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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/14/1990 Meeting e e e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall March 14, 1990 11:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Mayor Jeff Miller, Ruth Bascom, Rob Bennett, Emily Schue, Bobby Green, Freeman Holmer, Debra Ehrman, Shawn Boles. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Roger Rutan. The adjourned meeting of March 12, 1990, of the Eugene City Council was called to order by His Honor Mayor Jeff Miller. I. ITEMS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL, MAYOR, AND CITY MANAGER A. Student Intern Mr. Boles announced that John Schwarz has agreed to work with him as a student intern. The primary focus of Mr. Schwarz' work will be on citizen involvement issues. B. Earth Day Ms. Schue noted that Earth Day is soon approaching and suggested that the council spur community interest and awareness by doing something dramatic to promote it. The council directed staff to identify a list of possible activities in which the council might be involved to aid in Earth Day promotion. C. League of Oregon Cities Ms. Schue noted that the League of Oregon Cities is attempting to identify ways in which the image of cities in our state can be enhanced and requested any councilors with suggestions for city-image improvement to contact her. D. International Physicists Conference Ms. Bascom indicated that she was recently contacted by Russ Donnely, University of Oregon Physics Professor, requesting City support for its attempt to bring the 1992 International Physicists Conference to Eugene. This conference involves nearly 2,000 delegates worldwide and would provide a great benefit to our city. MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 14, 1990 Page 1 e E. TCl Franchise Mr. Holmer said that in recent conversations with an official from Tel, he suggested possible ways in which the City might be able to bring C-Span II, which carries U.S. Senate Proceedings, on cable. He noted that channel 34 might possibly be available for this and urged councilors to consider this. F. Retail Task Force Mr. Holmer said that in a recent council work session he was informed that the Retail Task Force had broadened its scope of inquiry to include areas outside of downtown but within the urban growth boundary. Because its initial charge was to deal with downtown retail issues, he questioned whether the task force has adequate representation to handle concerns in this expanded area. Mr. Boles said that because the task force was created with the responsibility of making policy decisions which will affect a strong downtown retail component, the task force has not overstepped its boundaries in making policy recommendations affecting areas outside of downtown. It is his belief that the task force has adequate representation. G. Eugene Code e Mr. Holmer voiced concern that the council does not have any means to ensure that ordinances which are passed by the council become part of the Eugene Code. Mr. Sercombe, City Attorney's Office, said that the distinction which exists between general and specific ordinances is a good determinant of ordinance codification. Most general ordinances are codified. Special ordinances, which are those limited in either effect or time, are not codified. At times in the past, certain general ordinances have not been codified if the status of the ordinance was uncertain. H. Housing Task Force Mr. Bennett expressed his appreciation to the council for its support of the Lane County Task Force's housing recommendation, but noted that recent press coverage suggests that there is lagging support on the Board of County Commissioners. At Mr. Bennett's suggestion, the council agreed that a letter from the council be drafted reiterating its support for the entire Lane County Task Force recommendation. I. Human Rights Task Force Mr. Miller said that the work of the Human Rights Program should be concluded soon. Referring to a recent article in The Register-Guard about The Oregon Citizens Alliance, he urged that the council make its position well-known that bigotry within our community will not be tolerated. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 14, 1990 Page 2 e J. Request to the Media Mr. Miller mentioned that the Active 20/30 Club's recent ground-breaking ceremony for a special swimming pool in the Sheldon area which was specifically created as accessible to handicapped citizens received no media attention. He noted that this type of event is particularly important for community education in our community and requested that the media make a greater effort to cover similar types of events in the future. II. REPORT ON NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES CONFERENCE IN WASHINGTON, DC Linda Lynch, Intergovernmental Relations, gave a brief overview of the National League of Cities Conference recently held in Washington, DC. She noted that feedback about the council's lobbying efforts was extremely positive. Ms. Bascom said that she had the opportunity to visit four different agencies whose concerns are specifically directed at wetlands issues. Steve Gordon, Lane Council of