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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/24/1990 Meeting e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall October 24, 1990 11:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Emily Schue, Robert Bennett, Freeman Holmer, Ruth Bascom, Debra Ehrman, Shawn Boles, Roger Rutan, and Bobby Green. The adjourned meeting of October 22, 1990, of the Eugene City Council was called to order by His Honor Mayor Jeff Miller. I. ITEMS FROM THE MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, AND CITY MANAGER A. Opposition to Ballot Measure 4 Mr. Holmer moved, seconded by Mr. Bennett, that the City Council take an opposition position to Ballot Measure 4. e Responding to a question, Mr. Gleason said that the the City Attorney's Office opinion outlining any potential legal consequences of the council taking a position on this measure would be available this afternoon. Mr. Holmer said that it is clear that the financial impact of this measure, if it was successful, would be substantial and would result in increased electric rates in the long run. He also said that the alternative sources of energy pose an equal or greater hazard to the environment. Mayor Miller said that he does not support the measure because of its financial implications and its inadequate waste cleanup requirements. Mr. Boles expressed his support for Ballot Measure 4 on the grounds of health and safety concerns. He voiced concern that the wastes generated by this plant are being stored on site and that the Federal government has not yet established a waste repository. Mr. Boles said that if electric rates do increase as a result of this measure, it would be an inexpensive price to pay for solving the problem. He also noted that it is uncertain what will be the future cost of waste disposal if wastes continue to be generated without such a repos itory . Mr. Rutan said that he shares the concerns of both Mr. Boles and Mr. Miller, but would vote against the measure because it does not adequately address concerns for waste cleanup. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 24, 1990 Page 1 - - e Ms. Ehrman said that as a citizen she would support the measure, but as a City official, the financial impacts to the City would be too great for her to support it. Mr. Bennett indicated his opposition to the measure. He noted that there is a trend toward smaller, relatively safer nuclear plants and said that the Federal government feels that the alternatives to nuclear power would be equally detrimental to the environment. Mr. Boles said that if energy users were to strive toward conservation, it might be possible to allay future power shortages associated with closing the plant. Responding to a question from Mr. Green, Ms. Schue said that the League of Oregon Cities has not taken a position on this issue. The motion carried 6:2; with councilors Holmer, Bennett, Rutan, Ehrman, Green, and Bascom voting in favor; and councilors Boles and Schue voting opposed. B. Need for Volunteers for the Daytime Access Center Ms. Ehrman noted that the Daytime Access Center for homeless persons is in need of volunteers. She suggested that neighborhood associations be informed of this need in their newsletters and that they be encouraged to participate in this community problem. e C. Housing Policy Board Expansion Ms. Bascom informed the council that the Housing Policy Board has proposed a Single Room Occupancy (SRO) expansion of its facility at Monroe Street and 8th Avenue. The board has secured several other funding sources, but needs an additional $57,000 to move forward with this project. Ms. Bascom noted that both Springfield and the County have committed to partial project funding and suggested that the City commit as well. More information on this will be forthcoming. D. Willamette International Trade Center Forum Ms. Bascom reported on the Willamette International Trade Center Forum which was recently held at the Conference Center. She said that this was a very successful private-sector effort to coordinate and educate interested parties on many types of international commerce issues. Approximately 50 persons attended this forum. Mr. Rutan asked whether there was any discussion about the possibility of the City instituting a free-trade zone at the airport. Ms. Bascom responded that questions on this were included on a questionnaire. She noted that the City's role, although minimal, is extremely important. - MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 24, 1990 Page 2 - E. Concentration of Social Services in Eugene Mr. Boles presented the council with a chart depicting the relative concen- tration of social services in Eugene. He pointed out the overly intense concentration of social services in Ward 3, Eugene's downtown area. Mr. Boles noted that while the chart depicts distribution of services, it does not illustrate the intensity of those services. He said that as the City looks at housing dispersal, so should it look at community service dispersal. Ms. Ehrman said that the City should survey social service users to determine where they would like these agencies to be located. F. Pedestrian Overpass on Barger Drive Mr. Green said that following a recent traffic fatality on Barger Drive, he attended a meeting last night of neighborhood citizens, elected officials, and State representatives about traffic safety concerns on Barger Drive. He noted that a proposal for a pedestrian overpass over Barger Drive was among a number of options presented at the meeting to remedy the safety problem. Mr. Green informed the council that it would be asked to look at land-use issues surrounding such a proposal. Mr. Green noted that one option not considered which he feels might work well is the institution