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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/16/1991 Meeting . . . M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall January 16, 1991 11:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Roger Rutan, Shawn Boles, Ruth Bascom, Bobby Green, Randy MacDonald, Paul Nicholson, Kaye Robinette COUNCILORS ABSENT: Debra Ehrman The adjourned meeting of January 14, 1991, 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. Committee to Review State Mandates Mr. Rutan announced that he has agreed to serve on a statewide committee that will review State mandates. It is the goal of this committee to reduce the economic pressures of Ballot Measure 5 through the elimination of unnecessary State mandates. B. Relations between the City and the Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) Mr. Rutan commented on the positive relationship which is being formed be- tween the City and the current EWEB board. He expressed hope that the City and EWEB will continue to explore areas of mutual cooperation and said that he would be offering suggestions to staff on specific areas of policy discus- sion that might benefit from this cooperation. C. Waiver Request for Contributions to Rental Rehabilitation Mr. Boles informed the council that the Community Development Committee (CDC) would be asking staff to request from the Housing and Urban Development De- partment (HUD) a waiver of the 15 percent cap on direct contributions to the rental rehabilitation program. He reminded the council that the City has agreed to combine its funds with those from other jurisdictions in the Inter- governmental Human Services Fund (formerly the Joint Social Service Fund) to be allocated to nonprofit social service agencies by the Intergovernmental Human Services Committee. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 16, 1991 Page 1 ~.~. D. Snow and Ice Removal Requirements of Retail Establishments Mr. Boles requested information from staff regarding the requirements of retail establishments for sidewalk snow and ice removal. E. International Nuclear-Free Zone Conference . Mr. .Boles informed the council that a summary of his recent trip to Scotland for the International Nuclear-Free Zone Conference would be published in the January issue of What's Happening. Councilors may contact him with any ques- tions or to receive additional information. F. Council Committee on Infrastructure (CCI) Task Force on Systems Development Charges (SDC) Mr. Boles announced that the Citizen Involvement Committee (CIC) has ex- pressed some concerns with the breadth of the proposed CCI task force respon- sible for reviewing SDCs. In order to broaden committee makeup, the CIC has suggested the addition of a citizen-at-large position to that task force. If the council approves this suggestion, CCI has agreed to work with the League of Women Voters to select a candidate to fill the position. The council agreed to the addition of a citizen-at-large position on the task force and instructed the CCI to work with the League of Women Voters to se- lect a candidate. G. Citizen Concern for Protest Demonstrations . Mr. Green noted that he has received input from citizens who are concerned with protest demonstrations on Franklin Boulevard. He is sending the message to those citizens that the City is taking all actions necessary to maintain a safe environment during protest activities. H. Tree Commission Appointment Ms. Bascom announced that the Joint Parks Commission (JPC) has appointed Fred Lockhart to serve as its representative on the Tree Commission. I. Memos on Recycling Efforts Ms. Bascom expressed appreciation to staff for recent memos updating the council on the City's recycling efforts. She noted that the City is moving forward to improve recycling within local government. J. Bikeway Safety The council revisited the Hawthorne Bridge bike access issue. Ms. Bascom noted that it was her understanding that the issue had been resolved, but said that she has been contacted by constituents who thought that the council . MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 16, 1991 Page 2 . . . was planning to raise the issue again. She asked for clarification and dis- cussion of the position the council had taken. Mr. Gleason indicated that this issue is still under litigation. The council has agreed to support the decision of the subcommittee examining this issue, that the bikeway remain in its present location, and the barriers which were erected to prevent access be removed. The council acknowledged that local residents still have safety concerns, but agreed that it was not willing to reconsider its decision. K. Pollution in the Amazon Canal Mr. MacDonald said that he was contacted by a constituent who was concerned with the presence of chemical pollutants in the Amazon Channel around 35th Avenue and Hilyard Street. He reported that the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Public Works Department have investigated the complaint and identified the most likely source of the pollution. Mr. MacDonald assured the council that efforts are under way to resolve this problem. L. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration March Mr. MacDonald reminded the council that it has been invited to take part in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration March to be held at 2:30 p.m. on January 18. This will provide a good opportunity for the council to demon- strate its support and commitment to community diversity. M. Tree Commission Appointment Mayor Miller announced that Art Mekas has applied to fill the vacancy on the Tree Commission. In addition, Mary Bentsen has expressed an interest in remaining on the commission. Mayor Miller said he was concerned with the council's debate on potential commission appointees and indicated that this issue should be raised for discussion during the council's next Quarterly Process Session. Ms. Bascom moved, seconded by Mr. Boles, to approve the nomi- nation of Art Mekas and Mary Bentsen to the Tree Commission for terms expiring this year. Mr. Green also voiced concern with the council's debate of potential commis- sion appointees. He said that reappointing a person who has resigned for philosophical reasons represents a serious flaw in the appointment process. Roll call vote; the motion carried unanimously, 7:0. