Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/17/1991 Meeting e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall July 17, 1991 11 :30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Roger Rutan, Shawn Boles, Ruth Bascom, Debra Ehrman, Randy MacDonald, Kaye Robinette, Paul Nicholson, Bobby Green The adjourned meeting of July 10, 1991, of the Eugene City Council was called to order by His Honor Mayor Jeff Miller. Mayor Miller announced that the agenda has been amended. I. DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT (DDD) DECISION Lew Bowers, Planning and Development Department, provided the council with a brief overview of the issue. He said that the council needs to make three fundamental decisions: 1) What is the council's preferred option?; 2) What e is the council's fall-back program?; and 3) What is the mechanism that will trigger the fall-back program? Mr. Bowers said that staff has prepared the additional information councilors requested at ~ne July 8, 1991, public hearing. He would be providing the council with ,the following information: 1) Days of parking operation: Sun- days and holidays free/Saturdays, Sunday, and holidays free; 2) budgetary break-even rates for the program; 3) economic feasibility of adding the 8th and Pearl lot to the program; 4) gross receipts tax required to operate cur- rent program or just the free parking program; 5) survey results pertaining to raising the gross receipts tax; 6) downtown employees' abuse of the free system; and 7) updated information from Downtown Eugene Inc. (DEI) on commit- ments to the program. Ms. Ehrman pointed out that the parking proposal involves a significant capi- tal investment and that some citizens feel that the community as a whole should subsidize free parking. Ms. Ehrman asked that the council revisit its policy level decision of moving toward a user fee-supported parking program downtown. Mr. Nicholson expressed concern that the parking program under consideration today has been modified significantly from the proposal considered at the July 8 meeting. He said that he is also concerned that the packet does not include a recommendation from staff or the Downtown Commission. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 17, 1991 Page 1 e Responding to questions raised by Mr. Nicholson, Mr. ~leason explained how the council made the transition to the parking replacement reserve system. Under the current system, the City is setting aside a.reserve sufficient to replace the parking structures in 100 years. Responding to Ms. Ehrman's concerns, Mr. Boles acknowledged that transitioning the parking program from one mechanism of support to another involves some risk, but said that the council must make a decision on this issue right away. The council should be making decisions to ensure that the program is stable in its first year. Mr. MacDonald agreed with Ms. Ehrman. He said that the council is rushing its decision without fully understanding the implications of moving to a paid parking system, particularly in light of the fact that the proposal contains new information. The council should review the parking issue further. Mr. Rutan commented that having additional information will not improve the council's level of understanding on this issue. This issue has been studied as thoroughly as possible. The new pieces of the proposal do not substan- tively change the proposal. Mr. Boles echoed Mr. Rutan's comments and noted that the district will have used all of its funds by January 1992. Mr. Rutan moved, seconded by Mr. Boles, to accept the recom- mendations of the DDD review group, Downtown Commission, and staff that the council's primary focus should be on a fee-sup- ported parking program. e Mr. MacDonald voiced concern that the motion wording is unclear. He feels that the parking program should address the disequilibrium that exists in the current parking program that enables regional retail centers to provide free parking while the City can only provide limited parking downtown. Mr. MacDonald said that the downtown mall is a public area. The council should consider whether values beyond commercial and retail uses should be main- tained downtown. In response to Mr. MacDonald's concerns, Mr. Boles clarified that the motion addresses a primarily user fee-supported program. Such a program might in- clude a mix of paid and free parking as well. Ms. Ehrman said that the council needs to consider what it is trying to do downtown and emphasized that moving to a paid parking system will not help the plight of downtown. Mr. Nicholson observed that while the City should be taking a citywide ap- proach to the parking issue, it must deal with the issue before January 1992. Because the DDD represents a significant portion of downtown retailers, he is inclined to accept the recommendation. Roll call vote; the motion carried 6:2, with councilors Ehrman and MacDonald voting opposed. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 17, 1991 Page 2 . H' A. 8th and Pearl Lot e The council discussed the economic feasibility of adding the 8th and Pearl lot to the program. Mr. Bowers said that this lot was not originally includ- ed in the program because it is located outside the ODD. If included, this lot would be attended six days a week at $.75 an hour. Fifty-eight spaces would be available for short-term parking. The lot would require a one-time capital cost of $28,000. Ms. Bascom offered her support for including the" 8th and Pearl 101 in the program. Mr. Green concurred. The council offered its general consensus to include the 8th and Pearl lot in the parking program. B. Saturday Free Mr. ~ow~rs ~a~d thai staff has calculated the ~everiue th~t would belost"in having Saturday free in either all attended lots or just garages. A Satur- day-free parking proposal in garages only would promote citizen use of park- ing garages. "He provided the following cost analysis: All lots: $83,000 in forgone replacement reserve revenues. Garages Only: $22,000. Responding to a question from Mr. Nicholson, Mr. Bowers explained that the e City currently has $2.25 million in replacement reserves funds. All council actions will either decrease the replacement reserve or increase the infra- structure replacement cycle. .. 'r. Mr. Green asked about the possibility of including Saturday Market vendors in the validated parking program. Mr. Rutan recommended that the council not consider free Saturday parking for the sake of simplicity. He encouraged the council to make financially prudent decisions now. The council can always modify the proposal to include Saturday free parking in the future. Mr. Boles proposed the following parking package: First hour of parking free in all garages; Saturday paid. Mr. MacDonald said that he is concerned about the impact of paid Saturday parking on Saturday Market vendors and expressed support for free parking on Saturday. He noted that providing two free hours of parking, rather than one, would provide an even greater incentive for citizens to use the garages. The proposal failed 3:5; with councilors Boles, Robinette, and MacDonald voting in favor, and councilors Rutan, Bascom, Ehrman, Green, Nicholson voting opposed. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 17, 1991 Page 3 e C. First Hour Free . Mr. Boles explained the concept of ~he one-hour free program. He said that providing the first hour of parking in parking garages Monday through Satur- day would provide an incentive for citizens to use the parking garages. If the council accepts that proposal, the City would be underwriting the hour of free parking from the parking reserve costs. Mr. Bowers summarized the costs of the proposal. All lots: $225,000 Garages Only: $92,000 Mr. Boles proposed that the first hour of parking be free on weekdays in all garages. The proposal failed 4:5, with coun- cilors MacDonald, Boles, Robinette, and Bascom voting in fa- vor, and Nicholson, Rutan, Green, Ehrman, and Mayor Miller (to break the tie) voting against. Responding to a question from Ms.. Ehrman, Mr. Bowers said that the Hult Cen- ter garage, which. houses. monthly parking, is not part of the program. Ms. Bascom recommended that the council include the Hult 'Center garage in th~ proposal as free Saturday parking in order to accommodate the needs of Satur- day Market vendors. Ms. Ehrman proposed that parking be free on Saturdays in all e garages, including the Hult Center garage. The proposal car- ried 5:3; with councilors Green, Nicholson, and Robinette voting opposed. D. One-Time Matching Grant to DEI to Facil~tate the Transition Mr. Bowers said that this grant was intended to facilitate the transition to a privatized parking program. This would include $.30 of matching City funds for every $1 that DEI raises, up to a maximum of $70,000. The money could be used for marketing purposes. Mr. Bowers said that presently DEI has signed eight property owners and 41 retailer contracts for a total of approximately $25,000. In addition, it has a firm commitments from additional retailers and property owners totaling $103,000. This constitutes 46 percent of the $225,000 that DEI hopes to raise. Staff proposes that the City agree to provide its matching grant money when DEI has signed commitments of at least 75 percent of its budget. It has been given 30 days to meet that goal; DEI is comfortable with that timeline. Ms. Ehrman questioned whether the $70,000 in money provided by the City would be earmarked for marketing purposes only or could also be used by DEI to subsidize the validation program. In response, Mr. Boles said that the ulti- mate use of the $70,000 would be left to the discretion of DEI. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 17, 1991 Page 4 e Responding to a question from Mr. MacDonald, Mr. Bowers said that the $70,000 would come out of the replacement reserves. Mr. MacDonald questioned the viability of DEI and said that it is prudent to have a fall-back proposal. He noted, however, that some property owners have questioned the need for the additional services provided by DEI. He suggested that the council may want to discuss the service package further. He also said that DEI needs the additional $70,000 because it is not signing enough contracts. Ms. Ehrman voiced her opposition to the $70,000 contribution to DEI, noting that there is some danger that DEI will never reach the "trigger point." Mr. Nicholson noted that if DEI cannot provide its services, the merchants can always contract with another service provider. He urged the council to let the merchants decide what service mix, if any, they want. Mr. Boles said that because DEI has been in this business, it has the best chance of surviving the transition to privatization. The City should assist DEI in making the transition for the first year. Mr. Rutan proposed that the council offer to DEI the transi- tion to operating incentive as outlined above with no stipula- tions on its use and including the trigger mechanism proposal. The proposal carried 5:3, with councilors MacDonald, Ehrman, and Nicholson voting opposed. e E. Additional Information Mr. Bowers said that the information requested by Mr. Nicholson outlining what it would cost to continue the parking district at an increased tax base rate is available for review. Regarding Ms. Ehrman's request for additional information about employee violation of the parking system, Mr. Bowers said that there are approximately 10,000 employees and non-customer clients downtown. The City sells approxi- mately 1,350 monthly permits and estimates that 25 percent of the persons using the free spaces are doing so in violation of the parking policy. He noted that moving toward an attended system would cut down on abusers. Mr. Bowers recapped the decisions that had been made thus far: suspend the ODD, convert ODD services to privatization with DEI to have private service contracts, convert 3-hour parking program to free customer parking through validation at a rate of $.75, created attended system in the Overpark, Parcade, 8th and Willamette, and 8th and Pearl lots; shift to pay boxes on other large lots; Saturday free in garages; provide DEI with a $70,000 oper- ating match, if they can make the trigger mechanism. The outlined proposal would impact the replacement reserve at $92,000. Mr. Boles said that, with the exception of the "first hour free" component, he believes that the council has crafted an integrated set of parking propos- als. The council has demonstrated that it is committed to a graceful transi- e MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 17, 1991 Page 5 e tion to privatiz~d parking. He asked that the council reconsider its denial of the "first hour free program," noting that it would address concerns raised by small shop owners downtown who have a large number of customers. The first hour of parking should be made free only for the garages and only for one year. Ms. Ehrman noted that there is some inequity in providing "first hour free" parking in garages only because of the location of the garages. Only a small portion of downtown retailers would be benefiting from the proposal. Mr. MacDonald questioned whether the City needs its current level of parking reserves on the surface lots for parking structures. Mr. Rutan said that he is convinced by Councilors Boles' argument and would support first-hour free parking in all garages. Mr. Robinette agreed. Ms. Ehrman said that an alternative to offering the first hour free would be to lower the price of parking to $.60 per hour. Mr. Boles moved, seconded by Mr. Rutan, to support the first hour free parking in the Parcade and Overpark parking garages Monday-Friday (first hour free already approved for Saturday) for one year only. The motion carried 6:2, with councilors Nicholson and Ehrman voting opposed. Mr. Rutan moved, seconded by. Mr. Boles, that the council ac- e cept the revised parking program as decided upon in previous tentative motions. Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Mr. MacDonald, to amend the motion to reduce the parking rate to $.60 per hour. Mr. Bowers said that reducing the parking rate to $.60 per hour significantly reduces the replacement reserve. The $.60 proposal discussed during previous work sessions had no subsidy for DEI and no discount on validation. Mr. Nicholson said that he opposes the amendment because the long-term costs of providing parking should be placed on the parker, not the general public. Roll call vote; the amendment failed 2:6, with councilors Ehrman and MacDonald voting in favor. Roll call vote; the main motion carried 6:2, with councilors MacDonald and Nicholson voting opposed. F. Fall-Back Mechanism Mr. Bowers pointed out that if DEI can not meet the trigger point, the park- ing program would be administered by the City in a reduced fashion. The attended system without any services could be provided at a rate of $.60 per hour. A validation program could be provided at an extra cost by the City. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 17, 1991 Page 6 e Implementation of the parking program would occur as soon as possible; mar- keting would be needed to smooth the transition. Mr. Rutan moved, seconded by Mr. Boles, that the council ap- prove the fall-back program. Ms. Ehrman pointed out the importance of the DDD services and expressed an interest in revisiting components of the fall-back program, if it is needed. Mr. Boles noted that the 30-day limit for DEI to meet its contract falls in the middle of the council's August recess. Mr. MacDonald suggested that DEI be given 45 days to meet its contract obligation. Mr. Nicholson said that he approves the fall-back program. If the merchants want additional services, it is up to them to seek them out. Ms. Ehrman noted that some of the services, like the mall flowers, do not benefit the merchants directly; rather, they are part of the marketing of Eugene. Roll call vote; the motion carried 6:2, with councilors Ehrman and MacDonald voting opposed. II. WORK SESSION: COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT (CRA) WORK PLAN Mike Sullivan, Planning and Development Department, briefed the council on e this issue. The City Council received a staff briefing on issues related to the CRA at the May 8, 1991, council meeting. At that meeting, council di- rected staff to seek to form a collaborative CRA effort with the City of Springfield; formulate a more specific work program; refer the proposed work program to the Citizen Involvement Committee (CIC); and submit the final work plan for council approval. Mr. Sullivan said that staff met with Springfield staff and reached agreement on a joint CRA effort. The Springfield City Council considered and approved the CRA work plan and the appointment of Springfield representatives to a joint task force at the June 24, 1991, council meeting. Mr. Sullivan said that the CIC reviewed the proposed task force and work plan and suggested amendments to the proposed membership structure of the CRA task force. Those recommended amendments were incorporated into a revised work plan proposal which is before the council today for approval. Responding to a question from Ms. Ehrman, Mr. Sullivan said that the task force members would be appointed by the City Manager. Ms. Bascom encouraged the City Manager to appoint members who are knowledge- able about these issues so that they can be effective on the task force and to select members who will work together. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 17, 1991 Page 7 e Addressing Ms. Bascom's concerns, Mr. Boles suggested that the City seek the assistance of a loaned executive from lending institutions to lend expertise to the task force. Mr. Sullivan pointed out that because the nature of Federal regulation over CRA activities is uncertain, the task force may need to be adapted in the future. He also noted that the CIC was particularly concerned that member- ship on the task force represent low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. Mr. Boles said that a comprehensive credit needs assessment should include both urban and rural needs. While this proposal addresses the urban need, rural community credit needs should not be excluded from the CRA. The City might seek the expertise of the Lane Council of Governments (L-COG) to bring the urban and rural components together. In response, Mr. Sullivan said that discussions have taken place with L-COG surrounding how to apply its Geo- graphic Information System (GIS) mapping technology to CRA issues; this could serve as the basis for cooperation. Mr. Gleason pointed out that no models for cooperation among lending institutions exist currently. Once a model has been created, its technology can be transferred. Mr. Boles moved, seconded by Ms. Bascom, to adopt the proposed. task force membership structure and the proposed work plan to complete an inquiry into the credit needs of the community and other aspects of the Community Reinvestment Act. e III. LIBRARY OPTION AGREEMENT Lew Bowers, Planning and Development Department, gave the staff presentation. He said that at a recent meeting, the council directed the City Manager to negotiate an extension of an option for the Sears building for one year. He summarized the key components of the option agreement: 1. Extend the option for one year to 7/1/92. 2. Purchase price would be the fair market value of the property as determined by the appraisal. 