Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/30/1991 Meeting -- M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall October 30 1991 11:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Roger Rutan, Shawn Boles, Ruth Bascom, Debra Ehrman, Bobby Green, Randy MacDonald, Paul Nicholson, and Kaye Robinette. The adjourned meeting of October 28, 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. League of Oregon Cities Mr. MacDonald announced that he has been appointed to the League of Oregon Cities (LOC) Legislative Committee, and is hopeful of being appointed to the LOC board as well. The nominating committee will meet on November 10. e B. Oregon Citizens Alliance Mr. MacDonald noted that Corvallis is the third city to get targeted by the Oregon Citizens Alliance (OCA) in an effort to amend its city charter. He expressed appreciation of Eugene's strong stand against the statewide mea- sure. Mr. Green said an OCA member had called him and asked for time on the coun- cil's agenda. Mr. Green feels that there are ample opportunities during public comment portions of council meetings, and asked for agreement. The council agreed. C. Wayne Morse Ranch Ms. Bascom said a constituent has expressed appreciation for the designated dog-off-leash area in the City's Wayne Morse Ranch; however, parking restric- tions on an adjacent street has become an issue. D. Low-Income Tax Credit Ms. Bascom asked for council's support in directing Intergovernmental Rela- tions Committee staff to take appropriate action supporting an extension of the low-income housing tax credit. She also asked Mr. MacDonald for help in getting support for the extension from LOC. The council concurred. e October 30, 1991 Page 1 MINUTES--Eugene City Council Lunch Work Session ":,-. '.~.....- ..~ ~~ - -~ -~ e E. Overpass Rock-Throwing Incident Responding to a request for information from Mr. Robinette, staff said that the City has encouraged the State to screen both the McKenzie and Harlow Road overpasses on Beltline Road. After receiving information indicating an inci- dent rate of 12 per year per overpass, the State gave those projects a higher priority. F. Citizen Board and Commission Interviews Mr. Rutan said all the interviews have been scheduled during one three-hour session because of difficulty in scheduling a second meeting. G. Solid Waste and Recycling Board Mr. Rutan said councilors serving on the board need direction from the coun- cil, and he is not sure what the group's charge is. He asked for a written description from the group to help with clarification. Mr. Green indicated that he has scheduled a meeting with staff on November 1 to discuss the is- sue. H. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Mr. Green thanked those who attended the NAACP annual dinner on October 26, saying it was well attended by State representatives and the local community. e I. Fairgrounds Master Plan Ms. Ehrman said that she has been invited by the Neighborhood Leaders Council to attend a neighborhood meeting on December 10 regarding the Fairgrounds Master Plan. Mr. .Gleason said that City staff has been, instructed by the council that the Fairgrounds Master Plan is an agenda item of Lane County, not the City of Eugene. The council desires to have policy involvement in the issue, but not coordinate the process. Mr. Boles recalled that the original agreement included participation on the committee by the City, neighborhoods, Lane County, and Lane Transit District. It was made clear that the City would not underwrite the planning effort. He suggested the City offer itself as a resource on a contractual basis, pending council approval. Ms. Bascom said the topic had been brought up at the Metropolitan Policy Committee without follow-up. Ms. Ehrman suggested forwarding a letter outlining the City's understanding. The council concurred. e October 30, 1991 Page 2 MINUTES--Eugene City Council Lunch Work Session ~ e J. Metro Partnership Annual Meeting Mayor Miller reported on the Metro Partnership annual meeting held today. K. Century Council Mr. Boles reported several phone calls regarding the Century Council and its activities in other communities. He has agreed to meet with some of the people who have those concerns. He asked that the Century Council's Advisory Committee keep the council informed of its council's activities. Ms. Bascom has also received calls expressing concern with the council's endorsement. II. RESOLUTION ADOPTING ICE AND SNOW REMOVAL POLICIES Bob Hammitt, Public Works, said that the resolution has come about as a re- sult of concern raised in the community following the last two major storms (December 1990 and February 1989) because the City refrained from using chem- ical deicers (road salt) to achieve bare pavement. Mr. Hammitt has reviewed the City's policy and conducted research on the topic. The Public Works Department has had a long-standing practice of not using anti-icing or deicing chemicals for snow and ice control on streets. He said chemical deicers have been used in small quantities to keep sand piles and equipment workable. Mr. Hammitt said that the national trend is to e get away from such practices due to environmental concerns. At the same time, the industry is trying to upgrade its products to be more environmen- tally sound. The addition of corrosion-inhibitors does not address environ- mental concerns related to vegetation and aquatic life. Mr. Hammitt said that his study revealed that turning to a chemical deicer program would require a capital investment of $100,000 for storage and mixing capabilities. He also found that product costs are significant. The most environmentally sound product, calcium magnesium acetate, costs $700 per ton. Mr. Hammitt estimated an expenditure of $70,000 for the product on either one of last season's storms. He added that current products would likely be in conflict with the Clean Stormwater Act. Mr. Hammitt said the only advantage to the use of chemical deicers is that bare pavement can be achieved in a shorter period of time. He said the resolution calls for the continued mini- mum use of chemical deicers for sand piles and equipment, but prohibition of their use for control of ice and snow on City streets. Councilors expressed support for the resolution. Responding to concern about the problems caused by sand on streets, Mr. Gleason said most complaints come from bicycle riders. He said crews are activated just before a storm's end in order to sweep up the sand before it freezes. In response to a question from Ms. Bascom, he said sand costs $8 per ton. Mr. Boles said keeping bus routes open should also be a priority. He won- dered if there was any provision for keeping sidewalks clear in retail areas. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 30, 1991 Page 3 Lunch Work Session e Mr. Hammitt said the City Code requires retailers, as well as property own- ers, to keep sidewalks clear of any hazards including ice and snow. The problem is enforcement. Currently, the City responds in writing upon receipt of a complaint. Mr. Gleason added that there is a potential for a wrongful death claim for not having a bare pavement policy with regard to streets. He added that notification of potential problems meets the City's responsibility with regard to sidewalks. He said the council needs to consider the benefits of achieving bare pavement versus environmental impacts since sand costs $8 per ton while salt costs $30 per ton; more environmentally sound deicers cost $700 per ton. Mr. Hammitt said the City also tries to set a good example by clearing sidewalks around its properties. Suggestions for notification to property owners of their responsibility in- cluded using the media and announcements in the neighborhood newsletters. Res. No. 4278--A resolution adopting ice and snow removal policies. Mr. Rutan moved, seconded by Mr. Boles, to adopt the resolu- tion. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. III. WORK SESSION: REVIEW OF COUNCIL LEGISLATIVE POLICIES ON TRANSPORTATION Terry Smith, Public Works, said staff needs direction for redrafting the e legislative policies on transportation for action on resolutions at the annu- al League of Oregon Cities (LOC) convention. Given the way in which the Highway Trust Fund is locked into the Oregon constitution, he said successful change requires: 1) comprehensive study, 2) a strong, broad-based coalition, and 3) discussion of other revenue sources to meet the variety of needs that will be presented. Referring to his memorandum of October 23 to the City Council, Mr. Smith gave background information on the Oregon Transportation Plan. He said a draft of the plan is currently under review by a committee composed of representatives from the Legislature and the public and private sectors. He asked for clari- fication on the council's intent with regard to the fund, saying the Inter- governmental Relations Committee and council staff had provided input they felt was council's intent. Ms. Ehrman was opposed to any use of the fund other than to support the in- frastructure. Mr. Nicholson agreed, stating that not using the fund for infrastructure would result in two problems: 1) increasing demands on the fund, and 2) obscuring the trend of focused responsibility. He favored broadening infrastructure uses to include such things as mass transit. Mayor Miller wondered where revenue would come from if not the transportation fund. He felt traffic policing was an appropriate use of the fund. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 30, 1991 Page 4 Lunch Work Session e Mr. MacDonald agreed with Mayor Miller, saying he favored user fees, includ- ing increasing the gas tax and related vehicle fees to provide additional revenue. Mr. Boles expressed agreement for Mr. MacDonald's view and wondered if there was any evidence that increased traffic policing reduced traffic fatalities. Mr. Smith said he was not aware of any hard evidence to support the correla- tion; however, half of all traffic deaths involve the use of alcohol and studies have shown that concentrated patrols remove more drunk drivers from roads. Mr. Nicholson agreed that the costs of traffic enforcement should be collect- ed from automobile users and those who create the demand. He supported con- sidering vehicles for property taxes. Mr. Smith suggested a combined approach to the fund resulting in multiple sources of revenues. Ms. Bascom said there appeared to be an allocation problem with the fund, and that it should be addressed. Mayor Miller suggested that the issue be dis- cussed at another time. Mr. Nicholson raised concern about the "no net loss" policy, saying the coun- cil should not lock itself into a policy that says cars will play the same role in our future aggregate transportation mix as they do now. He also noted that bicycles are already being taxed to a greater degree than the e impact they have on the infrastructure that they are using, bearing the ex- ternalized costs of the other modes of transportation. Mr. Boles noted that the council's view of transportation was inconsistent with that of the State's, saying council had no set of principles to guide policy development. Mr. Rutan said the two questions to be answered with regard to traffic polic- ing were: 1) Does the council want to extend uses of the fund?; and 2) Is this an appropriate use? Saying it was not possible to close on the issue, Mayor Miller asked staff to put this on a future agenda. Mr. Gleason said staff could sharpen the focus for discussion purposes and bring this back to council. Mr. Green suggested the discussion be taken up again at the council's meeting on November 4. Mr. Boles reiterated his concern that council needed to develop a set of principles to guide policy development and the breadth of direction it should take. The council adjourned at 1:30 p.m. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 30, 1991 Page 5 Lunch Work Session ~ e (Recorded by Yolanda Paule) MNCC 101691 e e MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 30, 1991 Page 6 Lunch Work Session ,':-,..: '.,~ j,:.~'--- ~ -"'''':' ...... ~.