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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/13/1983 Meeting M I NUT E S - Eugene City Council City Council Chamber April 13, 1983 11:45 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: John Ball, Richard Hansen, Freeman Holmer, Mark Lindberg, Emily Schue, Betty Smith, Cynthia Wooten. ABSENT: Councilor Brian Obie. Adjourned meeting of the City Council of the City of Eugene, Oregon, was called to order by His Honor Mayor Gus Keller. I. ITEMS FROM MAYOR & COUNCIL, APPOINTMENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, AGENDA ADJUSTMENTS e A. City of EugenelHult Center Celebration Councilor Wooten referred to a memorandum she had sent to councilors regarding establishment of a task force to research ideas for a CitylHult Center festival or celebration. She felt that such an event would be an important economic development activity for the City and requested council authorization for her to proceed with researching possibilities for such an event. Councilor Schue aqreed that this was an excellent idea and hoped Ms. Wooten would pursue a theme for the event. Ms. Wooten noted that the Downtown Commission had agreed to participate in work on the event. She noted that David Filer of the commission was present. - David Filer, Eugene Downtown Commission, reported that the commission was enthusiastic about this effort to enhance the use of the downtown. Mr. Filer urged the council to think of this event as the culmination of a sequence of spring and summer events in the City and urged that all events be marketed together. Councilor Smith asked for a report back from staff on the cost and potential sources of income for such an event. Councilor Lindberg supported such an event but urged that it be started on a small scale and allowed to evolve into a larger event. Councilor Holmer commended Ms. Wooten's initiative in suggesting this event. Councilor Hansen asked how much establishment of a task force to research this event would cost the City. Ms. Wooten responded that there would be staff liaisons from the Hult Center and Eugene Development departments but that lengthy minutes would not be necessary. She said the task force would make recommendations, together with cost estimates, to the council and the Downtown Commission. Councilor Hansen said that he was concerned with taking City staff time to research the possibility of such an event. Mayor Keller said that only minimal staff effort had been involved in the Hult Center Open House held in October 1982. He felt that such staff commitments were justifiable in terms of the large number of people who could be attracted to the downtown by such an event. Mr. Gleason added that such a festival would fit into the City's marketing program and that he felt it would be more efficient if City staff were involved in planning efforts from the start. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 13, 1983 Page 1 - Mayor Keller summarized the direction of the council as supporting Ms. Wooten's proceeding with this matter, with the fiscal restraint expressed by some councilors, Ms. Wooten said that she would report back to the council within a month. B. Vagrancy Task Force Councilor Lindberg referred to a note that councilors had received from a citizen concerned with knowing who would be helped by the efforts of the Vagrancy Task Force. Mr. Lindberg responded that the task force hopes to help all those affected by the vagrancy problem, including residents, business people, and service providers, as well as vagrants. He said that the issue was also raised in the note of whether it was the City's role to take responsibility for vagrancy problems. Mr. Lindberg responded that the City could serve as a catalyst to foster the efforts of the many groups already taking responsibility for work on , the problem. He said the task force was currently assessing services available and might develop recommendations for a summer demonstration project. He noted that this would involve some reallocation of funds but no new expense to the City. He added that a portion of the Civic Emergency Fundcoul d be used for social services but that there was no recommendation at this time for such use. Councilor Lindberg noted that the Whiteaker neighborhood had expressed concern that it might become a "receptacle" for vagrants. He said that one project being contemplated by the task force would involve working with affected neighbor- hood organizations and asking them to propose solutions to the problem. He added that a report to the council from the Vagrancy Task Force will be made in the next few months. e C. Joint Parks Committee's Motion on School District-Owned Parkland Councilor Schue said that the Joint Parks Committee had met this morning to discuss the relationship between the City and the 4-J School District regarding sChoollparkland coordination. She said that the City had purchased land next to several school sites to develop parks cooperatively with the district and that the committee had discussed how to coordinate changes resulting from contemplated sale of some of these school sites by the district. Councilor Ball read a motion adopted by the Joint Parks Committee for referral to the counci 1, "We move to recommend to the City Council that we di rect the Mayor to write a letter to the School District 4-J Board and Superintendent, urging them not to take any action on the disposition of these properties which they have declared excess until we can have a direct policy-making meeting between the board and the City Council to discuss a coordinated policy on public trust assets." Mr. Ball said it was hoped that such a meeting could be set up at the earliest convenience of both bodies. He felt that, in light of the coming elections, if the meeting were held before the elections, the 4-J candidates could be asked to sit in on the discussion. D. Convention and Visitors' Bureau Brochure e Councilor Smith displayed a copy of a tourism brochure developed by the Convention and Visitors' Bureau to market Eugene for tourists. She said that 100,000 copies would be distributed through travel agents, seminars, and the airlines that serve Eugene. Mayor Keller noted that he had met with the President of Republic Airlines and that the firm was an enthusiastic participant in this promotional effort. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 13, 1983 Page 2 . e - E. Introduction of Exchange Students from Germany Mayor Keller welcomed and introduced five students from Germany visiting Eugene and attending Sheldon High School on a three-week exchange program. D. Appointment to Citizen Involvement Committee City Manager Micheal Gleason suggested that interviews for the op~ning on the Citizen Involvement Committee be held on April 27. He said that the council could appoint Richard Guske, who had previously been interviewed for the position, or could decide to hold further interviews. Councilor Hansen suggested that Mr. Guske be interviewed again, along with one other candidate selected by the council from among the list of those who had tied for third position in the previous balloting: Karen Alvarado, Sylvia Gagnon, and Bruce Mallory. Councilors agreed to ballot for one of these three candidates, II. ROUTINE ITEMS FOR COUNCIL APPROVAL A. Consideration of City Council Minutes of February 28, 1983, March 14, 1983, March 16, 1983, and Legislative Subcommittee Minutes of March 17, 1983, March 24, 1983, March 31, 1983, and April 7, 19~3 (minutes distributed) Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, to approve the City Counci 1 mi nutes of February 28, March 14, and ~Iarch 16, of 19Ks, and the Legislative Subcommittee minutes of March l7, March 24, March 31, and April 7, 19~3. Councilor Wooten asked about the Legislative Subcommittee's position on the Senate Bill regarding pre-treatment of toxic wastes. In response, Councilor Smith said that the subcommittee had discussed the possibility that amendments might be made to make the bill more practical. Councilor Wooten dsked to be kept informed if such amendments are introduced. B. Segregation of Assessment for Property Located East on Commercial Street, South of West 7th Avenue; Applicant: Harry Ashburn (SE 83-2) Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, to approve the segregation of assessment as noted. Roll call vote; motion carried unanimously. C. Improvement Petition for Paving and Storm Sewer in Hawthorne Street (assessable costs: paving, 100%; City cost: storm sewer--$7,900, paving--$500, bike path--$2,600, total cost--$11,OOO) (2099) Res. No. 3765--A resolution authorizing paving and storm sewer in Hawthorne Street from 500 feet west of Berntzen Road to Berntzen Road. Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote; motion carried unanimously. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April U, 19~3 Page 3 e III. PUBLIC HEARING; ANNUAL REVIEW OF EUGENE BIKEWAYS MASTER PLAN (m~no, Exhibit A, map, background information distributed) Mr. Gleason introduced Diane Bishop, Bicycle Coordinator, Public Works Traffic Engineering. Ms. Bishop noted that this was the seventh annual review of the master plan. She said the review process began in the fall with Bicycle Committee review of possible plan amendments and requests for suggestions from neighborhood groups and City staff. She reviewed the four proposed changes to the plan. 1) addition of on-street bike lanes on Willow Creek Road, 2) addition of an unspecified route along Beltline from 11th Avenue south to the Willow Creek Drainage Basin; 3) addition of on-street bike lanes on 18th Avenue from Olive to Patterson; and 4) addition of an on-street bike lane on 13th Avenue from Olive to Patterson. Councilor Ball asked if the Bicycle Committee had made any recommendations for improvements for cyclists using Maxwell Road. Ms. Bishop responded that Lane County was responsible for this area. Mr. Gleason said that staff would contact the County and report back to Councilor Ball on plans for Maxwell Road. Mayor Keller passed around a copy of the recent issue of SportsStyle magazine, which gave national recognition to the bikeway efforts of the City of Eugene and the Bicycle Committee. Public hearing was opened. There being no testimony, public hearing was closed. e Ms. Schue moved, seconded Ms. Smith, to approve the Eugene Bicycle Committee's proposed revisions to the Eugene Bikeways Master Plan as set forth in Exhibit A. Roll call vote; motion carried unanimously. IV. ORDINANCE IMPLEMENTING THE REGIONAL INDUSTRIAL PRETREATMENT PROGR~I (memo ordinance, additional information distributed) Mr. Gleason noted that the council had held a public hearing on this matter approximately one month ago and that the item had been held over so that staff could work with two or three industries that had concerns about the program. He said that this had been done and that there was now complete agreement and industry support for the ordinance. He noted that staff was available to respond to questions from councilors. e CB 2604--An ordinance concerning an industrial pretreatment program; adding Sections 6.400, 6.405, 6.410, 6.415, 6.420, 6.425, 6.430, 6.435, 6.440, 6.445, 6.450, 6.455, 6.460, 6.465, and 6.470 to the Eugene Code, 1971; amending Section 6.990 of that Code; and declaring an emergency. Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, 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 Lo04 was read the second time by council bill number only. