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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/18/1984 Meeting (2) . e - M I NUT E S Eugene City Council Quarterly Dinner Work Session Treehouse Restaurant January 18, 1984 5:15 p.m. PRESENT: Mayor IIGusll Keller, John Ball, Richard Hansen, Freeman Holmer, Brian Obie, Emily Schue, Betty Smith, City Councilors; Micheal Gleason, City Manager, Pat Lynch, Council Administrator; Barbara Bellamy, Public Information Director; Mark Matassa, Register-Guard. Mayor Keller opened the meeting with an announcement that this was the first quarterly dinner work session as suggested at the fall goal-setting session. I. COMMITTEE REPORTS A. Sewer Rate Changes Ms. Smith began by stating that the City of Springfield had approved continuing with the flat-rate billing system. Even though the flow-based rate was just approved by Eugene's City Council, Ms. Smith said that meetings with staff and the Wastewater Management Commission are being held to work out the details. She suggested an operations time schedule be prepared by the Wastewater Manage- ment staff and be presented to the Springfield City Council stating Eugene's intent to move to the flow-based rate with certain timelines. Mr. Gleason agreed that Ms. Smith's approach appeared to be acceptable, and suggested a letter from Mayor Keller be sent to the City of Springfield. Mayor Keller voiced interest in a compromise for a modified program between the two cities. Mr. Holmer remarked that he was open to modification of flow-based because he was not clear about the changeover costs at the time the initial decision was made. However, he maintained his stance that flow-based appeared to be more equitable. Ms. Schue clarified that she voted for the flow-based rate because it made a statement about flow-based as a goal;the implementation timing was not an issue with her. In response to Mr. Ball's concern, Mr. Gleason clarified that the flow-based rate is as close as one can get to true flow-based residential sewer measurement. Mr. Gleason shared his understanding of Springfield's position on implementation of the flow-based rates in that they would prefer a service analysis and a system change in conjunction with a rate change. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 18, 1984 Page 1 - e e Mr. Gleason remarked that because of the need to do a substantial amount of work before the changeover, the timing of rate adjustments may occur more simultan- eously between the two cities. In response to Mr. Hansen's question, Mr. Gleason conceded that the flow-based system was, with small variances, a more equitable system, if the rate system is implemented correctly. A cost study taking 6-8 months would be necessary to set the rates. The next date for consideration of rate changes is May 1985. There was consensus that the majority of Eugene councilors are committed to the flow-based rate philosophy, with flexibility on the implementation schedule, and that the date of May 1985, (a year after plant operations begin) be a tentative target date. Mr. Gleason agreed to prepare a letter to the Springfield City Council for Mayor Keller's signature incorporating the Eugene Council's position and expressing the Council's desire to co-operate in the matter. B. Cable Commission Mr. Hansen said that one committee issue was deciding the role of the Public Access Corporation in the management of Cable 11 programming. The committee is working to resolve this problem. Another issue is deciding whether or not to raise the franchise fee from three percent to five percent, and,if done, how to use the additional income. Mr. Obie voiced a concern on the public participating in a rate change decision. He felt that since an increase in franchise fee will be passed on to the consu- mers, there needs to be a specific reason for change. Staff was asked to advise the Council of the estimated franchise fee revenues involved in such a decision. There was discussion of using cable access TV to record events at the Hult Center. Some members agreed with the idea, while others felt it would detract from the purpose of the center which was to provide live entertainment. Mr. Obie said that participants in the Community Goals Conference had suggested that the Hult Center be more accessible to all citizens; therefore, more study ought to be made of this issue. C. Community Goals Conference Mr. Holmer said that the Community Goals Committee would be planning the format of the April Community Goals Conference. Mr. Holmer asked for input on ways to narrow down the goal-setting process. Mr. Hansen suggested that the City Council and Planning Commission not r.artici- pate in the final recommendation. Ms. Smith suggested that Mr. Holmer 'flagll goals that are not possible fiscally. Mr. Obie suggested that a newspaper survey be done to secure community input on the approximately 200 goal comments that were generated during the initial meetings of the conference committee in early January. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 18, 1984 Page 2 . e - There was discussion on whether a newspaper surveyor professional random sample survey would produce the most appropriate community input on the goals from the conference. Ms. Schue said that if any action was taken to survey community attitude, that it take place after the April 24 conference so that the goal list would be narrowed down. It was concluded that this subject should be discussed again at another Council meeting. D. Joint Parks Committee Mr. Ball reported that the Joint Parks Committee is considering a pro- posal to add another nine holes of golf at Laurelwood Golf Course. There is a proposal being considered by the Committee for Alton Baker Park maintenance by the City, with a title exchange/long-term lease arrangement with the County. The Aquatic Resources Committee has met to review pool improvements and reno- vations. The flood control and canoeway project will not receive adequate funding from the Corps of Engineers, and therefore will probably not materialize. E. Glenwood Jurisdictional Committee Councilor Ball advised that Glenwood Jurisdictional Committee has had its first