Governments, made several important contacts during this trip, and will soon be seen as a national authority on wetland issues. e Ms. Ehrman said she had an opportunity to bring a photograph of our recently completed Mahlon Sweet Airport to meetings with FAA officials; she received a very positive reaction. She noted that the airport project represented a coordinated effort between the Federal, State, and City governments and stressed the importance of maintaining this type of ongoing communication. Mr. Boles voiced his extreme disappointment with the transportation policy presented by Secretary of Transportation, Samuel Skinner. Ms. Schue cautioned the council to watch out for the Airport Passenger Facilities Charge. Mr. Gleason pointed out that the City's willingness to put forth money is critical to the success of securing Federal trust funds. The Appropriations Committee was pleased with the City's effort and recognized that it has delegation support. Mr. Boles said that the lobbyists did an excellent job of conveying the importance of the industrialized energy-efficient housing proposal to our community. He noted that while we received strong legislative support, support from Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was useless. Ms. Lynch said that it is likely that this money will be appropriated from the Forest Service budget, rather than from HUD. Ms. Ehrman said that the City provided an update on the status of the Ferry Street Bridge project. Concern was raised with the cost of this project. Mr. Gleason emphasized the importance of securing the State's confirmation that this project is on the State's demonstration list. Bob Stalick, Assistant 4J Superintendent, reported on the status of funding for the Japanese Immersion Program. He said that this program received e MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 14, 1990 Page 3 e tremendous interest from Senator Hatfield who guaranteed his support for this project. Ms. Bascom indicated that the speeches given by councilors during breakfast in the capitol building received overwhelming commendation. Regarding the Substance Abuse Prevention Programs, Ms. Ehrman said that this session provided a good opportunity for information share. Great emphasis was placed on the need for a combined public and private effort. Ms. Bascom indicated that she had the opportunity to attend a meeting and collect information on the National Endowment for the Arts. She will meet with both Bob Schutz, Cultural Affairs Commission staff representative, and Douglas Beauchamp, Lane Regional Arts Council, to convey this information. Ms. Schue suggested that next year councilors attend the entire meetings of the National League of Cities conference. Mr. Boles recommended that the City organization become active conference participants in succeeding years by giving presentations, as well as attending sessions. III. SEMIANNUAL REPORT ON THE SOUTHERN WILLAMETTE PRIVATE INDUSTRY COUNCIL e Bruce Hall, SWPIC Board President, reported on the status of the Southern Willamette Private Industry Council (SWPIC). He said that SWPIC provides employment and training assistance to at-risk citizens in our community, such as laid-off workers, low-income youth, individuals 55 and older, welfare recipients, minorities, corrections clients, and the disabled population. SWPIC currently serves 991 at-risk people--62 percent of its target. Mr. Hall highlighted the success SWPIC has had with its Dislocated Worker Program which assists workers who have been laid-off in making a transition into others areas of employment. SWPIC has been successful in securing both State and Federal support, but because of the numerous layoffs which have occurred, more money will need to be generated to support this program. Mr. Hall said that SWPIC has made a change in its youth programs over the past six months. It is currently attempting to focus its service provision on youth who face multiple barriers to education. Mr. Hall mentioned that in an attempt to diversify its funding and increase its service capacity, SWPIC has made several changes. It received a Stewart B. McKinney homeless grant for $448,000; this grant awarded was twice the size of the national average and is designed for adult, juvenile, and non-English speaking offenders. In addition, SWPIC has received a $303,000 grant from the Community Corrections Program, a $190,000 contract with Adult and Family Services, and a $50,000 contract with the Veterans program. Mr. Hall remarked that SWPIC is anticipating future changes in the JPPA laws e MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 14, 1990 Page 4 e which will result in a continued decrease in funding, as well as more expensive program costs. As a result, SWPIC's focus will be directed at serving those persons with multiple barriers. Mr. Hall expressed appreciation to Mr. Rutan for his past participation on the SWPIC Board. Ms. Ehrman asked whether the definition "multiple barriers" includes persons with a past history in criminal behavior or drug abuse. Laurie Swanson, SWPIC Executive Director, said that while this definition does not currently include such youth, SWPIC is considering broadening this definition. Responding