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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/20/1983 Meeting e e - , M I NUT E S Eugene City Council City Council Chamber April 20, 1983 11:45 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: John Ball, Dick Hansen, Freeman Holmer, Brian Obie, Emily Schue, Betty Smith, Cynthia Wooten. COUNCILOR ABSENT: Mark Lindberg. 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 A. Emergency Jobs Appropriation Bill Councilor Wooten asked if the City was involved in lobbying efforts for passage of the Emergency Jobs Appropriation bill. She felt that this bill could benefit the City in the FY83-84 budget period. City Manager Micheal Gleason responded that Eugene Development Department Director John Porter and the City's Inter- governmental Relations staff had been following this bill but that there was considerable confusion between staff of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and local representatives regarding the implications of the bill. He noted that regulations for use of existing Community Development funds were yet to be approved. Staff will keep councilors apprised of the situation. B. Buy Oregon Program Councilor Holmer noted that he had received the agenda for an upcoming meeting of the Council Subcommittee on Economic Diversification. He felt that the matter of contracting with the Buy Oregon program should be discussed by the full council and noted that he had some reservations about the proposal. Councilors agreed that this matter would be brought before the full council. C. Announcements Mr. Gleason announced that interviews for the opening on the Citizen Involvement Committee have been scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on April 25. Councilor Smith noted that there was a Budget Subcommittee meeting at 5:15 that evening. Councilors agreed to hold the interviews at 7:15 p.m. on April 25. . MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 20, 1983 Page 1 II. ROUTINE ITEM FOR COUNCIL APPROVAL - A. Improvement Petition of Paving, Sanitary Sewer, and Storm Sewer in Willow Creek Road and Willow Creek Circle (assessable costs: paving, total front footage/front footage petitioned, 3,628 feet--100%; sewers, total square footage, 905,424 feet/square footage petitioned, 751,612 feet--83%; City cost, $100,000). Res. No. 3768--A resolution authorizing paving, sanitary sewer and storm sewer on Willow Creek Road and Willow Creek Circle from the intersection of 18th Avenue and Willow Creek Road to 2200 feet west; and sanitary sewer and storm sewer from western terminus of Willow Creek Circle to 1800 feet south (2094). Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Mr. Obie, to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote; motion carried unanimously. III. PUBLIC HEARING: ORDINANCE CREATING THE NEW EUGENE PRIVATE INDUSTRY COUNCIL UNDER THE JOB TRAINING PARTNERSHIP ACT (memo, ordinance distributed) e Mr. Gleason introduced Gary Long, Administrative Services Director, and Lee Beyer, Eugene Job Training Center. Mr. Long said that the ordinance before the council would implement the Job Training Partnership Act. He noted that the guidelines of the new act called for a 17-member advisory group, which would replace the former seven-member Eugene Private Industry Council. He said that the categories of representation were very specific but that the council did have the option of adding more members if further representation was desired. Mr. Long said that, as required in the enacting legislation, the list of nomina- tions to the new Private Industry Council had been reviewed by the Chamber of Commerce. Public hearing was opened. There being no testimony, public hearing was closed. CB 2630--An ordinance concerning the Eugene Private Industry Council under the Job Training Partnership Act (Public Law 97--300); amending Sections 2.013,2.137,2.139, 2.141 of the Eugene Code, 1971; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency. e Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Mr. Obie, 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. Councilor Schue said that she was uncomfortable with the suggested list of appointees, which included 14 men, three women, and no minority members. She felt that more could have been done in terms of affirmative action in developing the list. She suggested that the council consider enlarging the group to include more protected class members. Tim Sercombe, City Attorney's Office, noted that if the council wanted to change the ordinance, the public hearing would need to be reopened. He said he believed that the existing language provided leeway for appointing additional people. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 20, 1983 Page 2 Mayor Keller shared Ms. Schue's concern but noted that specific ratios had to be met in the appointments. He agreed to look at expanding the membership of the group in the future to include more women and/or minority representatives. e Roll call vote; motion carried unanimously. Council Bill 2630 was read the second time by council bill number only. Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Mr. Obie, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote. All councilors present voting aye, the bill was declared passed and numbered 19131. IV. APPOINTMENTS TO THE NEW EUGENE PRIVATE INDUSTRY COUNCIL UNDER THE JOB TRAINING PARTNERSHIP ACT (memo distributed) Mr. Gleason introduced Administrative Services Director Gary Long. Mr. Long referred to the list of those nominated by the Mayor for appointment and said that a number of them were reappointments from the former Eugene Private Industry Council. Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Mr. Obie, to approve the following appointments to the Eugene Private Industry Council: e Private Sector Representatives: Raymond A. McIver, 2540 Snelling, Eugene 97401, term to expire December 31, 1986; nominated by the Chamber of Commerce. Bill Van Orman, 1835 Happy, Eugene 97401, term to expire December 31, 1985; nominated by the Chamber of Commerce. Jeffrey D. Lynn, 770 Brookside Drive, Eugene 97405, term to expire December 31, 1984; nominated by the Chamber of Commerce. Dorothy Chase, 4125 Hilyard, Eugene 97405, term to expire December 31, 1986; nominated by the Chamber of Commerce. J. Douglas McKay, 450 Stonegate, Eugene 97401, term to expire December 31, 1985; nominated by the Chamber of Commerce. Edie Shelton, 1975 Montreal, Eugene 97401, term to expire December 31, 1984; nominated by the Chamber of Commerce. James N. Stephenson, 1620 Adkins #12, Eugene 97401, term to expire December 31, 1985; nominated by the Chamber of Commerce. L. Connie Allen, 36877 Parsons Creek, Springfield 97477, for a term to expire December 31, 1984; nominated by the Chamber of Commerce. John Ball, 2152 Silhouette, Eugene 97402, term to expire December 31, 1984; nominated by the Chamber of Commerce. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 20, 1983 Page 3 Educational Agencies Representative: - Eldon G. Schafer, 2230 Hideaway Court, Eugene 97401, term to expire December 31, 1984; nominated by Lane Community College. Organized Labor Representative: David A. Plant, 1701 River Loop #1, Eugene 97404, term to expire December 31, 1986; recommended by Lane County Labor Council. Rehabilitation Agencies Representative: Dennis A. Mounts, 5167 Trevon, Eugene 97402, term to expire December 31, 1985; recommended by Pearl Buck Center. Community-Based Organizations Representative: James H. Forbes, Route 2, Box 461, Monroe 97456, term to expire December 31, 1986; recommended by Lane Interagency Network (LINK). Economic Development Agencies Representative: Chris Pryor, 3651 Wilshire, Eugene 97405, term to expire December 31, 1985; recommended by the Chamber of Commerce. Employment Service Representative: Fred Jasmer, 1974 Lomond Avenue, Springfield 97477, term to expire December 31, 1986; recommended by the Employment Division. e Adult and Family Services Representative: Rich Cook, 379 Brookside Drive, Eugene 97405, term to expire December 31, 1986; recommended by Adult and Family Services Division. Veterans Representative: Clifford D. Kaylor, 4840 Mahalo Drive, Eugene 97405, term to expire December 31, 1985; recommended by Vet Center. Roll call vote; motion carried unanimously. V. AMENDMENT TO EUGENE TRANSIENT ROOM TAX RESOLUTION (memo; current, option 2, option 3 resolutions distributed) Mr. Gleason noted that the council had previously discussed this matter. He said that three options for council consideration were discussed in the materials that had been distributed. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 20, 1983 Page 4 e e e Councilor Smith supported Option 1, taking no further action, since she believed that a satisfactory review mechanism was already in place. Councilor Ball asked if Option 3 represented any substantive change to what was already in place. Mr. Sercombe responded that Option 3 required an annual review of the full four-percent Room Tax allocation by the Room Tax Subcommittee and a recommendation to the council. He said it would then be up to the council whether to place the item on a council agenda. Mr. Gleason added that Option 3 would differ from current practice in that at present the allocation formula is accomplished as a program review during the budget process and Option 3 would provide for a separate council review of the allocation. Mr. Gleason said that if Option 3 were selected, he would also recommend that this review be separate from the program review. Councilor Wooten said that, in the spirit of compromise, she would support Option 3. Ms. Wooten moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, that the council adopt Option 3. Roll call vote; motion failed 3:4, with Councilors Ball, Schue, and Wooten voting in favor, and Councilors Hansen, Holmer, Obie, and Smith voting in opposition. Mayor Keller stated that, since there were no other motions, the process would remain unchanged. VI. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION TASK FORCE FINAL REPORT (memo, resolution distributed) Mr. Gleason introduced Marge Beck, Director of Council and Community Services. Ms. Beck thanked Affirmative Action Task Force Chairperson Ann Bunnenberg for her service to the City on the task force and on the Commission on the Rights of Women. Ms. Beck discussed affirmative action in the City. She said staff shared the concerns raised by the task force and agreed with some, but not all, of the findings and recommendations. She said staff felt it was misleading to say that the City has "no functioning affirmative action program". She noted that the City does have affirmative action employment goals and policies and that, while these may not be as extensive as the task force desires, the City and the task force can work together on them. Ms. Beck agreed that the goals for City departments could be updated and made more specific. She said that the five-year plan under which the City was currently operating had been based on 1970 census data and noted that 1980 census data had only been made available this year. Ms. Beck then discussed selections that had been made in the Executive Manager, Division Manager, and professional area and noted that of 19 division managers in seven of the City departments, 11 were minorities or women, six of them selected within the last two years. She said that the professional staff distrjbution was about even between males and females and noted that in this category 56 percent of the selections made in the past two years were women. Ms. Beck noted that in the past year the City had implemented a training program using internal staff as trainers on specific skills. She said this program was aimed at providing women managers with development experience and providing positive role models for female employees. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 20, 1983 Page 5 e e e Ms. Beck said that overall coordination of affirmative action would be transferred to the City Manager's Office, with Personnel Services and the executive managers continuing to be involved in planning and implementation. Referring to statements made at the April 13 council meeting by Ms. Bunnenberg regarding City liability for favoring protected class members under the existing affirmative action plan, Ms. Beck asked Mr. Sercombe to respond. Mr. Sercombe said that the report of the task force implied an outstanding liability on the part of the City. He said that the City had been operating under an adopted affirmative action plan that met all the regulations for such plans. He agreed that the City had a duty to develop a new plan using recently available current data. He reiterated that the existing City plan had been reviewed by the Federal government and found acceptable. Ms. Bunnenberg said that Ms. Beck had done a good job of outlining the points of disagreement between staff and the task force in the past. Ms. Bunnenberg said she felt the focus should now be on future action. She said that the primary recommendations of the task force were that responsibility for affirmative action be centralized and that the City finish updating its goals and develop an implementation plan for problem areas. Ms. Bunnenberg felt that moving affirma- tive action responsibility to the City Manager's Office was a positive step. She urged that the new implementation plan and goals to be developed for the City strive to do more than meet Federal minimum guid~lines. Ms. Bunnenberg urged that career tracks be developed for existing City employees and that efforts, such as the training program described by Ms. Beck, be fostered to move protected class members beyond top professional and mid-management positions. Mayor Keller thanked Ms. Beck and Ms. Bunnenberg for their reports and said the City should be proud of its accomplishments to date, especially in recent years. Councilor Holmer agreed with Mayor Keller about the need for a vigorous and effective affirmative action and equal employment opportunity program. He expressed concern with transferring the responsibility for this program out of Personnel and felt that as a permanent arrangement this was not a good administra- tive practice. Councilor Ball responded that one of the traditional problems with affirmative action programs in the past has been their captivity within personnel departments. Councilor Wooten supported placing affirmative action responsibility in the City Manager's Office. Mr. Gleason commended the efforts of City staff members Gary Long, John O'Connor, and Cathy Briner and recognized their role in the City's affirmative action accomplishments. He noted that while the direction for affirmative action would now come from himself and Ms. Beck in the City Manager's