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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/10/1982 Meeting . '( M I NUT E S -_ Eugene City Council City Council Chamber November 10, 1982 11 :45 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: John Ball, D. W. Hamel, Mark Lindberg, Gretchen Miller, Brian Obie, Emily Schue, Betty Smith, Cynthia Wooten, Adjourned meeting of the City Council of the City of Eugene, Oregon, was called to order by His Honor Mayor Gus Keller. 1. ITEMS FROM MAYOR & COUNCIL, APPOINTMENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, AGENDA ADJUSTMENTS A, Proposed Meeting With Representatives of Arts Groups Mr. Obie said that he had been contacted by someone from the arts community asking whether representatives of various local arts groups could meet with the City Council. He suggested that such a meeting take place at a Monday night ---_ dinner session. Members agreed. Mayor Keller noted that the council agendas are full until after the first of the year. B. Westside Neighborhood Quality Project Ms. Wooten reported that on October 30 the Wests ide Neighborhood Quality Project sponsored a clean-up of the Elliott property on Jefferson Street which went very well. C. Bonneville Power Administration Transmission Line Ms. Wooten read a letter addressed to the Mayor and the City Council from the Bonneville Power Administration which indicates that a transmission line will not be located across Spencers Butte at this time. The Alvey substation will be identified as the preferred terminus. Connection of the Alvey and Lane substations will be delayed until the late 1990s. Ms. Wooten thanked City staff members Tim Sercombe, Jim Croteau, and Terry Jones for their work on this item, Mayor Keller noted that Bonneville Power Administration officials told him that they consider the testimony they received on this matter the finest they have heard. D. Petition Regarding the Renaming of Hult Center for the Performing Arts Dottie Neils presented a petition asking the City Council to rescind Resolution 3718 which renamed the Eugene Performing Arts Center the Hult Center for the Performing Arts and asked that any future resolution regarding renaming of the e center be at an adequately announced public council session. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 10, 1982 Page 1 ~ e E. Appointments--Balloting for Interviewees for Planning Commission, Citizen Involvement Committee, and Joint Housing Committee Openings Mr. Gleason told councilors that the memo for this item inadvertently advised a closing date for applications for the Planning Commission vacancy. Staff recommends that the council not ballot for the Planning Commission opening. Mr. Ball asked that the ballot form be changed from a choice of weighted or unweighted ballot to simply an unweighted ballot. Mr. Obie moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to remove the "weighted" portion of the ballots. Roll call vote; motion carried unanimously. The council then set November 24 as the closing date to apply for the Planning Commission vacancy. Councilors requested that staff conduct a telephone poll of councilors to determine a date to interview the Joint Housing Committee and Citizen Involvement Committee applicants. F. Approval of Downtown Commission Terms Councilor Obie noted the City Council Subcommittee recommendations regarding the members' term lengths for the Downtown Commission were as follows: Richard Skeie Term to expire 6/30/83 James R. McCoy Term to expire 6/30/84 Donald Genasci Term to expire 6/30/84 e Roger Neustadter Term to expire 6/30/84 Tom Schott Term to expire 6/30/85 Mi ke Schwartz Term to expire 6/30/85 David Fi ler Term to expire 6/30/85 Anne Bennett Term to expire 6/30/86 Hugh Prichard Term to expire 6/30/86 Mr. Obie moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to approve the recommen- dation of the City Council Subcommittee regarding Downtown Com- mission terms. Roll call vote; motion carried unanimously, G. "Bicycles in Cities - The Eugene Experience" Ruth Bascom, Bicycle Committee citizen member, presented council with copies of privately-funded and produced "Bicycles in Cities - The Eugene Experience". Each report describes one aspect of Eugene's successful bicycling program. She thanked the Eugene City Council, the City staff, and several members of the community who had contributed to the report, "Bicycles in Cities - The Eugene Experience" is being marketed nationally to cities, universities, and other agencies, Ms. Bascom said she hopes to bring back a successful financial report to the council next year. - November 10, 1982 MINUTES--Eugene City Council Page 2 e H. "Good Works 1981 Awards" City bicycle coordinators, Charles Norgaard and Diane Bishop, presented the council with three "Good Works 1981 Awards" which were given to the City at the recent Pro Bike 182 Conference. Mr. Norgaard pointed out that Eugene won in all three categories in the engineering/planning field. Ms. Bishop said that the reputation the City has for its bicycle system has resulted in at least two groups choosing Eugene as their conference site. This summer the Institute of Traffic Engineers will meet here and this fall the Northwest Regional Meeting of Pro Bike will take place in Eugene. I. League of Oregon Cities Award Mayor Keller said he had accepted three awards on behalf of the City at the League of Oregon Cities meeting. The City