insignificant with regard - MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 30, 1988 Page 7 e to future development of the project. Ms. Wooten said she is not suggesting that the council discontinue support for the project, but that the withdrawal of the developer provides a good opportunity to explore how to proceed with the project and whether it is a wise use of the City's resources. Mr. Bennett said he does not mind reviewing the City's total investment to date, but feels infrastructure development should proceed with or without a developer. III. WORK SESSION: LIBRARY FINANCING PROPOSAL (Pat Decker, Planning Department, gave the staff report) She said a number of questions were raised at the November 22, meeting of the Council Committee on Library Financing (CCLF). Committee members decided to get input from the balance of the council at this meeting.( Ms. Decker said the major questions raised at the last CCLF meeting were whether the council wished to finish 100,000 square feet of the library or only 75,000 square feet, and the relationship of library financing to funding in the current operating and capital budgets.) Mr. Gleason reminded councilors that the capital budget for the current fiscal year was cut approximately $850,000 from the original forecast. The six year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) currently being proposed is $2 million for FY90, $2.3 million for FY91, and $2.4 million FY92. Mr. Whitlow distributed a list of projects proposed in the $2 million budget forecast for e FY90. Mr. Gleason reminded councilors of the difficulty they faced in reducing spending by $850,000 last year to balance the budget. Mr. Gleason said the most recent six-year General Fund forecast projects a $1 million shortfall per year. This does not take into account changes that have occurred since the forecast was made, including $200,000 for the failed library levy, $400,000 in wages, $150,000 in urban wetlands issues, and $50,000 in emergency housing. Mr. Gleason said the possibility of cutting between $200,000 and $400,000 from the operating side of the budget has been discussed. He said that such a reduction would be possible but extremely difficult. ~ayor Obie said this issue is before the council because Councilor Rutan proposed that funds be taken from both capital and operating sides of the existing General Fund to finance the library.; Mayor Obie said the committee felt this would be a very difficult solution to funding the library because it would require a complete shift in priorities. The committee did not feel comfortable speaking for the council, however, so is now asking for council input. Mr. Miller said one funding option under consideration is the use of tax increment money generated by the building itself to help develop the library shell, and to use other tax increment money to help finish the library. He said if the library can be constructed using solely tax increment funds, e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 30, 1988 Page 8 e General Fund revenue could possibly be used to finance the operation of the library. Mayor Obie said this is the direction being pursued by the CClF. Mayor Obie asked whether there was council support for using the capital budget to finance library construction costs. He said Mr. Bennett expressed concern earlier about exhausting the capital budget on the library project. Mayor Obie also asked whether the council favors re-prioritizing its uses for the General Fund so that the increased library costs can be funded out of the existing General Fund. Mr. Holmer said he feels that a larger and improved library is a higher operating priority than a number of other city activities. He said he would prefer to put the other activities on a special levy to compete for funding. Ms. Ehrman did not favor this idea, saying that it would be extremely difficult to identify items to be cut from the budget. Mayor Obie directed staff to prepare a comparison between the existing library budget and the projected library budget, noting those activities which might be phased in or dispensed with as funding requires. Mr. Miller also requested staff to provide a written opinion on whether there are savings in operations to be gained through the efficiency of the new building which could be used to help mitigate expansion costs. Ms. Wooten, Ms. Schue, and Mayor Obie did not feel it was realistic to think the library could be funded by existing General Fund money without generating new revenue somewhere. Mr. Miller felt it would be possible, but it might e not be desirable. He said there are creative options for funding the library which have not yet been considered. Mr. Miller reiterated his opinion that the City should build the shell of the library and figure out the details of finishing and operating the library later. He said Pankow is presenting the community with an opportunity too good to miss. Ms. Wooten said she remains confounded by the creative funding options Mr. Miller refers to. She felt CCLF members and staff are resourceful and have examined all practical options. Ms. Wooten said she strongly feels the council needs to begin recognizing the need for more money and identifYing new revenue sources to generate that money. Mr. Miller pointed out that the community has reached its taxation limit. He said if this is the case, the council needs to decide whether it will turn its back on new opportunities. Mr. Miller felt the community should not be dictated by past funding decisions, but should make the best possible use of current funds to meet current public need. Ms. Ehrman felt the council should present an entire plan to the community at the public hearing in December. She felt the council would appear to be holding the public hostage if the City builds only part of the project, then lets it sit until the rest of the funding can be worked out. Ms. Ehrman felt the purpose of the public hearing is to find out whether the public feels a library is essential to the community. Ms. Wooten agreed with this position. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 30, 1988 Page 9 e Ms. Schue felt the council must be very careful not to repeat the circumstances surrounding the Hult Center. She stressed the need for the council to be honest with the public and make certain they know there will be continuing operation costs associated with the library. Ms. Schue said money for operating the library must come from somewhere, and it is wrong to think that it can be extracted from the budget in a mysterious way that will not be felt. Mr. Bennett felt the library is important and the City should pursue its development. He favored the consideration of tax increment funds as one possible funding source. Mr. Bennett said he supports using tax increment flow to develop the library because the project would probably make a large contribution to the perception of downtown Eugene as the center of the community. In addition, he feels the project would serve as a catalyst for other project developments in the vicinity. Mr. Bennett did not feel it would be prudent to look for the funds in the existing capital and operating budgets. He felt the council should see how the public feels about the library when they understand it will require a new revenue source. Mr. Bennett noted that while all the councilors want to operate an efficient city, it is not necessary or reasonable to identify and use every dollar in every corner of the budget in the operations of the City. Mr. Holmer said he believes .in the need for a new library and would like to e make certain a ne~ 'library is built. He pointed out that the operations of the library amount to only .2 percent of the General Fund. Mr. Holmer felt it is possible to find that amount of money in the existing budget. He added that he does not want to present the public with a new revenue measure as the funding source for the proposed library if it kills the project. tMayor Obie summarized the direction of the council saying a majority of councilors have reservations about using General Fund resources to support the library, while two councilors feel the use of General Fund resources is imperative. He said the CCLF would prepare a proposal reflecting this position) Martha Rice, Library staff, reported that she had talked with eight people about the possibilities for private fund-raising for the library. The consensus among these people was that it is unrealistic to expect contributions as high as $2 million; one very large donation (of at least $.5 million) would have to be received to accomplish this goal. Ms. Rice said her sources felt it would be possible to raise money for improvements and operations of the library over the course of two or three years with the help of a professional fund-raiser. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 30, 1988 Page 10 e The meeting was adjourned at 2:25 p.m. 7~~~~..,<~t~f~ ~~~~~~~i7~~'-~. (Recorded by Tanya Northman) MNCC 113088 e e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 30, 1988 Page 11