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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/16/1990 Meeting . e e M I NUT E S Eugene- City Council McNutt Room--City Hall May 16, 1990 11:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Mayor Jeff Miller, Ruth Bascom, Emily Schue, Debra Ehrman, Bobby Green, Roger Rutan, Freeman Holmer, Shawn Boles. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Rob Bennett. The adjourned meeting of May 14, 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. West University Small Business Association Ms. Ehrman indicated that recent discussions of the West University Small Business Association have centered around the sharp increase in drug trafficking activity recently evident in the university area near a recently erected wall on Kincaid Street. One solution posed for this problem was to declare this area a special district, similar to the Eugene Mall, and allow it to be governed by its own set of rules. Ms. Ehrman requested that staff look into the feasibility of this proposition. Ms. Ehrman noted that litter is also a major concern in the university area. Greg Zahar, Department of Public Safety, has suggested that the Public Works Department consider the possibility of affixing litter containers to the traffic meters to help solve this problem. Ms. Ehrman requested a report from staff regarding this proposal. B. Return of the Grateful Dead Ms. Ehrman indicated that the upcoming Grateful Dead concert has generated concern in the community. Specific concerns have centered around the increase in unfavorable activities which often occurs concurrent with the arrival of Grateful Dead followers. She noted that the University of California at Berkeley has banned Grateful Dead concert appearances entirely because of the problems associated with them. She requested a report from staff on the increase in actual public safety costs which are associated with this concert. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 16~ 1990 Page 1 e C. Downtown Development District Task Force (DDDTF) Survey Ms. Ehrman informed councilors that the results of a telephone survey recently conducted by the DDDTF about citizen and business owner perceptions of the downtown area revealed that the mix of retail stores is a primary reason behind citizens' reluctance to shop downtown. D. Re-election Mr. Green expressed appreciation to community members responsible for re-electing him to a four-year term on the council. He also expressed his gratitude for the work of Mark Bovier, his campaign manager and expressed his appreciation to his wife and son. E. Environmental Bill of Rights Mr. Boles noted that he recently forwarded a copy of the official policy resolution generated at the US Conference of Mayors regarding the Environmental Bill of Rights to both the City Manager and the Council Committee on Infrastructure. At the council1s request, Mr. Boles agreed to draft a summary of this document and distribute it to council members. e F. Industrial Lands Replacement Mr. Boles directed council's attention to a letter regarding the industrial lands replacement study recently received from Mr. Hall, Robert Charles Lesser & Company. He noted that in this document Mr. Hall confirmed his original findings that insufficient short-term demand exists in this area to warrant redesignation for industrial lands and cautioned the council against moving outside of its long-range planning objectives, Mr. Boles requested that these materials be submitted as part of the council's industrial lands replacement deliberations. Mr. Holmer said that he felt Mr. Hall did not have a sufficient understanding of the City's historical wetland dilemma to justify his conclusions. Mr. Holmer indicated that he had drafted a letter for council discussion vocalizing these concerns. G. Staff Presentations In response to a memo from the City Manager1s Office seeking clarification of the decision made at the last Quarterly Process Session about the nature of staff presentations, Mr. Boles said that he thought the council had decided that staff presentations would include a set of possible solution alternatives with the staff recommendation clearly stated. Mr. Gleason noted that because of the variety of decisions which come before the council it is difficult to produce a'single staff presentation format. He suggested that the council continue to give staff feedback after each presentation in order to shape this process. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 16, 1990 Page 2 //-.-- e Mr. Rutan cautioned that the type of revised format requested of staff presentations should not result in a great increase in staff time. He also suggested that the council abandon its process of holding work sessions before public hearings. Regarding Mr. Rutan's suggestion about the elimination of work sessions before public hearings, Ms. Ehrman expressed concern that substituting a council work session with a staff presentation at the public hearing might. substantially prolong the public hearing process. H. Sister City Program Ms. Schue announced that Eugene1s Sister City Program has won a national award for being the most outstanding program in its classification and will receive recognition this summer in Albuquerque. I. Leave of Absence for Council or Councilor Holmer requested a leave of absence from his council duties for the months of July and August. Ms. Bascom moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to grant this requested leave. The motion carried unanimously, 7:0. J. National Endowment for the Arts ~ Ms. Bascom noted that Federal funding for the National Endowment for the Arts has been drastically reduced placing it in financial trouble. She requested that the council direct staff to work with local arts groups to lobby this issue at the Federal level. Ms. Bascom moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, to direct staff to work with the local arts groups to lobby this issue at the Federal level in any manner that is deemed appropriate. The motion carried unanimously, 7:0. K. More Efficient Consensus Building Mr. Miller indicated his plans to meet with members of the community in an attempt to find an efficient, nonpolarizing means of dealing with controversial issues in the community. II. COUNCIL POLICY ON FUNDING REQUESTS Mr. Gleason stated that council has requested a discussion regarding establishing a policy on how it will deal with funding requests. Through a joint effort between the council and staff, a set of possible evaluative criteria for funding has been drafted for council discussion. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 16., 1990 Page 3 e e e Mr. Holmer suggested the inclusion of a guideline which would state that those activities in which the council has had previous and continual involvement would be given priority consideration for funding. He also recommended that the council have a specific monetary allocation in its budget to be used for unplanned funding requests. Mr. Boles offered his support for having budgetary money earmarked specifically for unplanned funding requests. He also suggested that each councilor and the Mayor be allotted a specific portion of this budgetary allocation for funding appropriation on an individual basis. Monetary appropriation would be regulated, in part, by the proposed evaluative criteria. In this way, each councilor would have the opportunity to place monetary support behind those issues of most importance. Responding to a question from Ms. Bascom, Mr. Boles said that this money would be in addition to money currently set aside by the Budget Committee. Ms. Schue agreed that a specific amount of money should be set aside to deal with unplanned requests for funding, but said she is not comfortable with the concept of having individual council "allowances." 'Mr. Gleason noted that the council may have difficulty finding justification for Mr. Boles' suggestion within the Oregon Budget Law requirements. However, it might be possible to establish this type of policy through a protocol of tradition. Mr. Green cautioned that this policy be used as a spending guideline rather than a barrier against all monetary spending. Referring to one of the proposed evaluative criteria which suggests that consideration be given to whether an actiVity will directly support one or more of the current council goals, Mr. Holmer said that he does not believe that each council goal is of equal importance and should, therefore, not be given equal weight in evaluation. He also noted that guideline 5, which states that the activity would not occur unless approval of the funding request is granted, is not necessarily relevant and should not be included. Ms. Ehrman suggested that the council receive information from staff on the feasibility of Mr. Boles' concept of having individually appropriated budgetary money. Mr. Holmer pointed out that a potential benefit of having a limited amount of money for individual allocation would be an increased assurance that councilors were marshaling monetary support for those ideas of the greatest importance. Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Mr. Boles, that money be appropriated in the budget for expenditure on unplanned events. The motion carried unanimously, 7:0. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 16. 1990 Page 4 e e e ) \ Ms. Bascom moved, seconded by Ms. Schue, that the Council move ahead with the six policy criteria (eliminating guideline 5) for funding proposals as outlined in the council's memorandum dated May 10, 1990. The motion carried unanimously, 7:0. \ The council dir~cted staff to examine and determine the feasibility of earmarking specific budgetary money for individual council and Mayor appropriation. III. METROPOLITAN PLAN AMENDMENTS REGARDING SEWER SERVICE TO RIVER ROAD AND SANTA CLARA City Manager Mike Gleason introduced the topic. CB 4221--An ordinance amending the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan to allow sewer service to developed properties in the River Road and Santa. Clara areas without also requiring annexation. . Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Mr. Holmer, that the bill, with unanimous consent of the council, be read the second time by council bill number only, and that enactment be considered at this time. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 7:0. Council Bill 4221 was read the second time by number only. Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Mr. Holmer, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote; all councilors present voting aye, the bill was declared passed (and became Ordinance No. 19691). IV. WEST UNIVERSITY CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECT Declaring a perceived conflict of interest, Mayor Miller left the meeting and Council President Emily Schue became Chair. Teresa Bishow, Planning and Development Department, reported on the status of the West University Conservation and Development Project. On May 14, the council conducted a work session and public hearing on the Historic Review Board (HRB) and Planning Commission recommendations that address historic resources in the West IJniversity Conservation and Development Project area. The highest priority recommendation forwarded to the council by both bodies calls for a program to preserve the historic and natural features that contribute to the Millrace area. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 16, 1990 Page 5 e e e To implement this program, the board and commission recommend that work begin on creating a Special Development Zoning District and an Historic District. These districts would be designed to encourage economic use of historic structures, enhance the Millrace, and balance both housing and commercial needs for the area. Implementation activities could also address improving .the Millrace waterway, providing greater public access, and better maintenance. Ms. Bascom inquired about Northwest Christian College's (NCC) position on this issue. Ms. Bishow stated that NCC has not expressed an interest in r~taining any historic buildings on its property which are not a part of its institution. Mr. Holmer asked whether the HRB and Planning Commission harbor any legal inhibitions to proceeding with a detailed plan for a Special Development District. He indicated his reluctance to approve the concept of a Special Development District without full approval from both of these bodies. Ms. Bishow responded that both the board and commission recommend exploring the creation of a Special Development District. Mr. Boles moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, to support staff work and study how council might implement the board and commission recommendations A-E and 1-5 of the West University Executive Summary contained within the council agenda packet of May 14. The motion carried unanimously, 7:0. The meeting adjourned at 1 p.m. (Recorded by Traci Northman) mncc 051690-1130 MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 16, 1990 Page 6