Office, the umachinery" would still be housed in Personnel. Councilor Ball urged that protected classes other than women, that is, handicapped, seniors, veterans, and racial minorities, be included in the City's efforts. Res. No. 3769--A resolution concerning the Affirmative Action Task Force and amending Resolutions 347 and 3751. MINUTES--Eugene City Council Apri 1 20, 1983 Page 6 e - e Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Mr. Obie, to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote; motion carried unanimously. VII. TRANSFER OF CERTAIN COUNTY ROADS TO CITY JURISDICTION (memo, ordinance distributed) Mr. Gleason said that this ordinance would provide for transfer from the County to the City of roads that had been brought up to City standards. CB 2631--An ordinance accepting jurisdiction over certain county roads now located within the corporate limits of the City of Eugene, a municipal corporation of the State of Oregon. Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Mr. Obie, 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 2631 was read the second time by council bill number only. Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Mr. Obie, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote. All councilors present voting aye, the bill was declared passed and numbered 19132. VII 1. GENERAL OBLIGATION BANCROFT BOND SERIES "J II BOND SALE (memo di stributed) Mr. Gleason introduced David Coombs, General Accounting Manager. Mr. Coombs said that the resolution sets forth the form for a $3,970,000 General Obligation Bancroft Bond sale and that bids would be returned to the council for award at the May 25 council meeting. Councilor Wooten expressed appreciation for staff's good guidance of these funds, especially in light of recent problems experienced by Springfield. She hoped staff would let the council know early on if problems developed. Councilor Hansen concurred and asked for an overview of the conditions of other City accounts. Assistant City Manager David Whitlow responded that these had been reviewed extensively by a Budget Subcommittee. He said that the City was placing the interest from early accounts into later ones to provide for delinquencies. Mr. Gleason emphasized that the City was aggressive in not allowing delinquencies to build up. Mayor Keller noted that a key item in maintaining the City's high quality bond . rating was inclusion in the budget of a beginning cash carryover balance. He suggested that this be discussed with the Budget Committee. Res. No. 3770--A resolution prescribing the form of notice of sale of $3,970,000 General Obligation Bancroft Improvement Bonds, Series "J" of the City of Eugene, Oregon. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 20,1983 Page 7 e e e Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Mr. Obie, to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote; motion carried unanimously. CB 2632--An ordinance authorizing issuance and sale of $3,970,000 General Obligation Bancroft Improvement Bonds, Series IIJ", of the City of Eugene, Oregon, and directing that they be advertised for sale, all in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 223, Oregon Revised Statutes, commonly known as a Bancroft Bonding Act, and declaring an emergency. Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Mr. Obie, 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 2632 was read the second time by council bill number only. Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Mr. Obie, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote. All councilors present voting aye, the bill was declared passed and numbered 19133. IX. HOUSE BILL 2363 and SENATE BILL 301--PRE-JUDGMENT INTEREST (memo, background information distributed) Mr. Gleason noted that this issue had been raised by the Council Legislative Subcommittee. He said Susy Wagner, the Risk Manager, was available to respond to questions from councilors. Councilor Holmer asked if amendments to the bill had been made since the subcommitteels review. Ms. Wagner responded that no amendments had been made. Mr. Holmer noted that staff had recommended opposing the bills on a priority 1 basis, because of fiscal implications of the bills for the City. He said that he had cast the dissenting vote in the subcommittee, because he felt that the City has the obligation to provide redress and that this obli~ation predates adjudication judgment. He said he could not support the City s opposition to this bill since he believed such oppostion was based solely on fiscal considera- tions and not on what is right and fair to the plaintiff. Ms. Wagner responded that where the issues of negligence are clear, the City will intervene and make payment before litigation, but she agreed that where the legal issues are complex, the process can take three to five years. She noted that she had recently reviewed the five outstanding cases in which the