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 16, 1991 Page 3 '~''''''~ II. WORK SESSION: HAZARDOUS MATERIALS PERMITS . City Manager Mike Gleason provided an overview of the topic and introduced Nancy Short, Hazardous Materials Program Manager, and Greta Utecht, Planning and Development Department. Ms. Short reported that the sections of the Eugene Code authorizing the in- spection of hazardous materials facilities and issuance of hazardous material licenses were adopted in January 1989. Revisions to Section 3 of the code are now needed in order to bring businesses handling hazardous materials into compliance with code requirements while the City continues to conduct in- depth investigations about the conditions needed for permanent licensing. The revisions will also authorize the City to attach detailed conditions to perm,it and license approval and establish criteria for the approval, denial, suspension, and revocation of the permit or license. Ms. Short indicated that several issues have been raised since program imple- mentation in August. She noted that because of the complex nature of the licensing process, it became apparent that the time frame for issuing the licenses needed to be extended. All businesses are required to have a haz- ardous material license to come into compliance with the code. Unfortunate- ly, time line extension has delayed the generation of revenues needed to fund the program. The other issue raised since program implementation has to do with ordinance enforcement. The current code wording is unclear with respect to the City's authority to impose an administrative civil penalty on those businesses not in compliance with conditions of their license. In summary, . she said that staff is recommending that an interim status permit be issued in order to allow businesses to gain compliance with the code and start the generation of revenues necessary to fund the program. Staff also recommends that the language be clarified regarding the ability to establish the admin- istrative civil penalty mechanism upon license violation. Ms. Short said that she has spoken to the Associated Lane Emergency Response Team, a group composed of several businesses affected by the licensing, who commented that the use of the administrative civil penalty mechanism might be premature. Ms. Short noted that the intent to use this mechanism of enforce- ment was already in the code. Mr. Nicholson asked whether the ordinance contained a provision stipulating that places that sell hazardous materials are required to take them back from the persons who originally purchased them in order to increase the likelihood that such materials are disposed of in a safe manner. Ms. Short responded that the current ordinance does not address this issue. Ms. Bascom commented on the importance of ensuring full cost recovery by the City for the licensing program. (At 1:10 p.m., the council recessed for ten minutes to hold a press confer- ence with Thorn Alberti, representing Peace Works, on the topic of peaceful protests activities taking place in Eugene.) . MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 16, 1991 Page 4 . . . Responding to a question from Mr. Green, Ms. Short said that the term "haz- ardous materials" is clearly defined in the ordinance. She pointed out that many persons are unaware of the hazards associated with many of the materials they work with on a daily basis. An integral part of this program will be the implementation of an educational component that instructs individuals about the presence and proper use of hazardous materials. Mr. Gleason pointed out that part of the City's goal with this program is to develop a rational approach to the management of hazardous materials that is fair and has good success with compliance. Ms. Short said that the primary goals of this program are to encourage busi- nesses to reduce the amount of hazardous materials they work with as much as possible and to educate them on the safe use of those materials. Mr. MacDonald asked about what impact the Toxic Use Reduction Act recently adopted by the Oregon legislature would have on Oregon law and whether the State would be able to offer the City any assistance with hazardous materials management. In response, Mr. Gleason said that the Toxic Use Reduction Act has been rendered virtually ineffective by the State Fire Marshal's Office. The State had previously agreed to fund regional hazardous materials special- ty teams, but has not done it because of a lack of funds. Mr. Boles said that if the City is going to allow the sale of hazardous ma- terials, it is incumbent upon it to ensure some means of appropriate dispos- al. He asked whether this issue is being discussed by the Solid Waste and Recycling Board. Ms. Utecht said that the possibility of forming a coalition of local businesses to provide some means of effective waste disposal has been discussed in Solid Waste and Recycling Board meetings. In an effort to ensure the proper disposal of hazardous materials, Mr. Boles suggested the City consider the possibility of requiring a business to con- tract with a waste-disposal facility prior to issuing a license. He also suggested that the City consider implementing a tax on the sale of these hazardous goods to compensate public entities for costs associated with li- censing. Mayor Miller said that it is important to realize that it is in the communi- ty's best interest to ensure that hazardous waste materials are disposed of properly. When considering licensing costs, he asked the council to be cog- nizant of the costs associated with proper waste management, particularly as they impact small businesses, and to keep these costs as low as possible to ensure the likelihood of proper waste disposal. Responding to a question from Mr. Green, Ms. Short said that the hazardous material inspections conducted by the City are unannounced. Mr. Nicholson expressed his concern with the council's criteria for estab- lishing fees. He stated that in many instances it is not sensible to recover all the costs associated with licensing from the end user. The council MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 16, 1991 Page 5 should examine the possibility of collecting fees from the