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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/14/1984 Meeting M I NUT E S e Eugene City Council City Council Chamber November 14, 1984 12:15 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Cynthia Wooten (until 12:50), Debra Ehrman, Dick Hansen, Freeman Holmer, Emily Schue COUNCILORS ABSENT: Brian Obie, John Ball, Ruth Bascom Regular 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. League of Oregon Cities Councilor Schue stated that several councilors attended sessions at the League of Oregon Cities. She stated that she represented the council during the e voting session. B. Comment on Autzen Stadium Incident Referring to the recent shooting incident at Autzen Stadium, Councilor Holmer commented that it was unfortunate that the vote taken by the people of Eugene in opposition to arms in Central America did not have any effect on the Eugene area. C. Councilor Vacation Councilor Ehrman stated that she would be on vacation during the period November 18 through 29. She stated that she would provide staff with her balloting selections for the Planning Commission vacancy. D. River Road/Santa Clara Policy Committee Meeting Mayor Keller reported that he needed a councilor to attend the River Road/Santa Clara Policy Committee meeting on November 15 at 3 p.m. Mr. Holmer stated that it had been his responsibility but was unable to attend. Ci ty Manager Micheal Gleason explained that a vote was necessary in the official referral of the plan to the public. Ms. Ehrman stated that she would attend the meeting. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 14, 1984 Page 1 E. Acceptance of Letter of Resignation e Ms. Wooten moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to accept with regret and congratulations the letter of resignation from Councilor Ball. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 5:0. Councilor Wooten asked when the council would discuss the replacement process. City Manager Micheal Gleason stated that the council had previously agreed on the replacement process. Ms. Wooten said she was concerned with proper notification of the neighborhood and other interested groups in the Bethel/ Danebo area to ensure their input in appointing a councilor to replace Mr. Ball. Ms. Ehrman suggested that the council could discuss possible dates later in the meeting. F. Report of Budget Committee Meeting Councilor Wooten stated that the Budget Committee had unanimously voted the previous evening to authorize Finance Director Warren Wong to appropriate $3,000 to Food for Lane County to assist with holiday food baskets for Thanks- giving and Christmas. G. Special Public Hearing on 6th/7th Avenue Widening Project City Manager Micheal Gleason stated that staff proposed a special council public hearing on November 15 at 5:15 p.m. to discuss the Historic Tree charter amendment and its effect on the 6th/7th Avenue Widening Project. e He said that date was chosen because it preserved the most options for the council IS decision. Mr. Holmer stated that the earliest he could be at the meeting was 5:30 p.m. II. ROUTINE ITEMS FOR COUNCIL APPROVAL A. City Council Dinner/Work Session Minutes of October 8, 1984 minutes distributed Ms. Wooten moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to approve the minutes of October 8, 1 984. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 5:0. B. Segregation of Assessments for Property Located East of Willagillespie Road; Applicant: Pete Lorenz (SE 84- 6) Ms. Wooten moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to approve the segregation of assessments as noted. Ro 11 call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 5:0. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 14, 1984 Page 2 III. UPDATE OF THE SIX-POINT ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION PROGRAM (memo, e background information distributed City Manager Micheal Gleason introduced the agenda item. Planning Director Susan Brody presented the staff report, briefly reviewing the November 8, 1984, Planning Department memorandum which outlined the six points of the program as modified for 1985. She briefly explained the changes in the focus of the six points and the activities within each area. Ms. Brody then reviewed the Six Point Program Action Plan, explaining that any comments from the council will be incorporated into a final program document to be presented to the council at its December 12 meeting. In response to a question by Councilor Ehrman, Ms. Brody responded that a statement was added to the document to explain that the order in which projects were listed did not reflect their priority. Referring to the Downtown Development section, Councilor Ehrman asked if staff could present a status report on the rehabilitation of the Ax Billy Building before it was included in the work plan. Ms. Wooten stated that she also had similar concerns with the rehabiliation