City was currently involved in litigation and had found that all five had been denied by the City within 60 days of notice of the claim and that four of the five had been filed within 30 days of the expiration date stipulated in the statute of limitations. Councilor Hansen commended staff for looking after the best financial interests of the City but asked why staff had recommended a priority 1 for this bill if this was not generally a problem for the City. MINUTES--Eugene City Council Apri 1 20, 1983 Page 8 e e e Councilor Schue said that if the present system works and if no one is cheated by the City she did not see any reason to change the system and add $75,000 to $80,000 in City financial liability. Ms. Wagner said she did not believe that the bills would correct the situations they were intended to correct and noted that they would add incentive for the plaintiff.s attorney to delay litigation. Ms. Smith moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to approve the majority position of the Council Legislative Subcommittee in supporting the position recommended by staff in opposition to this bill. Roll call vote; motion carried 6:1, with Councilors Ball, Hansen, Obie, Schue, Smith, and Wooten voting in favor, and Councilor Holmer voting in opposition. X. DATA PROCESSING LONG-RANGE PLAN (memo, entire report distributed) Mr. Gleason noted that development of this plan was an important internal staff effort. He introduced Information Services Director Randy Kolb. Mr. Kolb said that the planning process had included a comprehensive evaluation of the City's current data processing use and a setting of strategy for the future. He said that the process had been undertaken to deal with declining resources, increased demand for services, and a desire to work with up-to-date technology. He said that an ad hoc task force of executive staff and mid-level managers had been formed to develop the plan. He noted that in addition to three-to-four hour interviews with 56 managers and executive staff members, an additional 100 City employees at all levels had been surveyed regarding City data processing needs. Mr. Kolb said that in the past the City.s data processing use had primarily been reactive and that the plan recommended City-wide data use planning and coordination with information available not only for operations but also for help in management and decision-making. He said that information should be viewed as a asset, similar to capital assets. Mr. Kolb said the plan recommended moving into purchase of software as opposed to the current practice of in-house software development. He said this would allow increased return on the City.s investment in the data system. He said a decentralized system was proposed that would allow direct hands-on access and increased accuracy. Mr. Kolb said that increased stability would be sought in the Regional Information System; that use would also be made of specialized mini-computers; that office automation and word processing would be expanded; and that computers would also be used at individual work stations. Councilor Wooten asked how much time and cost would be involved in revamping the Regional Information System. Mr. Kolb responded that it was hoped this work could be commenced in the coming fiscal year. He said that the cost would be about $100,000. Mr. Gleason noted that the cost would be shared with other RIS users, at least after the first year. Ms. Wooten was supportive of a telecommunciations link-up, for example through cable television. She asked to be kept informed of the developments in the area of telecommunications. She asked what plans had been made for computer graphics. Mr. Kolb responded that centralized use of one graphics device was planned. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 20, 1983 Page 9 e Councilor Wooten urged that caution be used regarding the labor displacement potential of increased automation. She questioned the City's ability to maintain a state of the art system, since equipment grows obsolete so quickly. Mr. Kolb responded that the City will do more in the area of competitive bidding and requests for proposals. He said that the City will not get involved with experimental equipment but will stay behind lithe leading edge" as advances are made. Mayor Keller noted that the chief executive of Group W Cable had been in Eugene recently and had expressed interest in working with local public agencies in telecommunications. Councilor Holmer concurred with the concerns expressed by Ms. Wooten and said he appreciated the time that Mr. Gleason and Mr. Kolb had spent with him in reviewing the long-range plan. He felt that the proposed system would serve the City well in the future. The meeting was adjourned to April 25, 1983. Respectfully submitted, ~@ Micheal D. Gle son City Manager (Recorded by Darcy Marentette) e MDG:DCM:pm/CM8a17 - MINUTES--Eugene City Council Apri 1 20, 1983 Page 10