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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/12/1990 Meeting e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall December 12, 1990 11:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Emily Schue, Ruth Bascom, Bobby Green, Debra Ehrman, Shawn Boles, Paul Nicholson, Kaye Robinette. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Roger Rutan, Mayor Jeff Miller. The adjourned meeting of December 10, 1990, of the Eugene City Council was called to order by Council President Emily Schue. I. PUBLIC HEARING: CITY OF EUGENE SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET NO. 1 City Manager Mike Gleason introduced the topic and explained that a supple- mental budget was prepared in response to a change in financial planning conditions resulting primarily from State Ballot Measure 5 which were not ascertained at the time the budget for the current fiscal year was being e prepared. Warren Wong was present to answer questions. Councilor Schue opened the public hearing. There being no requests to speak, the public hearing was closed. CB 4272--An ordinance adopting a supplemental budget; making appropriations for the City of Eugene for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1990, and ending June 30, 1991; and declaring an emergency. Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Mr. Boles, 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 4272 was read the second time by number only. Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Mr. Boles, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote; with all councilors present voting aye, the bill was declared passed (and became Ordinance 19740). Councilor Schue adjourned the meeting of the Eugene City Council and convened a meeting of the Urban Renewal Agency. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 12, 1990 Page 1 .,...,....... - --- e II. PUBLIC HEARING: URBAN RENEWAL AGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET NO. 1 City Manager Mike Gleason introduced the topic and indicated that Warren Wong was present to answer questions. Mr. Boles pointed out that the Urban Renewal Agency still has an unsecured note. Councilor Schue opened the public hearing. There being no requests to speak, the public hearing was closed. Res. No. 950--A resolution adopting a supplemental budget; making appropriations for the Urban Renewal Agency for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1990, and ending June 30, 1991. Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Mr. Boles, to adopt the resolu- tion. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 7:0. Councilor Schue adjourned the meeting of the Urban Renewal Agency and recon- vened the meeting of the Eugene City Council. III. ITEMS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL, MAYOR, AND CITY MANAGER A. Sand and Gravel Industry e Mr. Green indicated that he has met with some representatives from the sand and gravel industry who expressed concerns with the impact that State Ballot Measure 5 will have on their industry and who asked if the City might be willing to consider relaxing service fees in their industry. B. Housing Efforts Mr. Green updated the council on the Neighborhood Economic Development Corpo- ration's (NEDCO) effort to provide affordable housing in the community. NEDCO is currently working on a housing project in the North Polk area. He asked Councilor Bascom to apprise the Housing Policy Board of NEDCO's efforts and to convey the need for a balance within housing developments to serve a broader range of income levels. Mr. Boles said that the council needs to communicate clearly to State and Federal officials, particularly Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the need for housing programs designed specifically toward housing ownership rather than housing rental programs. C. Community Development Block Grant Three-Year Plan Mr. Boles indicated that the Community Development Committee has finished its tentative three-year plan for the allocation of CDSG moneys. The plan should be available for public review in January. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 12, 1990 Page 2 \ e Responding to a question from Ms. Ehrman, Mr. Boles said that although he is unsure whether the council is mandated to complete the plan in three years, past policy has always been to bring the plan before the council for an up- date on an annual basis. D. Council Committee on Infrastructure's (CCI) Task Force Mr. Boles drew attention to a memo to the council from Councilor Rutan. He noted that in response to council direction at its meeting on systems devel- opment charges in early December, Councilor Rutan has put together a list of potential membership on the CCI Task Force. Mr. Boles said that eCI has reviewed and approved the recommendations and noted that if council finds the proposed constituency acceptable, CCI will send notification to individuals requesting their participation. The council offered consensus approval of the proposed constituency of task force membership as specified in Mr. Rutan's memo of December 12, 1990. E. Supervisory Work Experience and Employment Program (SWEEP) Ms. Bascom asked the council to address concerns raised during the council's December 10 public forum regarding the City's recent decision to discontinue its contract with SWEEP for custodial services at the Hult Center. She noted that the decision was made on the grounds that in-house custodial service was determined to be more cost-efficient, but said that SWEEP representatives e maintain that the bidding process was unfair