meeting. F. River Road/Santa Clara Committee Mr. Ball stated that River Road and Santa Clara projects are moving along with negotiations on right-of-way issues. G. Affirmative Action Task Force Mr. Ball further reported that the Affirmative Action Task Force is working on the next round of goals; they plan to update the Gold Book, with a resolution to be ready in about a month. H. 4-J Task Force Ms. Schue reported that facility scheduling concerns were discussed with 4-J administrators. She felt that the scheduling of the school gyms should be easier to manage because of the open discussion. The 4-J Task Force has a meeting this Friday. I. Community Development/Joint Housing Committee Ms. Schue said that the Community Development Committee and Joint Housing Committee were meeting on Thursday, January 19 to discuss combining the two committees. A proposed set of by-laws establishing an interim Community Development Committee will be reviewed and forwarded for City Council approval. She asked the council to be thinking about direction for the interim committee. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 18, 1984 Page 3 - e e J. Citizen Involvement Committee Mr. Holmer urged the council to consider giving new direction to the Citizen Involvement Committee (CIC) so they can consider citizen involvement on a broader scale. In the ensuing discussion on responsibility of the CIC, Ms. Schue remarked that the State LCDC process requires a citizen committee to review land use issues. Whether or not CIC should deal with issues other than land use is up to the council, she said. Mr. Holmer felt that there should be some committee to take responsibility for neighborhood newsletters. Mr. Gleason reported that he felt the newsletters had become inconsistent in quality and publication dates. Extensive discussion took place on the effectiveness and quality of the newletters. Other options for news dissemination were explored such as combining the neighborhood newsletters with bulletins of other entities such as the quarterly parks and recreation tabloid. Mr. Gleason suggested that the CIC take on the project of evaluating the neighborhood newsletter issue after the neighborhood surveys have been analyzed. Mr. Holmer agreed with Mr. Gleason's suggestion. Mr. Ball ques- tioned whether the CIC had the membership to do this, and Mr. Holmer said additional membership could be added. K. Dunn School Playground Issue Mr. Gleason asked for direction on working with the school district on use of Dunn School ball fields, with the potential of property purchase for park development. He clarified that he needed general direction to work out arrange- ments with the school district. Mr. Ball felt that the 4-J Task Force would deal with a process to acquire this property in time. L. Financial Planning Committee Mr. Obie expressed frustration with the progress of the Financial Planning Committee. After extensive discussion, there was consensus that there were several key long-range financial issues to discuss, such as capital improve- ments. Because of budget cutbacks it has not been possible to fund at customary levels of services. Mr. Hansen said he would like to review the council's charge on budget goals. There was consensus that the councilors would meet with Mr. Gleason and Mr. Wong, Finance Director, and review key budget issues prior to the time the budget is formally presented. It was decided to hold one or two dinner work sessions, with February 6 tenta- tively set for the first session. It was decided that the work session should not be scheduled prior to a regular council meeting to allow a lengthy dis- cussion if necessary. Mr. Gleason was asked to prepare a report giving broad background on levels of service and capital improvements along with money-saving strategies. It was suggested that long-range goals be set in these areas. A five-year planning period was suggested. Mr. Gleason said he would confirm the meeting date after he checked his schedule with staff. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 18, 1984 Page 4 e G. Council Committee on Economic Development (CCED) Mr. Obie announced that Eugene's first blimp manufacturing company has opened. The IIBuy Oregon Fi rstll contract will be up for renewal soon. Staff has been asked to prepare an audit of accomplishments, prior to renegotiation of the contract. The Ambassador program has not gotten off the ground as well as expected. While there are about 200 trained ambassadors, it appears that resources are in short supply. e The CCED is working with the Port of Coos Bay to develop a foreign trade zone. With regard to the Business Development Fund, Mr. Gleason said there were appli- cations submitted, but no loans awarded yet. The Metro Team is active, Mr. Obie continued. He expressed a concern that many entities were working on economic development, but with little focus and limited financial resources. He suggested that efforts should be made to combine groups such as the BATeam, Metro Team, and the Chamber of Commerce, etc., and develop one focus. An umbrella organization could be established to coordinate planning and resources. While IIturf issuesll have been a problem in the past, members felt that it might be an opportune time to unify efforts. Mr. Keller emphasized that public leadership was an important ingredient in economic development strategies. In concluding, Mr. Obie said that the City should be supportive of the Music Educator's Conference to take place in the summer of 1984 in whatever way it can. I I. DEBRIEFING In the closing minutes of the meeting, councilors expressed their satisfaction with the content and format of the meeting. Mr. Lynch asked for input on the three suggested dates for future quarterly dinner meetings. The suggested dates are Mondays: April 16, July 16, and October 15. The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m. :?;<c.Q,~'P~{~l;;;P!~S ) ;'.";"_:' ; ..:.:: " .t'.._.~..-' ,~~,,''''._a''''." SP (<1ed/CM8b3'" f/~""-~-.~-<= ". -"/- 4,"" -~/7~~,,;1 /' tI' ..' ,." "..,,-- /""/~~......- / (""'~'__' ;-., ".".....v /.~ ~__ "- , - MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 18, 1984 Page 5