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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/23/1991 Meeting e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--Eugene City Hall October 23, 1991 11:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Roger Rutan, Shawn Boles, Ruth Bascom, Bobby Green, Randy MacDonald, Paul Nicholson, and Kaye Robinette. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Debra Ehrman. The adjourned meeting of October 21, 1991, 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. Lane Council of Governments (L-COG) Ms. Bascom asked that staff contact other councilors to attend L-COG meetings when Councilors MacDonald, Robinette, and she cannot attend. e B. Eugene Celebration Ms. Bascom said that many people attending Springfield's Filbert Festival voluntarily donated money for admission to the event and requested that the City's Eugene Celebration Committee consider the idea and make a recommenda- tion to the council. C. Solid Waste Management Plan Ms. Bascom said she very much supported the direction of moving to a metro- politan approach with regard to waste management. Responding to a concern expressed by Ms. Bascom, Mr. Nicholson said that a task force including him- self and Councilor Green had been formed to deal with issues regarding a potential monopoly of the curbside hauling business. D. Bicycle-Riding Rules Mr. Robinette referred to a memorandum from Edward Phillips complaining that he had received a warning for riding his bicycle in an alley that allows motor vehicles. Mr. Boles expressed interest in learning about the rule because a subcommittee of the Central Area Transportation Study (CATS) is addressing the issue of "bicycle as vehicle." e MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 23, 1991 Page 1 Lunch Meeting e E. Central Mall Fountain Repairs Mr. Rutan asked that the memorandum outlining the central mall fountain re- pairs be referred to the Downtown Commission for an opinion on whether or not the City should continue to spend any money on the fountain. There was con- sensus to refer the matter. F. Fire Danger Mr. Rutan said he had received several calls from citizens concerned with the possibility of brush fires, such as that in Oakland, California, occurring in the City's south hills. Mr. MacDonald said his ward is working with Deputy Chief Bill Bass, Department of Public Safety, to develop an emergency manage- ment plan. He said he plans to bring this up as a sub-item during the coun- cil goals work session. Mr. Boles asked that the analysis address the ques- tion of adequate resources for meeting such an emergency, and if found to be inadequate, that a moratorium on building be initiated. City Manager Gleason noted that Skinner Butte presented the worst problem due to lack of water. G. Golden Gardens Park Mr. Nicholson said he had received an angry call from a constituent saying Mr. Gleason had been seen on television speaking against Golden Gardens Park as the preferred site for a golf course. Mr. Gleason stated that allegation was false. e H. Regulation of Taxicab Fees Mr. MacDonald referred to complaint letters about the City imposing minimum charges for taxicab fares, and asked for a staff report on the issue. I. Science Article Mr. Boles discussed an article, "How Social Science Research Informs Public Decision-Making," to be included in the council's next mail packet. J. State Funding of Athletics Mr. Boles said he is responding to a request for comments on a proposal to use State moneys to support intercollegiate athletics. He encouraged others to comment as well. K. Floodplain Notices Mayor Miller said his office has received calls regarding notices that have been sent informing residents that they live in a floodplain. Mr. Gleason said the notices were required by the Federal government in order for resi- dents to qualify for flood insurance. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 23, 1991 Page 2 Lunch Meeting e L. Ethics Committee Investigation Mayor Miller said the Ethics Committee has postponed their investigation until December. II. CENTURY COUNCIL PRESENTATION Sara Katz, one of the national coordinators for the Century Council's Five- City Model, gave background information on the Century Council. She said it had been organized by the Distilled Spirits and Wine Industry to combat two issues: drunk driving and sale of alcohol to minors. It is patterned after a successful program in the United Kingdom. Ms. Katz said former ambassador to Mexico John Gavin was selected as Execu- tive Director for Century Council activities. The industries have set aside $40 million to launch a three-year program that includes components dealing with national point-of-sales advertising materials; legislative reform, tar- geting seven states which do not have automatic revocation laws; and the five-cities model. The last component entails developing model pilot programs in five cities: Fresno, California; Omaha, Nebraska; Champaign, Illinois; Columbia, South Carolina; and Eugene, Oregon. Criteria for selection of cities included: manageable population size; presence of unique challenge (Eugene is the only e city in a liquor-controlled state); presence of a university; and community leadership support. Ms. Katz said the target date for implementation was November 1, 