3. Option price is $60,000. Mr. Bowers said that if the City exercises the option, the amount of the payment applied to the purchase price is $60,000 minus the owner's actual carrying costs, which would be capped at $45,000. Acceptable costs are only those in the following categories: property tax, utilities, equipment main- tenance, and security and fire insurance. In addition, $10,000 of the pay- ment on the original $40,000 option would be applied to the purchase price and half of the cost of the current environmental assessment ($8,425) would also be applied to the purchase price. Responding to a question from Mr. Robinette, Mr. Bowers said that if the City purchases the building, it will receive a credit for half of the environmen- tal assessment. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 17, 1991 Page 8 Respo!,\ding to concerns raised by Mr. Boles, Mr. Bowers said.th.at the owners' e carrying costs must be documented. Mr. Nicholson said that the agreement seems reasonable and pointed out that not included in the carrying costs--which could represent a significant loss to the owner--is the lost income from the building having no tenant. Mr. MacDonald said that he feels the option is satisfactory. However, he argued against the decision to continue the option and urged the council to pursue building acquisition. Doing so would allow the community to maintain momentum on this issue, begin fund-raising activities, and initiate planning efforts. In response to a question from Mr. Green, Mr. Bowers said that the owners have the option to generate revenue on the building as long as they do not enter into an agreement that would require the City to pay relocation costs. Mr. Boles moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman to instruct the City Manager to enter into an option agreement for the Sears build- ing. - Ms. Ehrman said that although she voted previously to purchase the building, the majority will of the council does not support that action. Therefore, she will be supporting the option agreement. Roll call vote; the motion carried 6:1, with councilor e MacDonald voting nay. IV. WORK SESSION: METROPOLITAN POLICY COMMITTEE ACTION: AMENDMENT TO THE METROPOLITAN AREA GENERAL PLAN FOR GOOD NEIGHBOR CARE CENTERS, INC. Jan Childs, Planning and Development Department, gave the staff report. She held up a map reflecting the MPC's recommendation for Good Neighbor Care Centers. The proposal recommended by MPC reduces the amount of medium-densi- ty residential land to approximately 30 acres, establishes a buffer of light-medium industrial all along the property line, and reduces the amount of commercial land to five acres. MPC recommends that the three elected bodies conduct a public hearing on this proposal. A resolution accepting the recommendation, but not requiring the council to make a decision, will be coming before the council at its July 24, 1991, work session. Responding to a concern from Mr. Green, Ms. Childs said that MPC's recommen- dation deals only with the Metro Plan designations themselves. The City of Springfield has been directed through its refinement planning, site review, and zoning processes to address other issues of concern raised by the elected bodies, such as housing affordability and school issues. Mr. Robinette em- phasized that MPC felt very strongly that it should stay out of site review issues. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 17, 1991 Page 9 V. APPROVAL OF APRIL 29, 1991, JOINT MEETING MINUTES e Mr. Nicholson said that he received a copy of the verbatim transcript of the minutes from April 29, 1991. He voiced concern that page 14, paragraph 4, sentence 2 of the minutes does not accurately reflect what occurred during the meeting. Mr. Boles moved, seconded by Ms. Ehrman, that the council approve the April, 29, 1991, joint meeting minutes. Mr. Boles concurred with Mr. Nicholson. The council discussed the possibility of attaching the verbatim transcript as an addendum to the minutes. Mr. Gary cautioned that the minutes, by defini- tion, are supposed to be a summary of the proceeding. If the minutes and the verbatim transcript do not agree, the minutes should be amended. Mr. Nicholson moved, seconded by Mr. MacDonald, to amend the motion to change the wording in paragraph 4 to read: Mr. Defoe said that this piece of land was chosen because of its isolated location and its affordable price. Roll call vote; the motion carried 5:2; with councilors Robinette and Green dissenting. Mr. Robinette said that the minutes are supposed to be a summary of the pro- ceeding. It would be difficult for the council to craft an amendment that e would be acceptable to all. Roll call vote; the motion carried 6:1; with Councilor Robinette voting no. The meeting adjourned at 1:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Micheal Gleason City Manager (Recorded by Traci Northman) mncc 071791-1130 e MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 17, 1991 Page 10