because the standards on which the bids were compared were not the same. Mr. Gleason indicated that the City put out a Request For Proposal (RFP) for custodial services at the Hult Center. Based on the results of the RFP, it was determined that all bids were too high and that it would be possible to conduct in-house custodial services at well below the current market value. Mr. Gleason explained that the City often contracts for services because it finds that the private market can often conduct a service more inexpensively. He noted that with the recent passage of State Ballot Measure 5, local gov- ernment is making every attempt to reduce its service costs. Mr. Gleason commented that the bid made by SWEEP was higher than the other bids; if a contract had been awarded, SWEEP would not have been chosen. In response to a comment from Ms. Bascom, Mr. Gleason said that the City recognizes that contracting for services with SWEEP would further its efforts to hire persons with disabilities. The decision was evaluated against the City's social goals, but it was determined that bids were too far above cost estimates to justify a contract award. Mr. Boles pointed out that SWEEP representatives were specifically concerned that the standards on which they based their bid were different from the standards by which the final cost analysis was made. For the sake of fair- ness, he said that the council should not close on a final decision until it - MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 12, 1990 Page 3 . has compared against the same set of standards the costs for private versus in-house custodial service. Mr. Robinette concurred with Mr. Boles that the council should delay a final decision on this issue until the council receives a report with the requested information. Mr. Gleason agreed to review the information and return to the council with a recommendation for further council direction and action. F. Request for Tobacco Licensing Ms. Bascom reminded the council of the American Lung Association's testimony at the December 10 public forum requesting again that the City take actions to restrict minor's access to tobacco. Acknowledging that the council al- ready discussed this issue, but noting that this was the association's second request, she asked if the council might be interested in pursuing the request again by reviewing tobacco licensing ordinances that have successfully worked in other cities. The council offered general agreement that it would be interested in having information about implementation and model legislation in Eugene. G. Review of Taxi Regulation Ms. Bascom asked that upon its implementation, the recently adopted taxi e regulation program be reviewed after 60 days to determine how many taxis would be licensed in the city. Mr. Nicholson indicated his continued concern with the decision to place a limit on the number of companies which will be licensed by the City. H. National League of Cities Ms. Ehrman said that she and Councilors Rutan and Nicholson recently returned from the National League of Cities conference and said that she is confident of Eugene's ability to handle the issues at the Federal level. She noted that a list of the conference workshops will be placed in the council office. 1. Legislative Lobbyists Mr. Gleason introduced federal Legislative Lobbyists Tom Dawson and Jim Smith. He emphasized the important role that lobbyists play at the Federal level in securing financial matching support for local projects and commended them for their work. In response to a question from Ms. Ehrman, Mr. Smith said that among other things, Congress passed legislation authorizing the Federal Aviation Adminis- tration (FAA) to institute a Passenger Facilities Charge (PFC) to raise capi- tal revenue. He explained that under PFC guidelines, large- and medium-sized airports will automatically give up 50 percent of their entitlement funds e MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 12, 1990 Page 4 e which will go to a Discretionary Fund which will be distributed to smaller funds. The Eugene Airport is not large enough to be affected by this, but may be in a position to benefit from it. J. Letters Regarding Burning Within the Urban Growth Boundary Ms. Schue drew attention to the draft letter in the council's mail packet from Public Works Deputy Director Terry Smith to the Lane Regional Air Pollu- tion Authority (LRAPA) and the Lane Rural Fire District regarding the City's policy with respect to controlled burning within the urban growth boundary. The council authorized Ms. Schue to send these letters. IV. LIBRARY: DIRECTION REGARDING BALLOT MEASURE Lew Bowers, Planning and Development Department, gave the staff report. He noted that on November 14, 1990, the City Council discussed the question of how to proceed with the library project in light of the passage of Ballot Measure 5. The council tentatively agreed to seek voter approval of the site in March and had requested information on site acquisition costs and library financing issues related to Ballot Measure 5. Mr. Bowers reviewed four alternative options the council might choose to take with respect to this issue, examined the pros and cons of each option, and provided an estimate of the associated costs. He listed the following deci- sion alternatives: e l. Extend the current option for an additional period; 2. Purchase the Sears Building and site once voter approval is re- ceived; 3. Purchase the Sears Building and maintain an option on the rest of the site; and 4. Allow the current option to expire on June 30, 1991. Mr. Bowers indicated that the property needed for the library and associated parking is divided into four parcels that are under two ownerships. He also pointed out that the party which owns parcels one and two believe strongly that this site would be good as the future library and have offered to reduce the cost of site acquisition to $1.3 million, a figure below market value, if the City would commit to purchase the site immediately contingent upon voter approval. Mr. Bowers said that the staff recommendation is to extend the option through December 1991, in order to secure the property and to continue developing a financing plan as more information about the impacts of Ballot Measure 5 is received. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 12, 1990 Page 5 - - - --- e Responding to a question from Ms. Ehrman, Mr. Bowers said that while staff feels that the offer made by parcel owners is a good one, it continues to recommend extending the current option through Oecember 1991, because of continued uncertainty around Ballot Measure 5. Ms. Ehrman pointed out that if the council does not take advantage of the "special offer" now, property acquisition costs will likely increase. She also noted that as indicated in many public information sessions, the council has reason to believe that there is strong public support for a library on the Sears site and that the March vote on library siting will be successful. For these reasons, she supports taking advantage of the special offer to commit to purchasing the site immediately upon voter approval. Mr. Gleason pointed out that the cost to the City of Option 4, allowing the option on this site to expire, would only be zero if the terms of the agree- ment do not change, i.e., if the site was still available for purchase and/or the purchase price did not increase. Responding to a question from Mr. Green, Mr. Bowers clarified that under the terms of the special offer, the City would only be committed to site acquisi- tion should the voters successfully approve this site for the future library location. Under these terms, money would be transferred subsequent to the March election. Mr. Nicholson urged the council not to commit to site purchase until it has seen the results of the March election. He stated the council has agreed to e let the voters choose where the library should be located. If the council was to commit to site acquisition before the citizens had an opportunity to make its final decision, the public might have reason to doubt the council's sincerity about allowing voters to make the ultimate siting decision. He suggested that the council move forward with the staff recommendation. Mr. Boles agreed with Mr. Nicholson that the council should proceed with the staff recommendation. He said that the City would retain first option to purchase the site, should voters approve library siting at the Sears site in the March election and would not have to deal with the public backlash de- scribed by Mr. Nicholson. In response to a question from Ms. Bascom, Mr. Gleason said that if the coun- cil decided to commit now to site purchase immediately after voter approval, he would recommend that the money be taken from the remaining $5 million in the Urban Renewal Parking Reserve Fund. Ms. Bascom said that the council has targeted the need for a new library as one of its primary goals for this year. In order to make its commitment to that goal evident to the community, the council should commit to purchase the site immediately upon voter approval. Mr. Robinette pointed out that the council's goal for this year was to chose a site for the library, not to commit funds for purchase. In light of finan- cial uncertainty surrounding Ballot Measure 5, the council should proceed e MINUTES--Eugene City Council Oecember 12, 1990 Page 6 e with the staff recommendation. He cautioned the council that if it agrees to purchase the site now, it runs the risk of owning the property with no fund- ing to construct or operate a library. Ms. Schue agreed with Ms. Ehrman that the council should take advantage of this offer to secure the site while it still has the financial resources necessary to do so. Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Ms. Bascom to direct the City Manager to prepare a resolution on Option 2. The motion car- ried, 4:3; with councilors Green, Schue, Bascom, and Ehrman voting in favor; and councilors Robinette, Nicholson, and Boles voting opposed. Mr. Gleason reaffirmed that if the voters approve the Sears building loca- tion, the money for site purchase would come from downtown urban renewal tax increment funds. He noted that since the library has council priority for this funding, the council will need to made decisions about other projects which were vying for this money. Mr. Gleason reminded the council that it will soon be undertaking an inten- sive public involvement process with the community to determine what citizens want local government to look like as a result of Ballot Measure 5. He ac- knowledged the concern that may arise in the community about the decision to move forward with the library despite financial uncertainty and said that special care will need to be taken when explaining this decision to the com- e munity. Mr. Gleason raised concern with the difficulty of moving ahead with a decision of this magnitude when the council is divided so closely on what direction it should be going. Ms. Bascom acknowledged Mr. Gleason's concern that the council should be hesitant about making such a momentous decision without support from the rest of the council. She also noted that the full council was not present to make this decision and said that the council might choose to revisit this decision in the new year when the new councilors were seated. Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Ms. Bascom, to direct the City Attorney to begin preparing a ballot title regarding approval of the Sears building site for a library. Mr. Nicholson said that it should be made clear to the voters that implicit in its decision for library siting would be the decision for site acquisi- tion. The motion carried 6:1; with councilors Ehrman, Bascom, Boles, Green, Schue, and Robinette voting in favor; and Councilor Nicholson voting opposed. Mr. Gleason stated that the library siting decision is the only issue sched- uled for the March election and asked the council to decide whether it is necessary to put out a Voter's Pamphlet. He noted that the cost of pamphlet e MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 12, 1990 Page 7 e reproduction would be approximately $5,000 and said that staff does not feel that it would be necessary in light of the extensive public information pro- gram already underway. Ms. Bascom moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, to not do a Voter's Pamphlet for the March election. Mr. Boles moved that it be included in the motion that the public information component be provided to the Citizen In- volvement Committee for their review. With the consent of the maker and the second, this was included in the motion. Mr. Gleason stated that in the absence of a committee to formulate ballot title wording, the City Attorney would be ultimately responsible for deci- sions on the ballot title. The motion carried unanimously, 7:0. V. WORK SESSION: BUSINESS LICENSE CHANGES Greta Utecht, Planning and Development Department, gave the staff report. She said that the City's general business license provisions were last re- vised during a major revamping of the program and its focus in 1985. While these regulations have provided a good framework for the individual types of business licenses now issued by the City, some general provisions need to be e modified in order to reflect current business practices, State laws, and local needs. Sections specific to detective and security agents and agencies also have come under scrutiny following recent staff experience with enforce- ment actions. During the November 5 public hearing on this issue, the coun- cil heard testimony from 11 security agents in opposition to the proposed changes. At that time, the council requested that staff provide more infor- mation on State regulations and requirements in other Oregon cities and more specific information regarding fees before making a final decision. Ms. Utecht said that in response to public testimony, staff has revisited this issue and made several revisions. She noted that under the proposed licensing system, persons applying for both investigative and security li- cences would only be required to pay one fee, noting that the application process for the two licenses is almost identical. Another public hearing on this issue has been scheduled for January 14. Responding to a question from Ms. Ehrman, Ms. Utecht said that some public concern has centered around the need to obtain two concealed weapons permits, both City and State. She said that if the City's testing and training for an armed officer is the same as the State's, it might be possible to waive the additional certification requirement. Mr. Green noted that some members of the security industry have voiced con- cern that they would not be able to pay the full burden of licensing costs. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 12, 1990 Page 8 -. He suggested that the City might wish to pursue full cost recovery from secu- rity companies rather than individuals. Mr. Boles voiced concern with subsidizing security licensing costs, noting that the council has agreed that it should try to recoup the full costs of service provision. Responding to comment, Mr. Gleason said that background checks on all appli- cations need to be conducted on a regular basis and cautioned that the City would be risking liability if a company was to hire a City-certified security officer and something went wrong. Responding to question from Ms. Ehrman, Ms. Utecht affirmed that the City has been experiencing an increasing number of problems with the security licens- ing industry over the past several years. Mr. Boles indicated that if the council's intent at this point is to be sat- isfied with less than full recoupment costs in this industry, it should make an attempt to get to full cost recovery over the next several years. He suggested the attachment of a fee schedule with the ordinance clearly outlin- ing the increased rate and indicating that full cost recovery is the ultimate goal. Ms. Ehrman agreed that the industry should be informed of the City's intent to reach full cost recovery over the next several years. e- Ms. Utecht pointed out that the City plans to review its costs in the upcom- ing year to ensure that licensing fees still approximate costs. She pointed out that licensing costs may decline over the next several years due to more consistent program administration. Mr. Boles said that in the future the council may want to consider how to have a broad-based citizen review of rates and suggested that perhaps the lay members of the Budget Committee might assume this role. The meeting adjourned at 1:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ~~".l Micheal Gleason City Manager (Recorded by Traci Northman) mncc 121290-1130 e MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 12, 1990 Page 9 ~ .........-.-....