received community achievement awards for its six-point economic diversification program and its shared housing program. The City also received a first-place award for the State's best program of pub1ic- private cooperation. The Mayor presented this award to representatives of the Business Assistance Team and the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce. Accepting the awards were John Amundson, Tom Hoyt, and Cathy Briner. Mr. Amundson, Chamber of Commerce liaison to the Business Assistance Team, said the Chamber of Com- merce is very pleased to be part of this cooperative effort. He commended the Business Assistance Team staff, saying they were doing a fine job pursuing the goals the council has set, _ Mr. Hoyt, co-chairperson of the Joint Committee on Economic Diversification, said that the work of the Business Assistance Team was well underway. Cooperation and community spirit are what has gotten the economic develoment program "off the ground". Each citizen is being called upon to be an ambassador for Eugene, Ms. Briner asked members of the Business Assistance Team and the Joint Committee on Economic Diversification to stand and she thanked them. II. ROUTINE ITEMS FOR COUNCIL APPROVAL A. Consideration of City Council Minutes of September 29, 1982, October 11, 1982, October 13, 1982, and October 20, 1982 (minutes distributed) Mr. Obie moved, seconded by Ms. Schue to approve the City Council minutes of September 29, 1982, October 11, 1982, October 13, 1982, and October 20, 1982. Roll call vote; motion carried unanimous ly. B, Resolution re: Abatement of Building Located at 2444 University Street (resolution distributed) e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 10, 1982 Page 3 , Mr. Sercombe reported that the owner had received an offer to buy the building e at 2444 University Street. It is not clear whether this transaction will take place, The City will require that improvement to the building commence within ten days (by November 19, 1982) and that they be finished by January 19, 1983. Resolution 3735--A resolution ordering abatement of the building located at 2444 University Street. Mr. Obie moved, seconded by Ms. Schue to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote; motion carried unanimously. C. City Council Meeting SChedule for 1983 (memo distributed) Ms. Wooten pointed out that there are six council meetings scheduled in June and November. Mr. Gleason said he would look into this. Mr. Obie, moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, that the City Council meeting schedule for 1983 be approved. Roll call vote; motion carried unanimously, III. PUBLIC HEARING: EASEMENT VACATION re: COBURG PROPERTIES LTD.(EV 82-3) (map, background information distributed) Mr. Gleason noted that staff were available to answer questions. Public hearing e was opened. There being no testimony to be presented, the public hearing was closed. CB 2572 -- An ordinance authorizing vacation of a portion of a 141-wide public utility easement located on the east side of Coburg Road between Bailey Avenue and Tandy Turn. Mr. Obie moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, that the bill be read the second time by council bill number only with unanimous consent of the council and that enactment be considered at this time, Roll call vote; motion carried unanimously, Council Bill 2572 was read the second time by council bill number only. Mr. Obie moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote; all councilors present voting aye. The bill was declared passed and numbered 19052. IV, FURTHER CONSIDERATION OF DESIGN MODIFICATIONS TO THE PARK WILLAMETTE PENTHOUSE e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 10, 1982 Page 4 , e Mr. Sercombe began his report by saying there was a pending motion which had been tabled to this date to accept the recommendation of the Downtown Commission concerning design modifications to the Park Wi11amette Penthouse, He said there seemed to be three issues in this matter: 1) what legal remedies are available; 2) what is an appropriate resolution of the problem given the current funding needs of the developer; and 3) correction of some misleading portions of this controversy. He noted that during the construction, the developer in- curred unexpected costs due to high interest rates, litigation costs, and construction cost overruns. If at the time, the developer first asked for modifications, and those modifications had not been granted, the developer could have stopped the project. During this time there seems to have been a failure of communication between the developer and the City staff. If modifications are made, the building's value will be in excess of the original estimate of value. Staff recommends that the City Council modify the motion to allow changes previously recommended by the Downtown Commission, to request that the developer pay back City costs of approximately $3,500, and to agree to modify the contract to allow the design review committee to review modifications to the lid or penthouse and to determine at that point whether further modifications are needed to the external finish of the penthouse, the cost of such modifications not to exceed a certain amount, approximately $8,000 - $10,000, At this point the developer has agreed to approximately $42,000 worth of design changes to be completed within approximately two months. The design review e committee would then