proposal, stating that the City must consider the development or rehabilitation of the building even if the proposed athletic club was not realized. Ms. Brody stated that the work plan language mentioning the Downtown Athletic Club could be revised. In response to a related question by Mr. Holmer, Ms. Brody said she did not believe any funding problem would occur if the language was changed. Referring to the Culture/Leisure Plan in the Destination Point Development e Section, Councilor Holmer stated that he was concerned that the language was pushing implementation of the plan without further consideration. Ms. Brody stated that staff would address that issue. Mayor Keller stated that the issue could be considered during the adoption process. Ms. Ehrman suggested that the University of Oregon be included in any coordination efforts. Ms. Brody stated that the University had been included in the Public and Private Partnerships section, but she agreed that it was a good idea to coordinate with the University as a destination point. Referring to the list of activities in the Public and Private Partnerships section, Councilor Hansen suggested that the Wood Product Industry be listed higher. While he recognized that the list did not imply any priority, he felt that the change would be appropriate from a public relations standpoint. Councilor Ehrman stated that the page listing priorities should specify that the opening of Willamette Street was only between 10th and 11th Avenues. Councilor Wooten stated that she would reserve her option to make comments prior to presentation of the final copy to the council. She stated that the Council Committee on Economic Development would probably wish to address the program work plan at its November 20 meeting. In response to a comment by Mayor Keller, Mr. Gleason stated that the program document had been reduced from its previous 32 pages to 16 pages. - MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 14, 1984 Page 3 IV. SANDING/SNOW PLOWING POLICIES AND PRIORITIES (background e information distributed) City Manager Micheal Gleason introduced the agenda item. Maintenance Superin- tendent Bob Hammitt briefly reviewed the revised Sanding/Snowplowing Policies and Priorities document as distributed to the council. He explained that the map on page 7 of the document pinpointed the first three City priorities and jurisdictional areas, stating that a fourth priority would be added during an extended storm. Mr. Hammitt explained that the priorities were based on the traffic count on roadways, Lane Transit District traffic routes, geographical constraints, location of emergency services, and the necessity of moving traffic in and out of the core area. He estimated that City staff would be able to cover the 100 miles of streets in the first three priorities within six to eight hours, depending on the time of day and traffic present on the streets. He also explained that Highway 99, 6th Avenue, and 7th Avenue were the responsibility of the State Highway Division for sanding and 30th Avenue fell under the responsibility of Lane County. He also noted that the sanding and plowing of Mahlon Sweet Airport would be handled as a number one priority. In reponse to a question by Councilor Ehrman, Mr. Hammitt stated that the City had four sanders and two snow plows, with additional equipment present at the airport to handle that area. In response to another question by Ms. Ehrman, he explained that Garfield Street and Roosevelt Boulevard were number one priorities because the Maintenance yard is located in that area. In response to another question, he explained that the LTD buses did little to keep the streets clear of snow. e Councilor Hansen suggested that the Register-Guard publish a map of the sanding and plowing priorities as a public service to the community. Mr. Gleason commented that the Public Works staff made a great commitment to the implementation of the plan. V. WORK SESSION: REVIEW OF CITY'S SIDEWALK PROGRAM City Manager Micheal Gleason introduced the agenda item. City Engineer Bert Teitzel presented the staff report, explaining that the general policy in the Transportation Plan and Sidewalk Plan was for all residential and commercial streets and those industrial streets as specified by the City Council to have sidewalks. In addition, he stated that any new construction or any alterations or additions over $5,000 would usually require a sidewalk unless a waiver was granted under Code provisions. He stated that the Code also addressed the initiation of sidewalks in those areas where not previously required. He then introduced Jim Stuart of the Engineering Department who coordinates most sidewalk projects. Referring to a flow chart presented to the council, Mr. Teitzel then reviewed the sidewalk initiation process starting from the initial request from neighborhood groups, schools, or maintenance staff. He explained that staff, after making