of a City ordinance requiring motorists to yield to pedestrians--failure to do so results in stiff fines. Pomona, California, e has such an ordinance and it seems to work well. Ms. Schue pointed out that for such an ordinance to work, both motorists and pedestrians would need to be educated about the ordinance. Noting the presence of out-of-town motorists in Eugene, Mr. Holmer said that the Oregon League of Cities should look into the legislative aspect of this. G. Council Goals Session The council discussed possible time changes for its October 26 and 27 goals session. It agreed that the Friday goals session would begin at 4 p.m. and end around 9:30 p.m. and that the Saturday goals session would begin at 8 a.m. and end when the council's work on the goals was completed. Mr. Boles said that he would like the council to discuss Robert Ornstein's book New World, New Mind during dinner at Friday's goals session. After deliberation, the council agreed to spend approximately 15 minutes during dinner discussing this book. - MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 24, 1990 Page 3 e II. BALLOTING TO DETERMINE INTERVIEWEES FOR OPENINGS ON THE DOWNTOWN COMMISSION, EUGENE-SPRINGFIELD METROPOLITAN PARTNERSHIP, AND PLANNING COMMISSION Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Mr. Bennett, to reappoint John Vanlandingham to the one opening available on the Planning Commission. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 8:0. Ms. Bascom moved, seconded by Mr. Ehrman, to reappoint Peter Bartell to the Downtown Commission. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 8:0. Mr. Bennett moved to appoint Daniel Tucci to the Downtown Commission. The motion died for lack of a second. Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Mr. Boles, to interview Daniel Tucci, Jonathan Stafford, Steven Engle, and Larry Hedberg for the two remaining openings on the Downtown Commission. Ms. Bascom reminded the council that during its last Planning Commission appointment process, it recognized the importance of selecting a large number of candidates to interview. Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, to amend the motion e to include Steve Bove as an interviewee for the two remaining openings on the Downtown Commission. The motion carried 4:2:2, with councilors Boles, Schue, Ehrman, and Green voting in favor; councilors Rutan and Bennett voting against; and councilors Bascom and Holmer abstaining. The motion carried unanimously, 8:0. Ms. Schue moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, to interview Jerry Blakely, James Cagney, Richard Duncan, and Patricia Scott for the one opening on the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Partnership. Mr. Boles felt that interviewing four candidates for one opening on the Metropolitan Partnership is not a good practice. He noted that it creates unrealistic expectations on the part of those candidates about their chances at being appointed to this volunteer position. Mr. Rutan concurred. Ms. Bascom spoke about the importance of the interview process in terms of allowing councilors to become more familiar with citizens, increasing their likelihood of being appointed to a position at another time. Ms. Schue pointed out that traditionally the Metropolitan Partnership has lacked female representation on its committee and noted that by agreeing to e MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 24, 1990 Page 4 - -- ---- -- --- e interview four candidates for this opening, a female would be included in the interview process. The motion carried 5:3, with councilors Bascom, Green, Schue, Ehrman, and Bennett voting in favor; and councilors Rutan, Boles, and Holmer voting against. III. TRANSPORTATION PLAN/GOALS UPDATE Christine Andersen, Public Works Director, gave the staff presentation. She noted that this work session is a continuation of the council's October 22 work session on the FY91 transportation work plan and policy discussion regarding alternative modes of transportation. Ms. Andersen reminded the council that the underlying theme behind the transportation discussion is a need in the community to shift away from a reliance on automobile usage. Mr. Gleason introduced Mark Pangborn and Stephano Viggiano, Lane Transit District (LTD) representatives. Ms.. Andersen said that the work plan is composed of both 5hort~ and long-term goals and strategies for encouraging alternative modes usage. She noted that today's discussion will center around short-term strategies which are incumbent in making the shift toward alternative modes. Ms. Andersen noted that the Ferry Street Bridge Study redesign is a good vehicle for the alternative modes discussion. e The council continued its review of the TransPlan policies related to alternative transportation modes. Ms. Andersen noted that the policies in this document have been divided into the following four categories: providing facilities and services, using land use planning and development regulations, providing strong incentives, and marketing alternative modes. At council's request at the last meeting, Mr. Boles worked with staff to provide a list of specific actions which the City could take in the short-run to enhance the likelihood of alternative modes usage. Mr. Boles distributed copies of a document entitled "Six Steps in Support of Alternative Transpor- tation" compiled by the Community Roundtable on Alternative Transportation. He also provided a list of 15 additional steps. Regarding the possibility of hiring a survey team to solicit information from Eugene residents on various transportation issues, Mr. Boles said that the Oregon Research Institute is planning to conduct a similar type of transpor- tation survey and suggested that the City use the Oregon Research Institute's survey results instead of commissioning its own study. Mr. Bennett voiced concern that the City has not made any headway over the past ten years convincing the public to shift toward bicycle usage for commuter trips. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 24, 1990 Page 5 e Dave Reinhard, Public Works Transportation, said that a survey of the entire metropolitan population reveals that approximately 5.5 percent of the population rely on bicycles as their major commuting transportation; the City of Eugene has a slightly higher rate of success at 8 percent--well above the national average. Mr. Reinhard acknowledged that there has probably been no appreciable change in this figure over the past ten years and said this might be due to decreased funding for enhancing Eugene's bicycle corridor system. Responding to questions from Mr. Bennett, Ms. Andersen indicated that if the City had the necessary capital resources to improve the bicycle network, thus reducing the number of obstacles to bike usage, commuter bike riding would increase. Because cities have been prohibited from using gas tax moneys on off-road facilities and because of legislative action which occurred in the late 70s, the availability of capital resources for the bike system has declined dramatically. Mr. Boles identified Systems Development Charges (SDC) and Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) moneys, including the use of moneys from roadbed. construction and maintenance, as two possible sources of bicycle network funding. Mr. Bennett warned the council that it may be forced in the future to prioritize its alternative modes efforts. In order to ensure that the City is accountable for its alternative modes goals, the work plan should include a means of assessing the City's progress toward its goals. e Mr. Holmer said that underlying the strategic planning process, the City needs a marketing survey to help determine what types of new strategies will be successful. Ms. Ehrman suggested that the City review the results of a survey recently taken of students, faculty, and administrative officials in the university area. Responding to questions from Ms. Ehrman, Mr. Pangborn said that LTD has not experienced much success with the carpooling program because the greatest desire for carpooling comes from long-distance commuters outside of the city. However, he noted that many of the carpooling lots such as the one used by Sacred Heart have been very successful. LTD could accommodate the increased volume of riders. Responding to a question from Mr. Boles, Mr. Gleason said that City employees compete in the same parking market as all other persons downtown. Mr. Rutan emphasized the need for a community education component of the transportation work plan which would inform citizens of the alternative modes goal and identify programs which have been set up to meet it. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 24, 1990 Page 6 e Mr. Boles agreed with Mr. Bennett on the need to formulate specific transpor- tation goals and to develop a list of actions that will allow the City to evaluate the success of work plan strategies. In order to help meet the 23-percent shift goal, Ms. Bascom expressed her interest in implementing a shuttle link from the Centennial Boulevard area to the University of Oregon. She noted that such a link has a high probability for success and should be one of the first transportation projects. Mr. Reinhard indicated that this option is being analyzed in the Ferry Street Bridge Study. Mr. Bennett stressed the importance of attempting to secure the right-of-way necessary for future project implementation. Ms. Schue said that she would be hesitant to begin acquiring right-of-way without some certainty of how much, if any, will be needed. As a possible transportation project, Mr. Boles described "green lighting", in which all non-polluting vehicles would have the right-of-way at intersec- tions during certain times of the day. Responding to comment from Mr. Bennett, Ms. Andersen said that Eugene currently has neither the size nor the density to support more exciting mass-transit projects, such as a light rail system. e Mr. Reinhard indicated that the Central Area Transportation Study (CATS) plan update provides a good opportunity to assimilate all portions of the alternate modes plan. He emphasized the important role that the downtown transit station will play in the entire process and said that a comprehensive TransPlan update is being contemplated for 1992. Ms. Ehrman voiced her support for the employer payroll tax reduction incentive as a strategy to encourage the use of alternative modes. Mr. Boles expressed concern that the transit station siting project is proceeding without a plan to link it to a downtown "fun and functional" shuttle. He emphasized that such a plan must be in place by July 1, 1991, if the City plans to use SDC moneys to fund the project. Mr. Bennett reiterated his concerns for immediate initiation of right-of-way acquisition. He spoke about actions the City could take to advance toward the alternative modes goal and wondered what it might cost LTD to substan- tially increase its bus service and to route some of its buses into dense residential neighborhoods. Mr. Boles summarized that a successful transportation work plan would need to have three main components: projects, supporting policies, and community education. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 24, 1990 Page 7 --- ~ The meeting of the Eugene City Council adjourned at 1:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, "ry.;t: /' ,/{'7' ~ . /. ...~ ,~. 7..l /-..r..w,e-p~ t.'f 1 Micheal Gleason City Manager (Recorded by Traci Northman) mncc 102490-1130 e e MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 24, 1990 Page 8