determine whether the color of the penthouse should be changed. If so, the developer would have approximately four years to do so, Finally, the developer has agreed to pay back the City's costs for the design review team and for legal expenses, Ms, Wooten asked what the amount of public investment in the development to- talled and was told by Mr. Tharp that $62,000 was spent on mall development in front of the building. Also the land was sold on the basis of a "re-use appraisal" for $125,000, The market value of the land at the time was $250,000. Mr. Obie moved, seconded by Ms. Schue that the previous motion (to approve, as recommended by the Downtown Commission, the design modification to the penthouse of the Park Willamette Building and direct the City Manager to take appropriate action) be removed from the table. Roll call vote; motion carried unanimously, Mr. Obie moved, seconded by Ms. Schue to amend the motion to instruct the City Manager to modify the contract in accordance with the City Attorney's recommendation. e MINUTES--City Council Meeting November 10, 1982 Page 5 , Ms. Smith asked that a representative of the developer speak to this issue. e Eric Larson, attorney representing Park Willamette, said that the developer supports the motion. He also pointed out that a round roof for the penthouse was not considered for more than one and one-half years into the project, Mr, Ball said that the proposed agreement was not entirely the solution the Council had hoped for. He said the City must work on the process so problems like this do not develop again. In response to Mr. Larson, Mr. Obie said that he had sat in on renewal agency meetings, and was not aware when the idea of a round roof was dropped. Ms. Miller agreed with Mr. Ball: the solution is acceptable, but the City must learn from its mistakes, and improve its procedures for the future, Roll call vote; the motion to amend carried unanimously. Mr. Obie moved, seconded by Ms. Schue to adopt the main motion as amended. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously. V. MONTHLY STATUS REPORT ON ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION--SIX MONTH PROGRESS REPORT ON BUSINESS ASSISTANCE TEAM (memo, report distributed) Mr. Long introduced Cathy Briner, Business Assistance Team manager, who gave the six-month progress report. She said a total of 255 businesses have been served e since the Business Assistance Team began in April, 1982. The team has provided some form of business assistance to 236 local businesses. There has been some contact with non-local firms, but the primary focus in this area has been the development of marketing materials. Ms. Briner reported that the team has put together an inventory of available industrial land, and has worked to enhance Eugene's image outside the area. She said that the council would soon be presented with a recommendation to continue the Business Assistance Team, and to authorize a budget to fund its effort. Ms. Wooten said she was pleased to see what the team had accomplished with such limited resources. She asked what percentage of those businesses assisted had expanded or gotten started as a result of the team's help. Also, she wondered how many jobs have been created, She wondered if the team could conduct some kind of survey to get these kinds of statistics. Ms. Briner responded that the team plans to go back to a number of the businesses which have been served, give them further information about the team's services, and get feedback from them, She concluded by saying that City staff and representatives from the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, the Lane Economic Foundation, the University of Oregon and Lane Community College have worked together in this public-private partnership. The team has also been assisted by business and student volunteers. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 10, 1982 Page 6 . VI. BUSINESS ASSISTANCE AND MARKETING PLAN (memo, plan, distributed) e Mr. Long recalled that, at its September goal setting session, the Council made economic development its primary goal, and job creation a first priority. He called the councilors' attention to a memo dated November 3, 1982, on job creation strategy which integrates the small business assistance study and the market stratification study (which were funded by the Eugene Private Industry Council) and the work of the Business Assistance Team, which put together the marketing aspects of the report. Ms. Briner then presented an overview of the memo using charts, She began by saying that, while job creation is a number one priority, the City cannot create jobs. It can, however, do such things as improve and maintain the infrastructure, develop financing programs, encourage destination point activ- ities, recruit businesses, and the like. Much of this is already happening. Ms. Briner said the marketing plan has specific recommendations in three areas: small business assistance, business recruitment, and image enhancement. The major emphasis of the plan is on small business assistance, because it is felt that in this area the City will get the greatest return for the money spent. In the area of recruitment, the plan is to identify industrial sectors which would "work" in Eugene, solicit community support, develop marketing tools, work out prospect handling, and contact firms. Those firms to be sought out are ones with high growth