to a question from Mr. Boles, Ms. Swanson said that the theory behind focusing SWPIC's service on those individuals that face multiple barriers is that with a labor market competing for a shrinking work force, the labor market is expected to absorb those easier-to-serve individuals. IV. WORK SESSION: SPECTRA-PHYSICS FINANCING ALTERNATIVES Jim Croteau, Planning and Development Department, reported on the status of Spectra-Physics financing alternatives. He said that at its March 1 meeting, the council passed a motion to commit the City to assist in the funding for the required mitigation for the Spectra-Physics expansion. The council also discussed several funding sources and directed the staff to come back with more information and a revised Urban Renewal District proposal. e Mr. Croteau provided the council with the two proposed Urban Renewal District alternatives. Alternative one covers the Spectra-Physics property and the proposed mitigation site and alternative two includes the extension of Terry Street north to the West Eugene Parkway. Mr. Gleason said that staff has conducted an extensive analysis of alternative funding methods and recommends that the council authorize the City Manager to continue negotiations with Spectra-Physics to execute a funding agreement with regard to the wetlands mitigation site and instruct the City Manager to prepare a budget recommendation which would attempt to reduce the impact of that decision on the General Fund. He said that financing prospects could come from three alternative funds: the County Road Fund, Storm Sewer account moneys, and the General Fund. The decision whether to create an Urban Renewal District can be made at a later date. Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Mr. Bennett, that the council authorize the City Manager to enter into a funding agreement with Spectra Physics for the wetlands mitigation projects and to bring back to the council recommended budget actions for the funding of that agreement. Mr. Boles said that this is an acceptable proposal, but emphasized that the council is not establishing precedence for the use of General Fund moneys for future site mitigation strategies. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 14, 1990 Page 5 e Ms. Ehrman expressed support for this procedure and said she does not want to continue to look at the formation of an Urban Renewal District for project financing. She requested more information on Terry Street and bike path projects. Mr. Bennett concurred with Mr. Boles that this should not establish a future precedent for the use of moneys for wetlands mitigation and that he also does not agree with the formation of an urban renewal district. Ms. Bascom voiced concern that the possibility of recreation corridor acquisition is not contained within this proposal. Mr. Green expressed a desire to have continued consideration on the possible extension of Terry Street. Mr. Gleason said he would return with additional information about the construction of a recreation corridor and the possible Terry Street extension. Ms. Schue said that she does not want to undertake any discussions regarding the creation of an urban renewal district until after the May election. Mr. Holmer pointed to the capital demands already imposed on next year's General Fund and said he did not want to preclude future discussion about the use of urban renewal financing for this project. He agreed with Ms. Schue, however, that this discussion should take place after the May election. e The motion passed unanimously, 7:0. V. WORK SESSION: METROPOLITAN POLICY COMMITTEE (MPC) RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE GLENWOOD REFINEMENT PLAN Terry Jones, Planning and Development Department, reported that the City and County MPC members met on February 20 and agreed on six of the nine revisions proposed by council. Of the three other revisions, two of these are minor changes and one major change regarding the way in which bike path easements along the river will be acquired. Ms. Bascom expressed disappointment that a recreation corridor along the riverbank will not be included. Not including this in the proposal sends a negative message from the City regarding Glenwood's need for recreation amenities. Mr. Boles said that it is unfortunate that the City is missing this opportunity to ensure construction of a contiguous bikepath along the river between Springfield and Eugene. Mr. Holmer said that the language contained within this proposal does not necessarily preclude bikepath construction, but rather provides a modification of the means by which it is acquired. Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, that the recommendation be approved as written. Roll call vote; the motion passed, 5:2; with councilors Schue, Holmer, Green, e MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 14, 1990 Page 6 e e e Ehrman, and Bennett voting in favor, and councilors Bascom and Boles voting against. The meeting adjourned at 1:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, --;iVf.L /),~ ~~~ /~~~~'."tr1 Micheal Gleason City Manager (Recorded by Traci Northman) mncc 031490 MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 14, 1990 Page 7