1991. She said the group would be working with a wide range of interests and included a coalition of people from the University, the Oregon Restaurant Association, Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC), Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), Chambers of Commerce, City officials, the media, hospitals, large employers, and community groups. Evaluation includes a six-month test period to measure results in changing public attitudes, with a bench-mark study at the end of the year. There will also be an evaluation to see if there has been a reduction in drunk-driving arrests and fatalities. Ms. Katz introduced guests who supported the program: Mike McCallum, Oregon Restaurant Association; Pete O'Rourke, Regional Manager for the OLCC; Jim Horton, Eugene Department of Public Safety; Barbara Kousky, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers; and Gerard Moseley, Vice Provost, University of Oregon. Responding to a question from Mr. Rutan, Ms. Katz said the council needed assistance from City government in the form of endorsement and cooperation for program implementation. Mr. Boles asked for further detail on budget expenditures. Of the $40 mil- lion, $2.5 million is earmarked for the five-cities program, the balance will be used for National point-of-sales advertising and targeting the legisla- e MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 23, 1991 Page 3 Lunch Meeting e tures of states without automatic revocation laws. Ms. Katz noted that the Century Council subscribers have set aside their own personal desire for name identification and are working under a unified banner. The initial campaign will identify the program as the Eugene Century Council Coalition. Mr. Boles also questioned Century Council's ability to meet their evaluation goals. Ms. Katz acknowledged the possibility that at the end of a year, there may not be enough clear information from which to draw conclusions, and programs may be extended. She said the coalition would welcome suggestions. Responding to a question from Mr. Robinette, Ms. Katz said the Century Coun- cil had not been confronted with the issue of disagreement about program implementation with any of the chosen communities to date. She saw no prob- lem with any program the coalition might decide to implement so long as it was aimed at reducing alcohol abuse in the areas of drunk driving and sales to minors. Ms. Bascom took exception to the resolution's wording, saying it implied that the City is against the sale of alcohol. Mr. MacDonald said the coalition composition was ignoring community treatment providers, and suggested that the council hold off on passage of the resolu- tion until there had been communication with community groups. Catherine Henderson, Prevention Specialist, Lane ESD, encouraged the council to postpone passage of the resolution, saying more information was needed. e She added that the program was conceived to change the image of the alcohol industry. Mr. Nicholson suggested simplifying the resolution: "The City of Eugene supports efforts by the Century Council to reduce alcohol abuse." Mayor Miller summarized the discussion, saying the Century Council was seek- ing to funnel money through a community consortium for programs to reduce alcohol consumption by minors and drunk-driving fatalities. Responding to Mr. Boles' question about how the Century Council's goals com- pare to the National Public Health Goals combatting alcoholism, Mr. Moseley said he had recently attended a national forum in Washington, DC, regarding the subject and issues such as this is their focus. He added that the local consortium supported the five-cities program. Mr. Rutan spoke in favor of the resolution, saying the community has nothing to lose and everything to gain from embracing the program. Res. No. 4275--A resolution declaring the City of Eugene's support for the Century Council in its efforts to reduce alcohol abuse. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 23, 1991 Page 4 Lunch Meeting ---- e Mr. Nicholson moved, seconded by Mr. MacDonald, to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 7:0. Mr. Boles supported the motion, but expressed concern with local control. III. LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE PARKING PROGRAM REQUESTS Lew Bowers, Planning and Development Department, said that Lane Community College (LCC) is making two requests: conversion of the 11th Avenue/ Willamette Street lot to a pay-box system to offer validation options for LCC and surrounding businesses and a City parking subsidy of $.125 per hour to LCC students. He noted that the Downtown Commission has supported the con- version of the lot, but did not support the request for the additional subsi- dy. The commission did, however, want to revisit the issue in a year. Responding to questions, Larry Warford, LCC Vice President, said LCC did not subscribe to the free ridership program offered by Lane Transit District (LTD) because it would cost about twice as much as the University pays. The increased costs are due to a larger number of bus-riding students and LCC's remote site. He said LCC is continuing to negotiate with LTD for bus passes for its downtown students. He stressed that the key issue is access; many downtown students do not pay tuition for programs such as English as a second language. e Responding to issues raised by Mr. MacDonald, Mr. Bowers said the $15,000 subsidy could come from reserves earmarked for library parking. He stated that Mr. MacDonald's concern for a long-term solution was well founded as the City is currently considering a proposal for development of the 11th Ave- nue/Willamette Street site. The interim solution of a pay-box lot is rela- tively inexpensive. Mr. Rutan moved, seconded by Mr. Boles, to direct staff to convert the parking delivery system in the 11th and Willamette Street lot to a pay-box system to offer validation options for Lane Community College and surrounding businesses. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 7:0. Mr. Rutan moved, seconded by Mr. Boles, to deny a request for an additional $.125 subsidy of the student validated parking system. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 7:0. Mr. Warford invited the council to participate on a committee LCC was creat- ing to review the overall role and future of the Downtown Center. Mr. Warford was encouraged to continue negotiations with LTD with regard to providing LCC downtown students with accessible, affordable parking and bring the issue before the City Council when a proposal is developed. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 23, 1991 Page 5 Lunch Meeting -- e IV. WORK SESSION: COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING AFFORDABILITY STRATEGY At Mr. Gleason's suggestion, council decided to reverse the order of Agenda Items IV and V. Robin Johnson, Consultant; John Van Landingham; and Jan Oliver, Housing Poli- cy Board, presented the Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) for council discussion. Ms. Johnson said the CHAS is a Federal requirement and must be completed by entitlement communities through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to ensure receipt of housing funds and Community Development Block Grant funds. She noted the creation of the CHAS was greatly enhanced by the work that was done by the Lane County Housing Task Force in 1989, and work by the Housing Policy Board (HPB). A public hearing on the CHAS was held by the HPB on October 3. Mr. Van Landingham distributed information on public input received and the HPB recommendations. He said the board had approved the following recommen- dations: I through 7, 9, 10, 14 (amended), 15, 16, 17 (amended), 18, 19 ,20, 31, 32, 33, and 38. He noted that the River Road/Santa Clara area was not included in the CHAS. Mr. Van Landingham touched briefly on the following: Numbers I and 2 are commitments to a better public process for the next CHAS submission. Numbers II and 12 call for increased emphasis and priority for housing for single adults. e Numbers 13 and 14 are general comments from people for added shelter space and a specific proposal from Springfield Mayor Morrisette for more transi- tional housing for the homeless. Number 14 is a compromise, adding emergency housing. Number 19 reflects Springfield's priorities regarding preference for new construction, home ownership, and rehabilitation housing (in that order). Number 21 asks that all the money be targeted to very low-income people (the board cannot recommend this because it would delete some programs for home ownership and rehabilitation). Number 38 addresses enhancement of homelessness prevention strategies. Mr. MacDonald expressed appreciation for the board's recognition of public comment from housing advocates. He raised the concern of additional emergen- cy shelter based on a letter from the Interfaith Family Shelter forwarded by the Intergovernmental Human Services Committee's staff stating that there is a waiting list for emergency housing. The board was commended for its work. Council action on the CHAS is sched- uled for November 4. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 23, 1991 Page 6 Lunch Meeting ---- ~ e V. DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT ORDINANCE CHANGES Mr. MacDonald expressed concern about language in the ordinance. Mr. Boles clarified that this is a housekeeping measure to change the lan- guage to reflect "no taxes." Mr. Nicholson offered further clarification by saying that the program has already ended; now it is just a matter of making City Code consistent. CB 4334--An ordinance concerning taxes and user fees in the Downtown Development District; repealing Sections 3.700, 3.705, 3.715, 3.720, 3.735, 3.740, 3.741, 3.742, 3.743, 3.744, 3.745, 3.746, 3.750, 3.755, 3.760, 3.765, and 3.767 of the Eugene Code, 1971; amending Section 3.990 of that code; and declaring an emergency. Mr. Rutan moved, seconded by Mr. Boles, that the bill, with unanimous consent of the council, be read a second time by council bill number only, and that enactment be considered at this time. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 7:0. Council Bill 4334 was read the second time by number only. e Mr. Rutan moved, seconded by Mr. Boles, that the bill be ap- proved and given final passage. Roll call vote; the motion carrying 6:1, with Councilor MacDonald opposed, the bill was declared passed (and became Ordinance 19802). The council meeting adjourned at 1:30 p.m. '-,- (Recorded by Yolanda Paule) MNCC 102391 e MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 23, 1991 Page 7 Lunch Meeting