potential, with under 100 employees, located in the western states, and suitable to Eugene. In particular, fitness-related industries, regional headquarters, and businesses connected with the arts will be e sought. Ms. Sri ner then di scussed liThe Ambassador Program", a recruitment program which involves everyone in Eugene. Citizens will be asked to become personally involved in recruiting, sending the marketing materials to firms with which they have contacts. The City will provide the tools: the brochures, the follow up newsletters to prospects, technical seminars, visits to trade shows, some personal visits, and advertising. In the area of image enhancement, the City would promote the Ambassador Program locally, seek out speaking engage- ments, and target those media which have presented Eugene in a negative light, asking for new stories about the City. Samples of the two new marketing brochures were then distributed to the council and to the audience, The first was an introductory brochure, "Fit for Business" and the second, was a "Community Prof il e", a brochure with inserts wh ich can be changed to be timely and appropriate to the prospect. Ms, Briner said the brochures were locally designed and printed and jointly funded by the City of Eugene, the Chamber of Commerce, the Eugene Private Industry Council, and a federal EDA grant. Mr, Gleason then stated that no council action was required. Ms. Wooten congratulated the Business Assistance Team, saying the brochures were beautiful. She said she was interested in the costs of various aspects of the program. She liked the focus on small business assistance, and cautioned about the need to look at what the City can afford so that basic services are e provided. MINUTES--City Council Minutes November 10, 1982 Page 7 . Mr. Hamel also congratulated the Business Assistance Team, and expressed the hope that the City will work closely with the Lane Economic Foundation and e the Chamber of Commerce, on business recruiting. Mr. Lindberg also supported the idea of emphasizing small business assistance, He said that the City should take a close look at the environmental impact of certain kinds of industries before actively recruiting them. Ms. Schue stated that she was struck by the potential of "The Ambassador Program" which would involve the Eugene community and save money. She also congratulated the Business Assistance Team on the brochure. Mr. Obie apologized for Mayor Keller, who had to leave early. He thought that liThe Ambassador program" was an exciting concept, and he noted that the League of Oregon Cities Convention was brought to Eugene through the efforts of one person -- Mayor Keller. He thanked the Business Assisance Team, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Lane Economic Foundation. VII. APPOINTMENTS Ballots were submitted by councilors for those to be interviewed for openings on the Citizen Involvement Committee as follows: Bi 11 Hamel Bruce Mallory Richard Perry e Brian Obie Bruce Mallory Mike Marczuk Richard Perry lone Pierron Emily Schue Richard Guske Chuck Bailey Andrew Gottesman Bruce Mallory Richard Perry Betty Smith Bruce Mallory Mi ke Marczuk lone Pierron Rich ard Perry Alfred Allen Mark Lindberg Richard Guske Chuck Bail ey Andrea Hulnick Cindy Wooten Chuck Bailey Julie Roswell lone Pierron Richard Guske e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 10, 1982 Page 8 . . - e Gretchen Miller Chuck Bailey Richard Guske Andrea Hulnick Julie Roswell Michael Thurman John Ball Chuck Bail ey Richard Guske Andrea Hulnick Richard Perry lone Pierron Ballots were submitted by councilors for those to be interviewed for an opening on the Joint Housing Committee as follows: Bill Hamel Gary Brothers Kent Jennings Donna Turring Brian Obie Gary Brothers Kent Jennings Donna Turring e Emily Schue Mary Vogel Donna Turring Howard Zink Betty Smith Gary Brothers Donna Turring Kent Jennings Mark Lindberg Mary Vogel Cindy Wooten Mary Vogel Gretchen Miller Mary Vogel John Ba 11 Mary Vogel e MlNUTES--Eugene City Council November 10, 1982 Page 9 I . . ~ Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, to interview five appli- cants, those being Chuck Bailey, Richard Guske, Bruce Mallory, Richard Perry and lone Pierron, for the two Citizen Involvement Committee vacancies, and two applicants, those being Donna Turring and Mary Vogel, for the one vacancy on the Joint Housing Committee. Roll call vote; motion failed, 4:4 with Councilors Schue, Smith, Hamel and Lindberg voting aye, and Councilors Obie, Miller, Wooten and Ball voting no. Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, to interview three appli- cants, those being Chuck Bailey, Richard Guske, and Richard Perry, for the two Citizen Involvement Committee vacancies, and two applicants, those being Donna Turring and Mary Vogel, for the one vacancy on the Joint Housing Committee. Roll call vote; motion carried 7:1, with Councilors Ball, Hamel, Miller, Obie, Schue, Wooten and Smith voting aye, and Councilor Lindberg voting no. Due to the late hour, members agreed to postpone the City Council Work Session on the Oregon Department of Transportations's (ODOT) Six Year Plan concerning improvements to 6th/7th Avenues. Respectfully submitted, - ~ ~/-, ,. - (~-s-ft..-" , v/, /./ , r' .. /;.~ ~d:-7 ,P' Micheal D. Gleason City Manager (Recorded by Hillary Kittleson) MDG: j k/CM7bll e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 10, 1982 Page 10