source of the materials and require the source to collect product waste materials. Mr. MacDonald said that licensing should not be the primary funding mechanism for the hazardous materials program. He added that it should not be finan- cially burdensome to get a license and that it should be made clear that there is a significant financial penalty for not having a license. Mr. Gleason pointed out that program implementation has been under way for the past 18 months. He asked for council authorization to proceed with the issuance of interim status permits and to begin assessing the fees. In order to respond to the council's discussion, he suggested that staff come back to the council with a report discussing some of the issues raised today, such as establishing incentives for proper waste disposal and looking at fee collec- tion from the end user. The council offered general consensus to proceed in that manner. Mr. Boles encouraged staff not to adopt a piecemeal approach to this issue, but rather to approach this issue in an comprehensive, integrated fashion. III. WORK SESSION: COMPENSATION DOCUMENT .~~. . City Manager Mike Gleason introduced the topic. He said that this document came out of Budget Committee discussions about the need to detail the City's compensation plan in some comprehensive manner. While this document details . the City's plan in a clear manner, the community will need some assurance that the City's compensation plan is not out of line with what it should be. In order to do this, he suggested that at some point in the future the City should contract with an independent audit firm to evaluate the City's compen- sation policy. Linda Norris, Human Resource and Risk Services, provided an overview of the City of Eugene Compensation Report, prepared by the Administrative Services Department Human Resource and Risk Services Division. She said that the purpose of this document is to present a comprehensive profile of the methods the City uses to establish and budget for salaries and benefits. This docu- ment examines the City's human resource environment, employee relations envi- ronment, its compensation process, benefits schedule, and means by which the City budgets for salaries and benefits. Ms. Norris said that the City's ability to provide quality public service is largely determined by the quality of its employees. Demographic and techno- logical changes over the next ten years will challenge the City's ability to attract, retain, and train employees. At the same time, the City will be experiencing the loss of approximately 25 percent of the existing work force to retirement alone. Mr. Green requested a graph depicting the number of members of the minority population in middle-management positions. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 16, 1991 Page 6 . . . . Responding to a question from Mr. MacDonald, Mr. Gleason said that among the factors to consider with respect to employee recruitment is the perception that exists about the City's racial and ethnic tolerance. Recruitment is enhanced if the City is viewed as a place that celebrates diversity. Relating to the issue of competition for personnel, Mr. MacDonald suggested that in conjunction with competitive market rates, the council needs to keep in mind the effect of favorable working conditions and environment on re- cruitment. Mr. Gleason concurred, noting that although Eugene is slightly under market when it comes to salaries, the quality of the organization has a positive impact on the City's ability to recruit. Ms. Norris explained that in Oregon, labor unions may negotiate on direct and indirect monetary benefits, hours, vacation, sick leave, grievance proce- dures, and other conditions of employment. The City recognizes four labor unions, which represent approximately 70 percent of the City's employees. Ms. Norris said to ensure that the City can hire and keep qualified employ- ees, the City follows a "market-based" approach to setting pay. This means the City's compensation is based on compensation for similar jobs in compara- ble agencies. While in theory an agency can lead, lag behind, or stay even with the market, the council's direction has been to stay even with the mar- ket. Ms. Norris walked through the factors which are considered in the sala- ry-setting process for both exempt and union-represented employees. When establishing salary ranges, Ms. Norris explained that comparisons are made between Eugene and other cities and agencies of comparable size. Local markets are'used for some positions, statewide comparisons are used for oth- ers, and regional comparisons are used for exempt positions. The City col- lects salary information on "benchmark" positionsujobs which are commonly found in the labor market. Based on comparisons, Eugene falls at the median for salary setting. She explained further that Eugene determines salary maximums from the survey data and establishes an entry-level rate that is 25 percent lower than the maximum rate. Mr. Gleason pointed out that because of this Eugene is slightly below market rate, and that it is in a competitive disadvantage at the upper end of the pay scale. Despite this, Eugene can compete effectively for personnel because of positive livability conditions and organizational quality. Mr. Nicholson requested information comparing the median income of Eugene residents with the median income of citizens from other cities of comparable size. Noting that benefits are a part of compensation, Ms. Norris reported that the City's goal for employee benefits is to provide market-based benefits consis- tent with the City's philosophy in the most cost-effective manner possible. Mandatory benefits (those that are mandated by either State or Federal au- thorities) currently account for more than 40 percent of the City's total benefits costs. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 16, 1991 Page 7 1- Due to a lack of time, Mr. Gleason said that the financial analysis of this report will be presented at another time. The meeting adjourned at 1:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ;1# d' /};Q /I~ -., --~~~~~ .. Micheal Gleason City Manager (Recorded by Traci Northman) mncc 011691-1130 MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 16, 1991 Page 8 't.- ... .. 1-. ~ . . .