a determination that a specific sidewalk was needed, would e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 14, 1984 Page 4 usually make several attempts during the process to have the property owner - construct the sidewalk before asking for any final action by the City Council. Referring to a series of overhead transparencies, Mr. Teitzel then reviewed those sidewalk projects currently under consideration by the Engineering Department. Councilor Hansen suggested that the City needed to establish some standards for following through with the sidewalk policy. Referring to the Sorrel Way issue, he said the maps indicated that the priority for sidewalks on Sorrel would be from Rustic Place to Coburg Road. He said a priority should be set based on safety factors and incorporating input from the residents. Counci10r Schue said she was concerned with the opportunity for public comment in the initiation process. She said the process should be revised to allow for such input. Mr. Teitzel responded that a public hearing before the Hearings Officer has been inserted earlier in the process for those projects of major public interest. He acknowleged that a public hearing before staff initiation should have been conducted on the Sorrel Way issue. Ms. Schue said she regretted comments from the public that their concerns were going unaddressed. Councilor Holmer commented that the letter from the Sorrel Way residents supported the idea that the process should be strengthened and made more objective. In response to a question by Councilor Ehrman, Mr. Teitzel explained that one '. individual could trigger the initiation process; however, he said that staff would consider that factor in its evaluation of the request. He said that staff did not go door-to-door contacting all residents within the request area. Referring to the letter from the Sorrel Way residents, Mayor Keller asked staff to draft a memorandum for the council addressing the issues raised in the letter. Mr. Teitzel stated that staff had decided to wait under after the work session to respond to the letter. Councilor Hansen said he wanted to be informed of any standards for triggering the initiation process. Mr. Teitzel said staff had previously attempted to develop safety criteria but had not been successful. He said staff could readdress the issue. Councilor Schue said that some council decisions came back to haunt the council, stating that the council had decided to place a sidewalk on one side of Fox Hollow Road, only to find that the other side was safer for children walking to school due to the terrain. Mayor Keller stressed that sidewalks were an asset to the City, adding that some safety evolved from the sidewalks. He felt that any policy based on a review of the data would be similar to what currently existed. However, he felt that the present policy should be reviewed before any modification was made. Mr. Hansen said he was not interested in changing the policy but wished to consider what triggered the process. He suggested that the priority list could be updated. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 14, 1984 Page 5 -- -- ------- ~ " " -"- In response to a question by Councilor Schue, Mr. Teitzel explained that the - .~ Code required sidewalks for any improvements to property in excess of $5,000 but staff had informally adopted the policy not to require a sidewalk if no . -.~ other sidewalks existed on that block. VI. CITY COUNCILOR APPOINTMENT PROCESS Mayor Keller stated that the council had 90 days as of November 13 to fill the council vacancy created by the resignation of Mr. Ball. In response to a comment by Mayor Keller, City Manager Micheal Gleason explained that the memorandum outlining the appointment process previously followed by the council had been provided only to Mayor Keller and Councilors Obie and Wooten. Mayor Keller asked copies to be provided to the other councilors. Mayor Keller reviewed the process for advertising the vacancy and encouraging individuals to submit applications. He added that the neighborhood groups should be notified of the vacancy. Councilor Schue suggested that notification could be made through the neighborhood newsletter. Mr. Gleason commented that the neighborhood newsletter was an unreliable system. He said that staff will notify the neighborhood groups involved in the process. Mayor Keller directed staff to add discussion of the appointment process to the council agenda for November 19. In response to a question by Councilor Hansen, Cathy Freedman, City " Manager's Office explained that the agenda items originally scheduled for e November 21 had been rescheduled to November 19; therefore, the November 21 meeting could be cancelled. The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 p.m. to November 19,1984. ~7~~ Micheal D. Gleason Ci ty Manager (Recorded by Thom Strunk) TS:ts/0003C e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 14, 1984 Page 6