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 13, 1983 Page 4 Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote. All councilors present ~ voting aye, the bill was declared passed and numbered 1913U. V. AMENDMENT TO EUGENE TRANSIENT ROOM TAX RESOLUTION (memo, resolution distributed) Mr. Gleason said that this item had been placed on the agenda by council request and that there was therefore no staff presentation. Councilor Wooten noted that the language of the proposed amendment had been discussed by the council prior to the spring recess and that it was before the council at this time as a procedural matter. She emphasized that the amendment was not intended to undermine the work of the Convention and Visitors' Bureau or the destination point activity effort, but merely to provide for a review. e Councilor Smith said that with the one percent increase, the hotel/motel industry was, for the first time, supporting the Room Tax. She noted that there were two existing processes for review of the Room Tax--a yearly review by the council of the contract with the Visitors' and Convention Bureau and a review by the Room Tax Subcommittee of the allocation to the Bureau--and that she therefore felt it was unnecessary to adopt the proposed language. Ms. ~nith also felt it was unwise to generate false expectations in other groups in the community regarding the possibility that this one percent could at some time De allocated to them. She said it was important to assure the bureau of continued funding. Ms. Smith recommended that the council not adopt the resolution. Councilor Ball said that the resolution would clarify and specify the role of the council in reviewing the annual recommendations from the Room Tax Committee and the Budget Committee. He therefore did not see the proposed council review as duplicative of existing processes. Responding to questions from councilors, Tim Sercombe, City Attorney's Office, said that the proposed resolution would change Section 7 of the ordinance previously adopted by the council and would require that the Room Tax Subommittee report annually to the council. He said that existing regulations only required that the subcommittee report as needed and did not specify a time frame for reporting. e Mr. Gleason said that practice in the past has been a review of the Room Tax allocation formula by the Budget Committee and a review by the council of what was purchased, i.e. the services of the bureau. He said that if the proposed resolution were passed, he would implement it by instructing that a fonnal presentation be made to the council each year regarding Room Tax allocations. Councilor Hansen asked if the proposed resolution would in effect provide that the council would consider each year whether the one percent would be allocated to the Visitors' and Convention Bureau. Mr. Gleason responded that, under the proposed ordinance, staff would request that the Room Tax Subcommittee make a formal report on the allocation formula to the council with a recommendation that the council affirm, debate, and/or change that allocation. Councilor Wooten added that the intent of the proposed language was that the Room Tax MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 13, 1983 Page 5 e Subcommittee take a more proactive position on the allocation of funds and that a review be conducted annually. Mayor Keller discussed the language of the proposed resolution, which would allow the council to consider the changes recommended by the subcommittee and any changes the council proposed. Ms. Wooten said this would allow the council to consider the allocations but would not require that the allocations be changed. Councilor Hansen said that the important point to him was that the resolution would allow the one percent allocated to the bureau to be reduced or taken away. He did not feel this was appropriate. Councilor Holmer felt that councilors should have been provided with a copy of the existing regulations so that they could compare the proposed language with the existing Section 7. Councilor Lindberg supported the idea of adopting a systematic formula for review of the Room Tax allocation but hoped it was clear that there was no intention to go back on the commitment to the bureau as long as the bureau was doing a good job. He suggested that a decision be postponed to the April 20 council meeting, so that councilors could review the language of the existing regulations. Mayor Keller agreed that an annual review was a good idea. He was concerned, however, with the uncertain commitment of revenue to the tourism and convention industry. He suggested that the council wait to see how the one percent alloca- 4It tion was working and determine later whether an annual review is needed. Councilor Schue said that she had voted for the one percent allocation with the understanding that for this year that amount would go to the Visitors. and Convention Bureau but not that forever in the future this allocation would "belong" to the bureau. She felt that the doors should be kept open ~r recon- sideration of the allocation in the future. Councilor Lindberg suggested that stability in funding could be provided by lengthening the prescribed review period to two years. Mr. Gleason said that the City does not fund the bureau but, rather, purchases the services contractually. He said that this purchase was a separate and administrative function. He said that the Room Tax allocation formula was a policy decision. He suggested that if the council wished to make examination of the allocation an annual requir~lent, then staff should be allowed to rework the resolution to this effect and return with it at a future council meeting. Councilor Holmer asked if the proposed amendment would limit reviews to once per year. He felt it was important for the council to retain the freedom to review the matter at any time. Mr. Sercombe responded that the proposed language could perhaps restrict the Room Tax Subcommittee1s report to the council to an annual basis but that it would not affect the council IS ability to review the tax at any time. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 13, 1983 Page 6 e e e Councilor Schue said she felt the council had a common goal of purchasing services from the Visitors' and Convention Bureau but that there were differences on how to monitor this. She suggested that staff be given an opportunity to rework the resolution to capture the intent of the council and that this was a matter on which the council could work for consensus. She noted that it was very different to allocate a specific amount on a long-term basis than to allow a portion of a tax, since the amount of this tax could vary. Mayor Keller asked staff to return at the April 20 council meeting with alterna- tives for the council to consider, including the existing process, the proposed process discussed today, and other options. Councilor Ball asked that staff provide information on the history of past council reviews of the Room Tax, including when and how often reviews were conducted. VI. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION TASK FORCE FINAL REPORT (memo, entire report distributed) Mr. Gleason referred to the report of the Affirmative Action Task Force and noted that it was a good report and that staff would be making some adjustments as a result of the report. He recommended that the council accept the report and extend the life of the task force for at least two years so that the group could help the City in redesigning its affirmative action program. He noted that 1980 census data were now available and could be used in this program development. Mr. Gleason introduced Ann Bunnenberg, Chairperson of the Affirmative Action Task Force. Ms. Bunnenberg said that the council had received both the principal report and an executive summary, containing the findings of fact and recommenda- tions to the City Council. She said that the City had developed a good data base for management decision-making on affirmative action and that a procedure had been developed and implemented for evaluating department heads on their fulfillment of affirmative action goals. Ms. Bunnenberg noted, however, that there was more work to be done and that the City had yet to develop a functioning affirmative action plan. She said that the City's affirmative action goals had been set a number of years ago and were based on census data that were now 13 years old. She said the task force felt that the goals were very modest. Ms. Bunnenberg referred to attachments to the report, outlining changes in the City work force by Equal Employment Opportunity category, and noted that over nine years there had been very little change but that the City had still been meeting or exceeding its affirmative action goals. She said that the old program lacked timetables, a mechanism, or targeted areas. Ms. Bunnenberg said that because there was no reference to affirmative action in the City's contracts with unions, affirmative action could not be used as a criterion in layoff or promo- tion decisioni. She said that for exempt employees the City did have a loose policy statement that affirmative action could be considered in promotions. Ms. Bunnenberg felt that if the City had no affirmative action plan, the City could incur liability if it started to favor protected class members. Ms. Bunnenberg said the task force believed that the responsibility for affirma- tive action was too diffuse in the City organization and that it needed to be focused in a staff member who reported directly to top management and who could get data to the responsible decision-makers in a timely manner. She said that the group supported transferring affirmative action responsibiity from Personnel to the City Manager's Office. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 13, 1983 Page 7 e Ms. Bunnenberg said that the recommendations of the task force were a package and should be implemented as such. She said that the recommendations represented essential needs and that none of them should be left out. She noted that the council had adopted affirmative action as one of its top goals for this year. Mr. Gleason said he is scheduled to attend the Northwest Regional City Management Conference in Washington and he would have to leave the meeting at this time in order to catch the plane. He noted that he was very concerned with affirmative action and committed to development of a good program. Mr. Gleason left the meeting. Ms. Bunnenberg said that the task force believed that Mr. Gleason had a commitment to affirmative action but that he needed backing from the council to achieve good results. Councilor Ball said that affirmative action was difficult to accomplish in cut-back management and felt that the council needed to renew its commitment. He suqgested that the task force be extended, with a request for more frequent reports to define progress being made. Councilor Holmer expressed concern with the task force recommendation that responsibility for affirmative action be taken out of the Personnel Services Division. He felt that this was a necessary emphasis for an affirmative action program. e Mayor Keller suggested that the council accept the task force report and continue this discussion when Mr. Gleason could be present. He asked staff to prepare a resolution extending the life of the task force for two years. Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, to accept the report of the Affirmative Action Task Force. Roll call vote; motion carried unanimously. VII. APPOINTMENTS A. Appointment to Citizen Involvement Committee Councilors voted as follows for a candidate to be interviewed along with Richard Guske: Councilor Hansen--Bruce Mallory Councilor Holmer--Bruce Mallory Councilor Smith--Bruce Mallory Councilor Lindberg--Karen Alvarado Councior Wooten--Karen Alvarado Councilor Schue--Sylvia Gagnon Councilor Ball--Sylvia Gagnon e MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 13, 1983 Page 8 e e - Council President Schue noted that Mr. Mallory had received the largest number of votes. Councilors agreed to interview Mr. Mallory and Mr. Guske on April 27. Mayor Keller noted that finalists in a contest to select a Eugene poster had works displayed in the rear of the council chamber and urged those present to look at the posters. The meeting was adjourned to April 20, 1983. Respectfully submitted, ~- ic .. ea Ci Manager (Recorded by Darcy Marentette) MDG:DCM:pm/CM7b15 MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 13, 1983 Page 9